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We present a new approach to bootstrapping string-like theories by exploiting a local crossing symmetric dispersion relation and field redefinition ambiguities. This approach enables us to use mass-level truncation and to go beyond the dual resonance hypothesis. We consider both open and closed strings, focusing mainly on open tree-level amplitudes with integer-spaced spectrum, and two leading Wilson coefficients as inputs. Using entanglement minimization in the form of the minimum of the first finite moment of linear entropy or entangling power, we get an excellent approximation to the superstring amplitudes, including the leading and sub-leading Regge trajectories. We find other interesting S-matrices which do not obey the duality hypothesis, but exhibit a transition from Regge behaviour to power law behaviour in the high energy limit. Finally, we also examine Machine-Learning techniques to do bootstrap and discuss potential advantages over the present approach., Comment: 48 pages, 21 figures

Motivated by quantum field theory (QFT) considerations, we present new representations of the Euler-Beta function and tree-level string theory amplitudes using a new two-channel, local, crossing symmetric dispersion relation. Unlike standard series representations, the new ones are analytic everywhere except at the poles, sum over poles in all channels and include contact interactions, in the spirit of QFT. This enables us to consider mass-level truncation, which preserves all the features of the original amplitudes. By starting with such expansions for generalized Euler-Beta functions and demanding QFT like features, we single out the open superstring amplitude. We demonstrate the difficulty in deforming away from the string amplitude and show that a class of such deformations can be potentially interesting when there is level truncation. Our considerations also lead to new QFT-inspired, parametric representations of the Zeta function and $\pi$, which show fast convergence., Comment: v5:12 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

In this paper, we set up the numerical S-matrix bootstrap by using the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) to write down Roy equations for the partial waves. As a motivation behind examining the local version of the CSDR, we derive a new, crossing symmetric, 3-channels-plus-contact-terms representation of the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude in string theory that converges everywhere except at the poles. We then focus on gapped theories and give novel analytic and semi-analytic derivations of several bounds on low-energy data. We examine the high-energy behaviour of the experimentally measurable rho-parameter, introduced by Khuri and Kinoshita and defined as the ratio of the real to the imaginary part of the amplitude in the forward limit. Contrary to expectations, we find numerical evidence that there could be multiple changes in the sign of this ratio before it asymptotes at high energies. We compare our approach with other existing numerical methods and find agreement, with improvement in convergence., Comment: 38 pages, 25 figures, version accepted for publication in JHEP

We consider Bell inequalities in 2-2 scattering of photons, gravitons, fermions and pions. We choose measurement settings that give maximum Bell violation for maximally entangled states and calculate the relevant Bell inequalities for these processes. For photon scattering at low energies, QED exhibits Bell violation for all scattering angles except for a small transverse region. This leads to a fine-tuning problem. Incorporating a light axion/axion-like particle (ALP) removes the fine-tuning problem and constrains the axion-coupling--axion-mass parameters. Allowing for graviton exchange and demanding Bell violation in photon scattering, we find that the Weak Gravity Conjecture is satisfied. Quantum gravity effect on axion coupling is discussed. For 2-2 graviton scattering, we find that CEMZ bounds allow for at most small Bell violations. Restriction on the Weinberg angle is found by demanding Bell violation in Bhabha scattering. We use recent S-matrix bootstrap data for pions and photons to study the Bell parameter in the space of allowed S-matrices. In the photon case, we study the Bell parameters as a function of energy and find support for the EFT observations. We discuss Bell parameter for pion S-matrices, which are qutrits. For pions, we find that there is a minimization of a suitable Bell parameter for S-matrices which exhibit Regge behaviour., Comment: v3, 21 pages, 12 figures, version to appear in PRD

We consider a crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for CFT four point correlation with identical scalar operators, which is manifestly symmetric under the cross-ratios $u,v$ interchange. This representation has several features in common with the CSDR for quantum field theories. It enables a study of the expansion of the correlation function around $u=v=1/4$, which is used in the numerical conformal bootstrap program. We elucidate several remarkable features of the dispersive representation using the four point correlation function of $\Phi_{1,2}$ operators in 2d minimal models as a test-bed. When the dimension of the external scalar operator ($\Delta_\sigma$) is less than $\frac{1}{2}$, the CSDR gets contribution from only a single tower of global primary operators with the second tower being projected out. We find that there is a notion of low twist dominance (LTD) which, as a function of $\Delta_\sigma$, is maximized near the 2d Ising model as well as the non-unitary Yang-Lee model. The CSDR and LTD further explain positivity of the Taylor expansion coefficients of the correlation function around the crossing symmetric point and lead to universal predictions for specific ratios of these coefficients. These results carry over to the epsilon expansion in $4-\epsilon$ dimensions. We also conduct a preliminary investigation of geometric function theory ideas, namely the Bieberbach-Rogosinski bounds., Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, v3: clarifications regarding LTD added

We show that the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for 2-2 scattering leads to a fascinating connection with knot polynomials and q-deformed algebras. In particular, the dispersive kernel can be identified naturally in terms of the generating function for the Alexander polynomials corresponding to the torus knot $(2,2n+1)$ arising in knot theory. Certain linear combinations of the low energy expansion coefficients of the amplitude can be bounded in terms of knot invariants. Pion S-matrix bootstrap data respects the analytic bounds so obtained. We correlate the $q$-deformed harmonic oscillator with the CSDR-knot picture. In particular, the scattering amplitude can be thought of as a $q$-averaged thermal two point function involving the $q$-deformed harmonic oscillator. The low temperature expansion coefficients are precisely the $q$-averaged Alexander knot polynomials., Comment: v4: 10 pages, 4 figures, updated version

We consider 2-2 scattering in four spacetime dimensions in Celestial variables. Using the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR), we recast the Celestial amplitudes in terms of crossing symmetric partial waves. These partial waves have spurious singularities in the complex Celestial variable, which need to be removed in local theories. The locality constraints (null constraints) admit closed form expressions, which lead to novel bounds on partial wave moments. These bounds allow us to quantify the degree of low spin dominance(LSD) for scalar theories. We study a new kind of positivity that seems to be present in a wide class of theories. We prove that this positivity arises only in theories with a spin-0 dominance. The crossing symmetric partial waves with spurious singularities removed, dubbed as Feynman blocks, have remarkable properties in the Celestial variable, namely typically realness, in the sense of Geometric Function Theory (GFT). Using GFT techniques we derive non-projective bounds on Wilson coefficients in terms of partial wave moments., Comment: version to appear in JHEP

This review aims to offer a pedagogical introduction to the analytic conformal bootstrap program via a journey through selected topics. We review analytic methods which include the large spin perturbation theory, Mellin space methods and the Lorentzian inversion formula. These techniques are applied to a variety of topics ranging from large-N theories, to the epsilon expansion and holographic superconformal correlators, and are demonstrated in a large number of explicit examples., Comment: Invited review for Physics Reports, 150 pages, 29 figures; v2: discussions improved, references added, to appear on Physics Reports

We develop crossing symmetric dispersion relations for describing 2-2 scattering of identical external particles carrying spin. This enables us to import techniques from Geometric Function Theory and study two sided bounds on low energy Wilson coefficients. We consider scattering of photons, gravitons in weakly coupled effective field theories. We provide general expressions for the locality/null constraints. Consideration of the positivity of the absorptive part leads to an interesting connection with the recently conjectured weak low spin dominance. We also construct the crossing symmetric amplitudes and locality constraints for the massive neutral Majorana fermions and parity violating photon and graviton theories. The techniques developed in this paper will be useful for considering numerical S-matrix bootstrap in the future., Comment: 54 pages, 9 figures and 4 tables, SciPost version

We explore the correspondence between geometric function theory (GFT) and quantum field theory (QFT). The crossing symmetric dispersion relation provides the necessary tool to examine the connection between GFT, QFT, and effective field theories (EFTs), enabling us to connect with the crossing-symmetric EFT-hedron. Several existing mathematical bounds on the Taylor coefficients of Typically Real functions are summarized and shown to be of enormous use in bounding Wilson coefficients in the context of 2-2 scattering. We prove that two-sided bounds on Wilson coefficients are guaranteed to exist quite generally for the fully crossing symmetric situation. Numerical implementation of the GFT constraints (Bieberbach-Rogosinski inequalities) is straightforward and allows a systematic exploration. A comparison of our findings obtained using GFT techniques and other results in the literature is made. We study both the three-channel as well as the two-channel crossing-symmetric cases, the latter having some crucial differences. We also consider bound state poles as well as massless poles in EFTs. Finally, we consider nonlinear constraints arising from the positivity of certain Toeplitz determinants, which occur in the trigonometric moment problem., Comment: v3: 95 pages, 18 figures; improvement in presentation, version to appear in JHEP, v4: minor typo in appendix fixed

An intriguing correspondence between ingredients in geometric function theory related to the famous Bieberbach conjecture (de Branges' theorem) and the non-perturbative crossing symmetric representation of 2-2 scattering amplitudes of identical scalars is pointed out. Using the dispersion relation and unitarity, we are able to derive several inequalities, analogous to those which arise in the discussions of the Bieberbach conjecture. We derive new and strong bounds on the ratio of certain Wilson coefficients and demonstrate that these are obeyed in one-loop $\phi^4$ theory, tree level string theory as well as in the S-matrix bootstrap. Further, we find two sided bounds on the magnitude of the scattering amplitude, which are shown to be respected in all the contexts mentioned above. Translated to the usual Mandelstam variables, for large $|s|$, fixed $t$, the upper bound reads $|\mathcal{M}(s,t)|\lesssim |s^2|$. We discuss how Szeg\"{o}'s theorem corresponds to a check of univalence in an EFT expansion, while how the Grunsky inequalities translate into nontrivial, nonlinear inequalities on the Wilson coefficients., Comment: v4: 34 pages, clarification added, typos fixed, final published version

We consider manifestly crossing symmetric dispersion relations for Mellin amplitudes of scalar four point correlators in conformal field theories (CFTs). This allows us to set up the non-perturbative Polyakov bootstrap for CFTs in Mellin space on a firm foundation, thereby fixing the contact term ambiguities in the crossing symmetric blocks. Our new approach employs certain "locality" constraints replacing the requirement of crossing symmetry in the usual fixed-$t$ dispersion relation. Using these constraints we show that the sum rules based on the two channel dispersion relations and the present dispersion relations are identical. Our framework allows us to connect with the conceptually rich picture of the Polyakov blocks being Witten diagrams in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. We also give two sided bounds for Wilson coefficients for effective field theories in AdS space., Comment: V2: version to appear in Physical Review Letters

For 2-2 scattering in quantum field theories, the usual fixed $t$ dispersion relation exhibits only two-channel symmetry. This paper considers a crossing symmetric dispersion relation, reviving certain old ideas in the 1970s. Rather than the fixed $t$ dispersion relation, this needs a dispersion relation in a different variable $z$, which is related to the Mandelstam invariants $s,t,u$ via a parametric cubic relation making the crossing symmetry in the complex $z$ plane a geometric rotation. The resulting dispersion is manifestly three-channel crossing symmetric. We give simple derivations of certain known positivity conditions for effective field theories, including the null constraints, which lead to two sided bounds and derive a general set of new non-perturbative inequalities. We show how these inequalities enable us to locate the first massive string state from a low energy expansion of the four dilaton amplitude in type II string theory. We also show how a generalized (numerical) Froissart bound, valid for all energies, is obtained from this approach., Comment: v3: 6+7 pages, 4 figures, Feynman block discussion added, version to appear in Physical Review Letters

We examine the space of allowed S-matrices on the Adler zeros' plane using the recently resurrected (numerical) S-matrix bootstrap program for pion scattering. Two physical quantities, an averaged total scattering cross-section, and an averaged entanglement power for the boundary S-matrices, are studied. Emerging linearity in the leading Regge trajectory is correlated with a reduction in both these quantities. We identify two potentially viable regions where the S-matrices give decent agreement with low energy S- and P-wave scattering lengths and have leading Regge trajectory compatible with experiments. We also study the line of minimum averaged total cross section in the Adler zeros' plane. The Lovelace-Shapiro model, which was a precursor to modern string theory, is given by a straight line in the Adler zeros' plane and, quite remarkably, we find that this line intersects the space of allowed S-matrices near both these regions., Comment: v2: 26 pages, 14 figures, added discussion on line of minimum averaged total cross section. Submission to SciPost

We consider entanglement measures in 2-2 scattering in quantum field theories, focusing on relative entropy which distinguishes two different density matrices. Relative entropy is investigated in several cases which include $\phi^4$ theory, chiral perturbation theory ($\chi PT$) describing pion scattering and dilaton scattering in type II superstring theory. We derive a high energy bound on the relative entropy using known bounds on the elastic differential cross-sections in massive QFTs. In $\chi PT$, relative entropy close to threshold has simple expressions in terms of ratios of scattering lengths. Definite sign properties are found for the relative entropy which are over and above the usual positivity of relative entropy in certain cases. We then turn to the recent numerical investigations of the S-matrix bootstrap in the context of pion scattering. By imposing these sign constraints and the $\rho$ resonance, we find restrictions on the allowed S-matrices. By performing hypothesis testing using relative entropy, we isolate two sets of S-matrices living on the boundary which give scattering lengths comparable to experiments but one of which is far from the 1-loop $\chi PT$ Adler zeros. We perform a preliminary analysis to constrain the allowed space further, using ideas involving positivity inside the extended Mandelstam region, and elastic unitarity., Comment: v5: 83 pages, 21 figures. Typo fixed, reference updates

We develop the technology for Polyakov-Mellin (PM) bootstrap in one-dimensional conformal field theories (CFT$_1$). By adding appropriate contact terms, we bootstrap various effective field theories in AdS$_2$ and analytically compute the CFT data to one loop. The computation can be extended to higher orders in perturbation theory, if we ignore mixing, for any external dimension. We develop PM bootstrap for $O(N)$ theories and derive the necessary contact terms for such theories (which also involves a new higher gradient contact term absent for $N=1$). We perform cross-checks which include considering the diagonal limit of the $2d$ Ising model in terms of the $1d$ PM blocks. As an independent check of the validity of the results obtained with PM bootstrap, we propose a suitable basis of transcendental functions, which allows to fix the four-point correlators of identical scalar primaries completely, up to a finite number of ambiguities related to the number of contact terms in the PM basis. We perform this analysis both at tree level (with and without exchanges) and at one loop. We also derive expressions for the corresponding CFT data in terms of harmonic sums. Finally, we consider the Regge limit of one-dimensional correlators and derive a precise connection between the latter and the large-twist limit of CFT data. Exploiting this result, we study the crossing equation in the three OPE limits and derive some universal constraints for the large-twist limit of CFT data in Regge-bounded theories with a finite number of exchanges., Comment: 90 pages, 6 figures

We derive bounds analogous to the Froissart bound for the absorptive part of CFT$_d$ Mellin amplitudes. Invoking the AdS/CFT correspondence, these amplitudes correspond to scattering in AdS$_{d+1}$. We can take a flat space limit of the corresponding bound. We find the standard Froissart-Martin bound, including the coefficient in front for $d+1=4$ being $\pi/\mu^2$, $\mu$ being the mass of the lightest exchange. For $d>4$, the form is different. We show that while for $CFT_{d\leq 6}$, the number of subtractions needed to write a dispersion relation for the Mellin amplitude is equal to 2, for $CFT_{d>6}$ the number of subtractions needed is greater than 2 and goes to infinity as $d$ goes to infinity., Comment: v4:31 pages, 1 figure, typos fixed and more clarifications added, prepared for submission to Scipost

We propose a modification to Nielsen's circuit complexity for Hamiltonian simulation using the Suzuki-Trotter (ST) method, which provides a network like structure for the quantum circuit. This leads to an optimized gate counting linear in the geodesic distance and spatial volume, unlike in the original proposal. The optimized ST iteration order is correlated with the error tolerance and plays the role of an anti-de Sitter (AdS) radial coordinate. The density of gates is shown to be monotonic with the tolerance and a holographic interpretation using path-integral optimization is given., Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, v3: to appear in Physical Review Letters

We consider the diagonal limit of the conformal bootstrap in arbitrary dimensions and investigate the question if physical theories are given in terms of cyclic polytopes. Recently, it has been pointed out that in $d=1$, the geometric understanding of the bootstrap equations for unitary theories leads to cyclic polytopes for which the faces can all be written down and, in principle, the intersection between the unitarity polytope and the crossing plane can be systematically explored. We find that in higher dimensions, the natural structure that emerges, due to the inclusion of spin, is the weighted Minkowski sum of cyclic polytopes. While it can be explicitly shown that for physical theories, the weighted Minkowski sum of cyclic polytopes is not a cyclic polytope, it also turns out that in the large conformal dimension limit it is indeed a cyclic polytope. We write down several analytic formulae in this limit and show that remarkably, in many cases, this works out to be very good approximation even for $O(1)$ conformal dimensions. Furthermore, we initiate a comparison between usual numerics obtained using linear programming and what arises from positive geometry considerations., Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, v2: clarifications added, to appear in JHEP

We elaborate on some general aspects of the crossing symmetric approach of Polyakov to the conformal bootstrap, as recently formulated in Mellin space. This approach uses, as building blocks, Witten diagrams in AdS. We show the necessity for having contact Witten diagrams, in addition to the exchange ones, in two different contexts: a) the large $c$ expansion of the holographic bootstrap b) in the $\epsilon$ expansion at subleading orders to the ones studied already. In doing so, we use alternate simplified representations of the Witten diagrams in Mellin space. This enables us to also obtain compact, explicit expressions (in terms of a ${}_7F_6$ hypergeometric function!) for the analogue of the crossing kernel for Witten diagrams i.e., the decomposition into $s$-channel partial waves of crossed channel exchange diagrams., Comment: 37 pages, v2: version to appear in JHEP

We consider circuit complexity in certain interacting scalar quantum field theories, mainly focusing on the $\phi^4$ theory. We work out the circuit complexity for evolving from a nearly Gaussian unentangled reference state to the entangled ground state of the theory. Our approach uses Nielsen's geometric method, which translates into working out the geodesic equation arising from a certain cost functional. We present a general method, making use of integral transforms, to do the required lattice sums analytically and give explicit expressions for the $d=2,3$ cases. Our method enables a study of circuit complexity in the epsilon expansion for the Wilson-Fisher fixed point. We find that with increasing dimensionality the circuit depth increases in the presence of the $\phi^4$ interaction eventually causing the perturbative calculation to breakdown. We discuss how circuit complexity relates with the renormalization group., Comment: 50 pages, 2 figures; references updated; version to appear in JHEP

We set up the conventional conformal bootstrap equations in Mellin space and analyse the anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients of large spin double trace operators. By decomposing the equations in terms of continuous Hahn polynomials, we derive explicit expressions as an asymptotic expansion in inverse conformal spin to any order, reproducing the contribution of any primary operator and its descendants in the crossed channel. The expressions are in terms of known mathematical functions and involve generalized Bernoulli (Norlund) polynomials and the Mack polynomials and enable us to derive certain universal properties. Comparing with the recently introduced reformulated equations in terms of crossing symmetric tree level exchange Witten diagrams, we show that to leading order in anomalous dimension but to all orders in inverse conformal spin, the equations are the same as in the conventional formulation. At the next order, the polynomial ambiguity in the Witten diagram basis is needed for the equivalence and we derive the necessary constraints for the same., Comment: 48 pages, 6 figures, typos corrected, to appear in JHEP

We apply analytic conformal bootstrap ideas in Mellin space to conformal field theories with $O(N)$ symmetry and cubic anisotropy. We write down the conditions arising from the consistency between the operator product expansion and crossing symmetry in Mellin space. We solve the constraint equations to compute the anomalous dimension and the OPE coefficients of all operators quadratic in the fields in the epsilon expansion. We reproduce known results and derive new results up to $O(\epsilon^3)$. For the $O(N)$ case, we also study the large $N$ limit in general dimensions and reproduce known results at the leading order in $1/N$., Comment: typos corrected

We describe in more detail our approach to the conformal bootstrap which uses the Mellin representation of $CFT_d$ four point functions and expands them in terms of crossing symmetric combinations of $AdS_{d+1}$ Witten exchange functions. We consider arbitrary external scalar operators and set up the conditions for consistency with the operator product expansion. Namely, we demand cancellation of spurious powers (of the cross ratios, in position space) which translate into spurious poles in Mellin space. We discuss two contexts in which we can immediately apply this method by imposing the simplest set of constraint equations. The first is the epsilon expansion. We mostly focus on the Wilson-Fisher fixed point as studied in an epsilon expansion about $d=4$. We reproduce Feynman diagram results for operator dimensions to $O(\epsilon^3)$ rather straightforwardly. This approach also yields new analytic predictions for OPE coefficients to the same order which fit nicely with recent numerical estimates for the Ising model (at $\epsilon =1$). We will also mention some leading order results for scalar theories near three and six dimensions. The second context is a large spin expansion, in any dimension, where we are able to reproduce and go a bit beyond some of the results recently obtained using the (double) light cone expansion. We also have a preliminary discussion about numerical implementation of the above bootstrap scheme in the absence of a small parameter., Comment: 69 pages, 4 figures, Mathematica notebook included with submission

We propose a new approach towards analytically solving for the dynamical content of Conformal Field Theories (CFTs) using the bootstrap philosophy. This combines the original bootstrap idea of Polyakov with the modern technology of the Mellin representation of CFT amplitudes. We employ exchange Witten diagrams with built in crossing symmetry as our basic building blocks rather than the conventional conformal blocks in a particular channel. Demanding consistency with the operator product expansion (OPE) implies an infinite set of constraints on operator dimensions and OPE coefficients. We illustrate the power of this method in the epsilon expansion of the Wilson-Fisher fixed point by reproducing anomalous dimensions and, strikingly, obtaining OPE coefficients to higher orders in epsilon than currently available using other analytic techniques (including Feynman diagram calculations). Our results enable us to get a somewhat better agreement of certain observables in the 3d Ising model, with the precise numerical values that have been recently obtained., Comment: 5 pages+appendices. v2:Added--matching of HS current anomalous dimension to O(\epsilon^3); references; minor changes, v3: comparison with numerics updated, typos fixed. v4: Published version

In order to achieve a better analytic handle on the modern conformal bootstrap program, we re-examine and extend the pioneering 1974 work of Polyakov's, which was based on consistency between the operator product expansion and unitarity. As in the bootstrap approach, this method does not depend on evaluating Feynman diagrams. We show how this approach can be used to compute the anomalous dimensions of certain operators in the $O(n)$ model at the Wilson-Fisher fixed point in $4-\epsilon$ dimensions up to $O(\epsilon^2)$., Comment: 27 pages, 1 figure, Comments added. Typos corrected

We show that for a general four derivative theory of gravity, only the holographic entanglement entropy functionals obey the second law at linearized order in perturbations. We also derive bounds on the higher curvature couplings in several examples, demanding the validity of the second law for higher order perturbations. For the five dimensional Gauss-Bonnet theory in the context of AdS/CFT, the bound arising from black branes coincides with there being no sound channel instability close to the horizon. Repeating the analysis for topological black holes, the bound coincides with the tensor channel causality constraint (which is responsible for the viscosity bound). Furthermore, we show how to recover the holographic c-theorems in higher curvature theories from similar considerations based on the Raychaudhuri equation., Comment: 32 pages, 1 figure. v3: version to appear in PRD

In this paper we consider the issue of the Froissart bound on the high energy behaviour of total cross sections. This bound, originally derived using principles of analyticity of scattering amplitudes, is seen to be satisfied by all the available experimental data on total hadronic cross sections. At strong coupling, gauge/gravity duality has been used to provide some insights into this behaviour. In this work, we find the subleading terms to the so-derived Froissart bound from AdS/CFT. We find that a $(\ln \frac{s}{s_0})$ term is obtained, with a negative coefficient. We see that the fits to the currently available data confirm improvement in the fits due to the inclusion of such a term, with the appropriate sign., Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables

In this paper we consider anomalous dimensions of double trace operators at large spin ($\ell$) and large twist ($\tau$) in CFTs in arbitrary dimensions ($d\geq 3$). Using analytic conformal bootstrap methods, we show that the anomalous dimensions are universal in the limit $\ell\gg \tau\gg 1$. In the course of the derivation, we extract an approximate closed form expression for the conformal blocks arising in the four point function of identical scalars in any dimension. We compare our results with two different calculations in holography and find perfect agreement., Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, typos corrected, to appear in JHEP

We use analytic conformal bootstrap methods to determine the anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients for large spin operators in general conformal field theories in four dimensions containing a scalar operator of conformal dimension $\Delta_\phi$. It is known that such theories will contain an infinite sequence of large spin operators with twists approaching $2\Delta_\phi+2n$ for each integer $n$. By considering the case where such operators are separated by a twist gap from other operators at large spin, we analytically determine the $n$, $\Delta_\phi$ dependence of the anomalous dimensions. We find that for all $n$, the anomalous dimensions are negative for $\Delta_\phi$ satisfying the unitarity bound. We further compute the first subleading correction at large spin and show that it becomes universal for large twist. In the limit when $n$ is large, we find exact agreement with the AdS/CFT prediction corresponding to the Eikonal limit of a 2-2 scattering with dominant graviton exchange., Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures. v6: JHEP version

The superposition principle is usually incorrectly applied in interference experiments. This has recently been investigated through numerics based on Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) methods as well as the Feynman path integral formalism. In the current work, we have derived an analytic formula for the Sorkin parameter which can be used to determine the deviation from the application of the principle. We have found excellent agreement between the analytic distribution and those that have been earlier estimated by numerical integration as well as resource intensive FDTD simulations. The analytic handle would be useful for comparing theory with future experiments. It is applicable both to physics based on classical wave equations as well as the non-relativistic Schrodinger equation., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Scientific Reports (Nature)

We consider a system consisting of $5$ dimensional gravity with a negative cosmological constant coupled to a massless scalar, the dilaton. We construct a black brane solution which arises when the dilaton satisfies linearly varying boundary conditions in the asymptotically $AdS_5$ region. The geometry of this black brane breaks rotational symmetry while preserving translational invariance and corresponds to an anisotropic phase of the system. Close to extremality, where the anisotropy is big compared to the temperature, some components of the viscosity tensor become parametrically small compared to the entropy density. We study the quasi normal modes in considerable detail and find no instability close to extremality. We also obtain the equations for fluid mechanics for an anisotropic driven system in general, working upto first order in the derivative expansion for the stress tensor, and identify additional transport coefficients which appear in the constitutive relation. For the fluid of interest we find that the parametrically small viscosity can result in a very small force of friction, when the fluid is enclosed between appropriately oriented parallel plates moving with a relative velocity., Comment: 56 pages+ 36 pages appendices, 17 figures : The version published in JHEP

We calculate one, two and three point functions of the holographic stress tensor for any bulk Lagrangian of the form ${\mathcal{L}}(g^{ab}, R_{abcd}, \nabla_e R_{abcd})$. Using the first law of entanglement, a simple method has recently been proposed to compute the holographic stress tensor arising from a higher derivative gravity dual. The stress tensor is proportional to a dimension dependent factor which depends on the higher derivative couplings. In this paper, we identify this proportionality constant with a B-type trace anomaly in even dimensions for any bulk Lagrangian of the above form. This in turn relates to ${\mathcal{C}}_T$, the coefficient appearing in the two point function of stress tensors. We use a background field method to compute the two and three point function of stress tensors for any bulk Lagrangian of the above form in arbitrary dimensions. As an application we consider general situations where $\eta/s$ for holographic plasmas is less than the KSS bound., Comment: v4: further typos corrected

Using the positivity of relative entropy arising from the Ryu-Takayanagi formula for spherical entangling surfaces, we obtain constraints at the nonlinear level for the gravitational dual. We calculate the Green's function necessary to compute the first order correction to the entangling surface and use this to find the relative entropy for non-constant stress tensors in a derivative expansion. We show that the Einstein value satisfies the positivity condition while the multi-dimensional parameter space away from it gets constrained., Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures, to appear in CQG

We investigate constraints imposed by entanglement on gravity in the context of holography. First, by demanding that relative entropy is positive and using the Ryu-Takayanagi entropy functional, we find certain constraints at a nonlinear level for the dual gravity. Second, by considering Gauss-Bonnet gravity, we show that for a class of small perturbations around the vacuum state, the positivity of the two point function of the field theory stress tensor guarantees the positivity of the relative entropy. Further, if we impose that the entangling surface closes off smoothly in the bulk interior, we find restrictions on the coupling constant in Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We also give an example of an anisotropic excited state in an unstable phase with broken conformal invariance which leads to a negative relative entropy., Comment: 36 pages, 3 figures, v4: fig 1 modified

We consider generalized gravitational entropy in various higher derivative theories of gravity dual to four dimensional CFTs using the recently proposed regularization of squashed cones. We derive the universal terms in the entanglement entropy for spherical and cylindrical surfaces. This is achieved by constructing the Fefferman-Graham expansion for the leading order metrics for the bulk geometry and evaluating the generalized gravitational entropy. We further show that the Wald entropy evaluated in the bulk geometry constructed for the regularized squashed cones leads to the correct universal parts of the entanglement entropy for both spherical and cylindrical entangling surfaces. We comment on the relation with the Iyer-Wald formula for dynamical horizons relating entropy to a Noether charge. Finally we show how to derive the entangling surface equation in Gauss-Bonnet holography., Comment: 28 pages. v2: typos and referencing corrected. v3: typos corrected, clarifications added; version to appear in JHEP

In a double slit interference experiment, the wave function at the screen with both slits open is not exactly equal to the sum of the wave functions with the slits individually open one at a time. The three scenarios represent three different boundary conditions and as such, the superposition principle should not be applicable. However, most well known text books in quantum mechanics implicitly and/or explicitly use this assumption which is only approximately true. In our present study, we have used the Feynman path integral formalism to quantify contributions from non-classical paths in quantum interference experiments which provide a measurable deviation from a naive application of the superposition principle. A direct experimental demonstration for the existence of these non-classical paths is hard. We find that contributions from such paths can be significant and we propose simple three-slit interference experiments to directly confirm their existence., Comment: v2: 5 pages + 3 pages supplementary, title changed, version to appear in Physical Review Letters

We consider holographic entanglement entropy in higher derivative gravity theories. Recently Lewkowycz and Maldacena arXiv:1304.4926 have provided a method to derive the equations for the entangling surface from first principles. We use this method to compute the entangling surface in four derivative gravity. Certain interesting differences compared to the two derivative case are pointed out. For Gauss-Bonnet gravity, we show that in the regime where this method is applicable, the resulting equations coincide with proposals in the literature as well as with what follows from considerations of the stress tensor on the entangling surface. Finally we demonstrate that the area functional in Gauss-Bonnet holography arises as a counterterm needed to make the Euclidean action free of power law divergences., Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure. v3: typos corrected, published version

Entanglement entropy in local quantum field theories is typically ultraviolet divergent due to short distance effects in the neighbourhood of the entangling region. In the context of gauge/gravity duality, we show that surface terms in general relativity are able to capture this entanglement entropy. In particular, we demonstrate that for 1+1 dimensional CFTs at finite temperature whose gravity dual is the BTZ black hole, the Gibbons-Hawking-York term precisely reproduces the entanglement entropy which can be computed independently in the field theory., Comment: 6 pages 1 fig. Essay awarded honourable mention in the Gravity Research Foundation 2013 Awards for Essays on Gravitation. v2: to appear in IJMPD spl. issue

We consider entanglement entropy in the context of gauge/gravity duality for conformal field theories in even dimensions. The holographic prescription due to Ryu and Takayanagi (RT) leads to an equation describing how the entangling surface extends into the bulk geometry. We show that setting to zero the time-time component of the Brown-York stress tensor evaluated on the co-dimension one entangling surface, leads to the same equation. By considering a spherical entangling surface as an example, we observe that Euclidean action methods in AdS/CFT will lead to the RT area functional arising as a counterterm needed to regularize the stress tensor. We present arguments leading to a justification for the minimal area prescription., Comment: 10 pages. v3: many changes. Observation that the RT area functional arises as a counterterm to regularize the stress tensor added. Discussion on Euclidean methods for computing EE added. v4: version to appear in CQG

We study quasiparticle tunneling in Josephson tunnel junctions embedded in an electromagnetic environment. We identify tunneling processes that transfer electrical charge and couple to the environment in a way similar to that of normal electrons, and processes that mix electrons and holes and are thus creating charge superpositions. The latter are sensitive to the phase difference between the superconductor and are thus limited by phase diffusion even at zero temperature. We show that the environmental coupling is suppressed in many environments, thus leading to lower quasiparticle decay rates and thus better superconductor qubit coherence than previously expected. Our approach is nonperturbative in the environmental coupling strength., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures

The dilaton action in 3+1 dimensions plays a crucial role in the proof of the a-theorem. This action arises using Wess-Zumino consistency conditions and crucially relies on the existence of the trace anomaly. Since there are no anomalies in odd dimensions, it is interesting to ask how such an action could arise otherwise. Motivated by this we use the AdS/CFT correspondence to examine both even and odd dimensional CFTs. We find that in even dimensions, by promoting the cut-off to a field, one can get an action for this field which coincides with the WZ action in flat space. In three dimensions, we observe that by finding an exact Hamilton-Jacobi counterterm, one can find a non-polynomial action which is invariant under global Weyl rescalings. We comment on how this finding is tied up with the F-theorem conjectures., Comment: 25 pages, v3: reference added, Cotton tensor dependence of counterterm at eight-derivative order shown, v4: published version

We compute a certain class of corrections to (specific) screening lengths in strongly coupled nonabelian plasmas using the AdS/CFT correspondence. In this holographic framework, these corrections arise from various higher curvature interactions modifying the leading Einstein gravity action. The changes in the screening lengths are perturbative in inverse powers of the 't Hooft coupling or of the number of colours, as can be made precise in the context where the dual gauge theory is superconformal. We also compare the results of these holographic calculations to lattice results for the analogous screening lengths in QCD. In particular, we apply these results within the program of making quantitative comparisons between the strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma and holographic descriptions of conformal field theory., Comment: 24 pages, v2:a reference added

We consider counterterms for odd dimensional holographic CFTs. These counterterms are derived by demanding cut-off independence of the CFT partition function on $S^d$ and $S^1 \times S^{d-1}$. The same choice of counterterms leads to a cut-off independent Schwarzschild black hole entropy. When treated as independent actions, these counterterm actions resemble critical theories of gravity, i.e., higher curvature gravity theories where the additional massive spin-2 modes become massless. Equivalently, in the context of AdS/CFT, these are theories where at least one of the central charges associated with the trace anomaly vanishes. Connections between these theories and logarithmic CFTs are discussed. For a specific choice of parameters, the theories arising from counterterms are non-dynamical and resemble a DBI generalization of gravity. For even dimensional CFTs, analogous counterterms cancel log-independent cut-off dependence., Comment: 28 pages, v2: references added, v3: minor changes, version to appear in PRD

Motivated by the viscosity bound in gauge/gravity duality, we consider the ratio of shear viscosity (eta) to entropy density (s) in black hole accretion flows. We use both an ideal gas equation of state and the QCD equation of state obtained from lattice for the fluid accreting onto a Kerr black hole. The QCD equation of state is considered since the temperature of accreting matter is expected to approach 10^{12}K in certain hot flows. We find that in both the cases eta/s is small only for primordial black holes and several orders of magnitude larger than any known fluid for stellar and supermassive black holes. We show that a lower bound on the mass of primordial black holes leads to a lower bound on eta/s and vice versa. Finally we speculate that the Shakura-Sunyaev viscosity parameter should decrease with increasing density and/or temperatures., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; version to appear in Physics Letters B

We study the possibility of cavitation in the nonconformal N=2^* SU(N) theory which is a mass deformation of N=4 SU(N) Yang-Mills theory. The second order transport coefficients are known from the numerical work using AdS/CFT by Buchel and collaborators. Using these and the approach of Rajagopal and Tripuraneni, we investigate the flow equations in a 1+1 dimensional boost invariant set up. We find that the string theory model does not exhibit cavitation before phase transition is reached. We give a semi-analytic explanation of this finding., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, v2: minor changes

We show that the recently proposed DBI extension of new massive gravity emerges naturally as a counterterm in AdS$_4$. The resulting on-shell Euclidean action is independent of the cut-off at zero temperature. We also find that the same choice of counterterm gives the usual area law for the AdS$_4$ Schwarzschild black hole entropy in a cut-off independent manner. The parameter values of the resulting counterterm action correspond to a $c=0$ theory in the context of AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$. We rewrite this theory in terms of the gauge field that is used to recast 3D gravity as a Chern-Simons theory., Comment: 10 pages, v2: references added, minor changes, v3: minor changes, to appear in Physical Review Letters

We re-examine holographic versions of the c-theorem and entanglement entropy in the context of higher curvature gravity and the AdS/CFT correspondence. We select the gravity theories by tuning the gravitational couplings to eliminate non-unitary operators in the boundary theory and demonstrate that all of these theories obey a holographic c-theorem. In cases where the dual CFT is even-dimensional, we show that the quantity that flows is the central charge associated with the A-type trace anomaly. Here, unlike in conventional holographic constructions with Einstein gravity, we are able to distinguish this quantity from other central charges or the leading coefficient in the entropy density of a thermal bath. In general, we are also able to identify this quantity with the coefficient of a universal contribution to the entanglement entropy in a particular construction. Our results suggest that these coefficients appearing in entanglement entropy play the role of central charges in odd-dimensional CFT's. We conjecture a new c-theorem on the space of odd-dimensional field theories, which extends Cardy's proposal for even dimensions. Beyond holography, we were able to show that for any even-dimensional CFT, the universal coefficient appearing the entanglement entropy which we calculate is precisely the A-type central charge., Comment: 62 pages, 4 figures, few typo's corrected