PIRSA:26010093

The Geodesics Less Traveled: Nonminimal RT Surfaces and Holographic Scattering

de Lima Vargas Simoes, C. (2026). The Geodesics Less Traveled: Nonminimal RT Surfaces and Holographic Scattering. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/26010093

de Lima Vargas Simoes, Caroline. The Geodesics Less Traveled: Nonminimal RT Surfaces and Holographic Scattering. Perimeter Institute, Jan. 19, 2026, https://pirsa.org/26010093 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:26010093,
            doi = {10.48660/26010093},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/26010093},
            author = {de Lima Vargas Simoes, Caroline},
            keywords = {Other},
            language = {en},
            title = {The Geodesics Less Traveled: Nonminimal RT Surfaces and Holographic Scattering},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2026},
            month = {jan},
            note = {PIRSA:26010093 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Caroline de Lima Vargas Simoes Perimeter Institute

Talk numberPIRSA:26010093
DOI10.48660/26010093
Collection
Talk Type Scientific Series
Subject

Abstract

The connected wedge theorem states that in order to have a scattering process in the bulk, it is necessary to have O(1/G_N) mutual information between certain “decision” regions in the boundary theory. While this large mutual information is not generally sufficient to imply scattering, previous literature showed that for a certain class of geometries, bulk scattering is implied by a certain relation between two (possibly non-minimal) Ryu–Takayanagi surfaces. In this work, we show that the 2-to-2 version of the theorem becomes an equivalence in pure AdS3: large mutual information between appropriate boundary subregions is both necessary and sufficient for bulk scattering. This result allows us to extend previous findings to a broader class of asymptotically AdS3 spacetimes, which we illustrate with the spinning conical defect geometry. In contrast, we find that matter sources can disrupt this converse relation, and that the n-to-n version of the theorem with n>2 lacks a converse even in the AdS3 vacuum.