Quantum Fields and Strings

For any vertex operator algebra V, Y. Zhu constructed an associative algebra Zhu(V) that captures its representation theory (more generally, given a finite order automorphism g of V, there exists an algebra Zhu_g(V) that captures g-twisted representation theory of V). 

To a 4d N=2 superconformal theory T, one assigns a vertex algebra V[T] by the construction of Beem et al. We explain one role of Zhu algebra in this context. Namely, we show that a certain quotient of the Zhu algebra describes what happens to the Schur sector of the theory T under the dimensional reduction on S^1. This connects the VOA construction in 4d N=2 SCFT to the topological quantum mechanics construction in 3d N=4 SCFT, with the latter being given by the aforementioned quotient of the Zhu algebra. In the process, we will discuss how to reformulate the VOA construction on an S^3 x S^1 geometry.

We study the defect operator product expansion (OPE) of displacement operators in free and interacting conformal field theories using replica methods. We show that as n approaches 1 a contact term can emerge when the OPE contains defect operators of twist d−2. For interacting theories and general states we give evidence that the only possibility is from the defect operator that becomes the stress tensor in the n→1 limit. This implies that the quantum null energy condition (QNEC) is always saturated for CFTs with a twist gap. As a check, we show independently that in a large class of near vacuum states, the second variation of the entanglement entropy is given by a simple correlation function of averaged null energy operators as studied by Hofman and Maldacena. This suggests that sub-leading terms in the the defect OPE are controlled by a defect version of the spin-3 non-local light ray operator and we speculate about the possible origin of such a defect operator. For free theories this contribution condenses to a contact term that leads to violations of QNEC saturation.

In this talk I will review the state of the art in PN gravity, and in particular its significant advancement via the EFT of spinning gravitating objects. First, I will introduce the concept of a tower of EFTs for the binary inspiral problem. I will then present the intricate formulation of the EFT of spinning objects. Finally, I will present some advanced results accomplished within this framework.

We propose a unified manner of understanding two important phenomena: color confinement in large-N gauge theory, and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). We do this by clarifying the relation between the standard criteria, based on the off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO) for the BEC and the Polyakov loop for gauge theory: the constant offset of the distribution of Polyakov line phase is ODLRO. Indistinguishability associated with the symmetry group --- SU(N) or O(N) in gauge theory, and S_N permutation in the system of identical bosons --- plays the key role in both cases. This viewpoint may have implications to confinement at finite N, and to quantum gravity via gauge/gravity duality. 

The elliptic genus is a powerful deformation invariant of 1+1D SQFTs: if it is nonzero, then it protects the SQFT from admitting a deformation to one with spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. I will describe a "secondary" invariant, defined in terms of mock modularity, that goes beyond the elliptic genus, protecting SQFTs with vanishing elliptic genus. The existence of this invariant supports the hypothesis that the space of minimally supersymmetric 1+1D SQFTs provides a geometric model for universal elliptic cohomology. Based on joint works with D. Gaiotto and E. Witten.

In order to satisfy the Reeh-Schlieder theorem, I study the infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces using von Neumann algebras. I will first present the theorem that the entanglement wedge reconstruction and the equivalence of relative entropies between the boundary and the bulk (JLMS) are exactly identical. Then I will demonstrate the entanglement wedge reconstruction with a tensor network model of von Neumann algebra with type II1 factor, which guarantees the equivalence between the boundary and the bulk. I will further sketch that this toy model can be generalized to provide more general von Neumann algebras, including the case of a type III1 factor. This can give further insights to understanding quantum gravity from an algebraic perspective.

Subregion duality is an idea in holography which states that every subregion of the boundary theory has a corresponding subregion in the bulk theory, called the 'entanglement wedge', to which it is dual. In the classical limit of the gravity theory, we expect the fields in the entanglement wedge to permit a Hamiltonian description involving a phase space and Poisson brackets. In this talk, I will describe how this phase space arises from the point of view of the boundary theory. In particular, I will explain how it emerges from measurements of a certain quantum information-theoretic quantity known as the 'Uhlmann phase', in the boundary subregion.

The Monster CFT is a (1+1)d holomorphic CFT with the Monster group global symmetry.  The symmetry twisted partition functions exhibit the celebrated Monstrous Moonshine Phenomenon.  From a modern point of view, topological defects generalize the notion of global symmetries.  We argue that the Monster CFT has a Kramers-Wannier duality defect that is not associated with any global symmetry. The duality defect extends the Monster group to a larger category of topological defects that contains an Ising subcategory.  We introduce the defect McKay-Thompson series defined as the Monster partition function twisted by the duality defect, and find that it is invariant under the genus-zero congruence subgroup 16D0 of PSL(2,Z).

It is a curious numerology that the dynamical scale associated with the instanton of the electroweak SU(2) gauge group is approximately the energy scale of dark energy. We revisit this electroweak quintessence axion scenario, taking into account observational as well as swampland constraints.

Defining entanglement in a continuum field theory is a subtle challenge, because the Hilbert space does not naively factorize into local products.   For gauge theories, the problem arises from the gauss law constraint, and it can be resolved by an extension of the Hilbert space which introduces edge modes at the entangling surface.  Recently we showed how this extension  fits inside the frame work of 2D extended topological field theory.  In this talk we attempt a generalization to 2D CFTs in which factorization is determined by the fusion rules.  Time permitting we will speculate on applications, e.g to continuum constructions of tensor networks and to entanglement in string theory 

Behind certain marginally trapped surfaces one can construct a geometry containing an extremal surface of equal, but not larger area. This construction underlies the Engelhardt-Wall proposal for explaining the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy as a coarse-grained entropy. The construction can be proven to exist classically but fails if the Null Energy Condition is violated. Here we extend the coarse-graining construction to semiclassical gravity. Its validity is conjectural, but we are able to extract an interesting nongravitational limit. Our proposal implies Wall’s ant conjecture on the minimum energy of a completion of a quantum field theory state on a halfspace. It further constrains the properties of the minimum energy state; for example, the minimum completion energy must be localized as a shock at the cut. We verify that the predicted properties hold in a recent explicit construction of Ceyhan and Faulkner, which proves our conjecture in the nongravitational limit.

The AdS/CFT correspondence provides a remarkably useful tool
for asking questions in quantum gravity, as it formulates a theory of
quantum gravity in terms of an ordinary non-gravitational quantum field
theory.  Fruitfully exploiting this correspondence therefore requires
understanding how to translate the language of CFT into gravity; a key
insight that has emerged over the past decade is that the entanglement
structure of the CFT must be intimately tied to the emergence of the
gravitational dual (when a classical geometric picture even exists).  In
my talk, I'll review what is currently known about this emergence
(so-called bulk reconstruction), and then discuss some recent results on
precisely how the entanglement of the CFT fixes the geometry on the
gravitational side.  I'll conclude with some open directions, notably
how the result I'll present is amenable to incorporating quantum
corrections.