No Arabic abstract
Quantum extremal surfaces are central to the connection between quantum information theory and quantum gravity and they have played a prominent role in the recent progress on the information paradox. We initiate a program to systematically link these surfaces to the microscopic data of the dual conformal field theory, namely the scaling dimensions of local operators and their OPE coefficients. We consider CFT states obtained by acting on the vacuum with single-trace operators, which are dual to one-particle states of the bulk theory. Focusing on AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$, we compute the CFT entanglement entropy to second order in the large $c$ expansion where quantum extremality becomes important and match it to the expectation value of the bulk area operator. We show that to this order, the Virasoro identity block contributes solely to the area operator.
Quantum states with geometric duals are known to satisfy a stricter set of entropy inequalities than those obeyed by general quantum systems. The set of allowed entropies derived using the Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) formula defines the Holographic Entropy Cone (HEC). These inequalities are no longer satisfied once general quantum corrections are included by employing the Quantum Extremal Surface (QES) prescription. Nevertheless, the structure of the QES formula allows for a controlled study of how quantum contributions from bulk entropies interplay with HEC inequalities. In this paper, we initiate an exploration of this problem by relating bulk entropy constraints to boundary entropy inequalities. In particular, we show that requiring the bulk entropies to satisfy the HEC implies that the boundary entropies also satisfy the HEC. Further, we also show that requiring the bulk entropies to obey monogamy of mutual information (MMI) implies the boundary entropies also obey MMI.
We consider entanglement entropies of finite spatial intervals in Minkowski radiation baths coupled to the eternal black hole in JT gravity, and the related problem involving free fermion BCFT in the thermofield double state. We show that the non-monotonic entropy evolution in the black hole problem precisely matches that of the free fermion theory in a high temperature limit, and the results are universal. Both exhibit rich behaviour that involves at intermediate times, an entropy saddle with an island in the former case, and in the latter a special class of disconnected OPE channels. The quantum extremal surfaces start outside the horizon, but plunge inside as time evolves, causing a characteristic, universal dip in the entropy also seen in the free fermion BCFT. Finally an entropy equilibrium is reached with a no-island saddle.
We consider a Hayden & Preskill like setup for both maximally chaotic and sub-maximally chaotic quantum field theories. We act on the vacuum with an operator in a Rindler like wedge $R$ and transfer a small subregion $I$ of $R$ to the other wedge. The chaotic scrambling dynamics of the QFT Rindler time evolution reveals the information in the other wedge. The holographic dual of this process involves a particle excitation falling into the bulk and crossing into the entanglement wedge of the complement to $r=R backslash I$. With the goal of studying the locality of the emergent holographic theory we compute various quantum information measures on the boundary that tell us when the particle has entered this entanglement wedge. In a maximally chaotic theory, these measures indicate a sharp transition where the particle enters the wedge exactly when the insertion is null separated from the quantum extremal surface for $r$. For sub-maximally chaotic theories, we find a smoothed crossover at a delayed time given in terms of the smaller Lyapunov exponent and dependent on the time-smearing scale of the probe excitation. The information quantities that we consider include the full vacuum modular energy $R backslash I$ as well as the fidelity between the state with the particle and the state without. Along the way, we find a new explicit formula for the modular Hamiltonian of two intervals in an arbitrary 1+1 dimensional CFT to leading order in the small cross ratio limit. We also give an explicit calculation of the Regge limit of the modular flowed chaos correlator and find examples which do not saturate the modular chaos bound. Finally, we discuss the extent to which our results reveal properties of the target of the probe excitation as a ``stringy quantum extremal surface or simply quantify the probe itself thus giving a new approach to studying the notion of longitudinal string spreading.
It was shown recently, building on work of Alexakis, Balehowksy, and Nachman that the geometry of (some portion of) a manifold with boundary is uniquely fixed by the areas of a foliation of two-dimensional disk-shaped surfaces anchored to the boundary. In the context of AdS/CFT, this implies that (a portion of) a four-dimensional bulk geometry can be fixed uniquely from the entanglement entropies of disk-shaped boundary regions, subject to several constraints. In this Note, we loosen some of these constraints, in particular allowing for the bulk foliation of extremal surfaces to be local and removing the constraint of disk topology; these generalizations ensure uniqueness of more of the deep bulk geometry by allowing for e.g. surfaces anchored on disconnected asymptotic boundaries, or HRT surfaces past a phase transition. We also explore in more depth the generality of the local foliation requirement, showing that even in a highly dynamical geometry like AdS-Vaidya it is satisfied.
A geometric approach to some quantum statistical systems (including the harmonic oscillator) is presented. We regard the (N+1)-dimensional Euclidean {it coordinate} system (X$^i$,$tau$) as the quantum statistical system of N quantum (statistical) variables (X$^i$) and one {it Euclidean time} variable ($tau$). Introducing a path (line or hypersurface) in this space (X$^i$,$tau$), we adopt the path-integral method to quantize the mechanical system. This is a new view of (statistical) quantization of the {it mechanical} system. It is inspired by the {it extra dimensional model}, appearing in the unified theory of forces including gravity, using the bulk-boundary configuration. The system Hamiltonian appears as the {it area}. We show quantization is realized by the {it minimal area principle} in the present geometric approach. When we take a {it line} as the path, the path-integral expressions of the free energy are shown to be the ordinary ones (such as N harmonic oscillators) or their simple variation. When we take a {it hyper-surface} as the path, the system Hamiltonian is given by the {it area} of the {it hyper-surface} which is defined as a {it closed-string configuration} in the bulk space. In this case, the system becomes a O(N) non-linear model. The two choices, (1) the {it line element} in the bulk ($X^i,tau $) and (2) the Hamiltonian(defined as the damping functional in the path-integral) specify the system dynamics. After explaining this new approach, we apply it to a topic in the 5 dimensional quantum gravity. We present a {it new standpoint} about the quantum gravity: (a) The metric (gravitational) field is treated as the background (fixed) one; (b) The space-time coordinates are not merely position-labels but are quantum (statistical) variables by themselves. We show the recently-proposed 5 dimensional Casimir energy is valid.