No Arabic abstract
We employ gauge-gravity duality to study the backreaction effect of 4-dimensional large-$N$ quantum field theories on constant-curvature backgrounds, and in particular de Sitter space-time. The field theories considered are holographic QFTs, dual to RG flows between UV and IR CFTs. We compute the holographic QFT contribution to the gravitational effective action for 4d Einstein manifold backgrounds. We find that for a given value of the cosmological constant $lambda$, there generically exist two backreacted constant-curvature solutions, as long as $lambda < lambda_{textrm{max}} sim M_p^2 / N^2$, otherwise no such solutions exist. Moreover, the backreaction effect interpolates between that of the UV and IR CFTs. We also find that, at finite cutoff, a holographic theory always reduces the bare cosmological constant, and this is the consequence of thermodynamic properties of the partition function of holographic QFTs on de Sitter.
We outline a program for interpreting the higher-spin dS/CFT model in terms of physics in the causal patch of a dS observer. The proposal is formulated in elliptic de Sitter space dS_4/Z_2, obtained by identifying antipodal points in dS_4. We discuss recent evidence that the higher-spin model is especially well-suited for this, since the antipodal symmetry of bulk solutions has a simple encoding on the boundary. For context, we test some other (free and interacting) theories for the same property. Next, we analyze the notion of quantum field states in the non-time-orientable dS_4/Z_2. We compare the physics seen by different observers, with the outcome depending on whether they share an arrow of time. Finally, we implement the marriage between higher-spin holography and observers in dS_4/Z_2, in the limit of free bulk fields. We succeed in deriving an observers operator algebra and Hamiltonian from the CFT, but not her S-matrix. We speculate on the extension of this to interacting higher-spin theory.
We construct local probes in the static patch of Euclidean dS$_3$ gravity. These probes are Wilson line operators, designed by exploiting the Chern-Simons formulation of 3D gravity. Our prescription uses non-unitary representations of $so(4)simeq su(2)_Ltimes su(2)_R$, and we evaluate the Wilson line for states satisfying a singlet condition. We discuss how to reproduce the Greens functions of massive scalar fields in dS$_3$, the construction of bulk fields, and the quasinormal mode spectrum. We also discuss the interpretation of our construction in Lorentzian signature in the inflationary patch, via $SL(2,mathbb{C})$ Chern-Simons theory.
We study the consistency of the cubic couplings of a (partially-)massless spinning field to two scalars in $left(d+1right)$-dimensional de Sitter space. Gauge invariance of observables with external (partially)-massless spinning fields translates into Ward-Takahashi identities on the boundary. Using the Mellin-Barnes representation for boundary correlators in momentum space, we give a systematic study of Ward-Takahashi identities for tree-level 3- and 4-point processes involving a single external (partially-)massless field of arbitrary integer spin-$J$. 3-point Ward-Takahashi identities constrain the mass of the scalar fields to which a (partially-)massless spin-$J$ field can couple. 4-point Ward-Takahashi identities then constrain the corresponding cubic couplings. For massless spinning fields, we show that Weinbergs flat space results carry over to $left(d+1right)$-dimensional de Sitter space: For spins $J=1,2$ gauge-invariance implies charge-conservation and the equivalence principle while, assuming locality, higher-spins $J>2$ cannot couple consistently to scalar matter. This result also applies to anti-de Sitter space. For partially-massless fields, restricting for simplicity to those of depth-2, we show that there is no consistent coupling to scalar matter in local theories. Along the way we give a detailed account of how contact amplitudes with and without derivatives are represented in the Mellin-Barnes representation. Various new explicit expressions for 3- and 4-point functions involving (partially-)massless fields and conformally coupled scalars in dS$_4$ are given.
Maximally symmetric curved-brane solutions are studied in dilatonic braneworld models which realise the self-tuning of the effective four-dimensional cosmological constant. It is found that no vacua in which the brane has de Sitter or anti-de Sitter geometry exist, unless one modifies the near-boundary asymptotics of the bulk fields. In the holographic dual picture, this corresponds to coupling the UV CFT to a curved metric (possibly with a defect). Alternatively, the same may be achieved in a flat-space QFT with suitable variable scalar sources. With these ingredients, it is found that maximally symmetric, positive and negative curvature solutions with a stabilised brane position generically exist. The space of such solutions is studied in two different types of realisations of the self-tuning framework. In some regimes we observe a large hierarchy between the curvature on the brane and the boundary UV CFT curvature. This is a dynamical effect due to the self-stabilisation mechanism. This setup provides an alternative route to realising de Sitter space in string theory.
We introduce higher-derivative Gauss-Bonnet correction terms in the gravity sector and we relate the modified gravity theory in the bulk to the strongly coupled quantum field theory on a de Sitter boundary. We study the process of holographic thermalization by examining three nonlocal observables, the two-point function, the Wilson loop and the holographic entanglement entropy. We study the time evolution of these three observables and we find that as the strength of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling is increased, the saturation time of the thermalization process to reach thermal equilibrium becomes shorter with the dominant effect given by the holographic entanglement entropy.