We study a set of four-dimensional $mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) $widehat{Gamma}(G)$ labeled by a pair of simply-laced Lie groups $Gamma$ and $G$. They are constructed out of gauging a number of $mathcal{D}_p(G)$ and $(G, G)$ c
onformal matter SCFTs; therefore they do not have Lagrangian descriptions in general. For $Gamma = D_4, E_6, E_7, E_8$ and some special choices of $G$, the resulting theories have identical central charges $(a=c)$ without taking any large $N$ limit. Moreover, we find that the Schur indices for such theories can be written in terms of that of $mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory upon rescaling fugacities. Especially, we find that the Schur index of $widehat{D}_4(SU(N))$ theory for $N$ odd is written in terms of MacMahons generalized sum-of-divisor function, which is quasi-modular. For generic choices of $Gamma$ and $G$, it can be regarded as a generalization of the affine quiver gauge theory obtained from $D3$-branes probing an ALE singularity of type $Gamma$. We also comment on a tantalizing connection regarding the theories labeled by $Gamma$ in the Deligne-Cvitanovic exceptional series.
We consider all 4d $mathcal{N}=2$ theories of class $mathcal{S}$ arising from the compactification of exceptional 6d $(2,0)$ SCFTs on a three-punctured sphere with a simple puncture. We find that each of these 4d theories has another origin as a 6d $
(1,0)$ SCFT compactified on a torus, which we check by identifying and comparing the central charges and the flavor symmetry. Each 6d theory is identified with a complex structure deformation of $(mathfrak{e}_n,mathfrak{e}_n)$ minimal conformal matter, which corresponds to a Higgs branch renormalization group flow. We find that this structure is precisely replicated by the partial closure of the punctures in the class $mathcal{S}$ construction. We explain how the plurality of origins makes manifest some aspects of 4d SCFTs, including flavor symmetry enhancements and determining if it is a product SCFT. We further highlight the string theoretic basis for this identification of 4d theories from different origins via mirror symmetry.
We formulate the baby universe construction rigorously by giving a primordial role to the algebra of observables of quantum gravity rather than the Hilbert space. Utilizing diffeomorphism invariance, we study baby universe creation and annihilation v
ia change in topology. We then construct the algebra of boundary observables for holographic theories and show that it enhances to contain an extra Abelian tensor factor to describe the bulk in the quantum regime; via the gravitational path integral we realize this extra tensor factor, at the level of the Hilbert space, in the context of the GNS representation. We reformulate the necessary assumptions for the baby universe hypothesis using the GNS representation. When the baby universe hypothesis is satisfied, we demonstrate that the miraculous cancellations in the corresponding gravitational path integral have a natural explanation in terms of the character theory of Abelian $C^ast$-algebras. We find the necessary and sufficient mathematical condition for the baby universe hypothesis to hold, and transcribe it into sufficient physical conditions. We find that they are incompatible with a baby universe formation that is influenced by any bulk process from the AdS/CFT correspondence. We illustrate our construction by applying it to two settings, which leads to a re-interpretion of some topological models of gravity, and to draw an analogy with the topological vacua of gauge theory.
We give a general construction of a setup that verifies bulk reconstruction, conservation of relative entropies, and equality of modular flows between the bulk and the boundary, for infinite-dimensional systems with operator-pushing. In our setup, a
bulk-to-boundary map is defined at the level of the $C^*$-algebras of state-independent observables. We then show that if the boundary dynamics allow for the existence of a KMS state, physically relevant Hilbert spaces and von Neumann algebras can be constructed directly from our framework. Our construction should be seen as a state-dependent construction of the other side of a wormhole and clarifies the meaning of black hole reconstruction claims such as the Papadodimas-Raju proposal. As an illustration, we apply our result to construct a wormhole based on the HaPPY code, which satisfies all properties of entanglement wedge reconstruction.
We construct an infinite-dimensional analog of the HaPPY code as a growing series of stabilizer codes defined respective to their Hilbert spaces. The Hilbert spaces are related by isometric maps, which we define explicitly. We construct a Hamiltonian
that is compatible with the infinite-dimensional HaPPY code and further study the stabilizer of our code, which has an inherent fractal structure. We use this result to study the dynamics of the code and map a nontrivial bulk Hamiltonian to the boundary. We find that the image of the mapping is scale invariant, but does not create any long-range entanglement in the boundary, therefore failing to reproduce the features of a CFT. This result shows the limits of the HaPPY code as a model of the AdS/CFT correspondence, but also hints that the relevance of quantum error correction in quantum gravity may not be limited to the CFT context.
Quantum error correcting codes with finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces have yielded new insights on bulk reconstruction in AdS/CFT. In this paper, we give an explicit construction of a quantum error correcting code where the code and physical Hilbert
spaces are infinite-dimensional. We define a von Neumann algebra of type II$_1$ acting on the code Hilbert space and show how it is mapped to a von Neumann algebra of type II$_1$ acting on the physical Hilbert space. This toy model demonstrates the equivalence of entanglement wedge reconstruction and the exact equality of bulk and boundary relative entropies in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces.
We reformulate entanglement wedge reconstruction in the language of operator-algebra quantum error correction with infinite-dimensional physical and code Hilbert spaces. Von Neumann algebras are used to characterize observables in a boundary subregio
n and its entanglement wedge. Assuming that the infinite-dimensional von Neumann algebras associated with an entanglement wedge and its complement may both be reconstructed in their corresponding boundary subregions, we prove that the relative entropies measured with respect to the bulk and boundary observables are equal. We also prove the converse: when the relative entropies measured in an entanglement wedge and its complement equal the relative entropies measured in their respective boundary subregions, entanglement wedge reconstruction is possible. Along the way, we show that the bulk and boundary modular operators act on the code subspace in the same way. For holographic theories with a well-defined entanglement wedge, this result provides a well-defined notion of holographic relative entropy.
We compute characteristic numbers of elliptically fibered fourfolds with multisections or non-trivial Mordell-Weil groups. We first consider the models of type E$_{9-d}$ with $d=1,2,3,4$ whose generic fibers are normal elliptic curves of degree $d$.
We then analyze the characteristic numbers of the $Q_7$-model, which provides a smooth model for elliptic fibrations of rank one and generalizes the E$_5$, E$_6$, and E$_7$-models. Finally, we examine the characteristic numbers of $G$-models with $G=text{SO}(n)$ with $n=3,4,5,6$ and $G=text{PSU}(3)$ whose Mordell-Weil groups are respectively $mathbb{Z}/2mathbb{Z}$ and $mathbb{Z}/3 mathbb{Z}$. In each case, we compute the Chern and Pontryagin numbers, the Euler characteristic, the holomorphic genera, the Todd-genus, the L-genus, the A-genus, and the eight-form curvature invariant from M-theory.
We compute characteristic numbers of crepant resolutions of Weierstrass models corresponding to elliptically fibered fourfolds $Y$ dual in F-theory to a gauge theory with gauge group $G$. In contrast to the case of fivefolds, Chern and Pontryagin num
bers of fourfolds are invariant under crepant birational maps. It follows that Chern and Pontryagin numbers are independent on a choice of a crepant resolution. We present the results for the Euler characteristic, the holomorphic genera, the Todd-genus, the $L$-genus, the $hat{A}$-genus, and the curvature invariant $X_8$ that appears in M-theory. We also show that certain characteristic classes are independent on the choice of the Kodaria fiber characterizing the group $G$. That is the case of $int_Y c_1^2 c_2$, the arithmetic genus, and the $hat{A}$-genus. Thus, it is enough to know $int_Y c_2^2$ and the Euler characteristic $chi(Y)$ to determine all the Chern numbers of an elliptically fibered fourfold. We consider the cases of $G=$ SU($n$) for ($n=2,3,4,5,6,7$), USp($4$), Spin($7$), Spin($8$), Spin($10$), G$_2$, F$_4$, E$_6$, E$_7$, or E$_8$.
