Four-point correlation modular bootstrap for OPE densities

In this work we apply the lightcone bootstrap to a four-point function of scalars in two-dimensional conformal field theory. We include the entire Virasoro symmetry and consider non-rational theories with a gap in the spectrum from the vacuum and no conserved currents. For those theories, we compute the large dimension limit (h/c ≫ 1) of the OPE spectral decomposition of the Virasoro vacuum. We then propose a kernel ansatz that generalizes the spectral decomposition beyond h/c ≫ 1. Finally, we estimate the corrections to the OPE spectral densities from the inclusion of the lightest operator in the spectrum.

AdS3 gravity and the complex SYK models

We provide a non-conformal generalization of the Compère-Song-Strominger (CSS) boundary conditions for AdS3 gravity that breaks the $$ \hat{u}(1) $$ u ̂ 1 Kac-Moody-Virasoro symmetry to two u(1)s. The holographic dual specified by the new boundary conditions can be understood as an irrelevant deformation of a warped conformal field theory (WCFT). Upon consistent reduction to two dimensions, AdS3 gravity results in a deformed Jackiw-Teitelboim dilaton gravity model coupled to a Maxwell field. We show that near extremality the boundary conditions inherited from generalized CSS boundary conditions in three dimensions give rise to an effective action exhibiting the same symmetry breaking pattern as the complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models. Besides the Schwarzian term reflecting the breaking of conformal symmetry, the effective action contains an additional term that captures the breaking of the $$ \hat{u}(1) $$ u ̂ 1 Kac-Moody symmetry.

AdS3 gravity and random CFT

We compute the path integral of three-dimensional gravity with negative cosmological constant on spaces which are topologically a torus times an interval. These are Euclidean wormholes, which smoothly interpolate between two asymptotically Euclidean AdS3 regions with torus boundary. From our results we obtain the spectral correlations between BTZ black hole microstates near threshold, as well as extract the spectral form factor at fixed momentum, which has linear growth in time with small fluctuations around it. The low-energy limit of these correlations is precisely that of a double-scaled random matrix ensemble with Virasoro symmetry. Our findings suggest that if pure three-dimensional gravity has a holographic dual, then the dual is an ensemble which generalizes random matrix theory.

The Schwarzian sector of higher spin CFTs

Two-dimensional conformal field theories with Virasoro symmetry generically contain a Schwarzian sector. This sector is related to the near-horizon region of the near-extremal BTZ black hole in the holographic dual. In this work we generalize this picture to CFTs with higher spin conserved currents. It is shown that the partition function in the near-extremal limit agrees with that of BF higher spin gravity in AdS2 which is described by a generalized Schwarzian theory. We also provide a spectral decomposition of Schwarzian partition functions via the $$ {\mathcal{W}}_N $$ W N fusion kernel and consider supersymmetric generalizations.

Carving out the space of open-string S-matrix

In this paper, we explore the open string amplitude’s dual role as a space-time S-matrix and a 2D holomorphic CFT correlation function. We pursue this correspondence in two directions. First, beginning with a general disk integrand dressed with a Koba-Nielsen factor, we demonstrate that exchange symmetry for the factorization residue of the amplitude forces the integrand to be expandable on SL(2,R) conformal blocks. Furthermore, positivity constraints associated with unitarity imply the SL(2,R) blocks must come in linear combinations for which the Virasoro block emerges at the “kink” in the space of solutions. In other words, Virasoro symmetry arises at the boundary of consistent factorization. Next, we consider the low energy EFT description, where unitarity manifests as the EFThedron in which the couplings must live. The existence of a worldsheet description implies, through the Koba-Nielsen factor, monodromy relations which impose algebraic identities amongst the EFT couplings. We demonstrate at finite derivative order that the intersection of the “monodromy plane” and the four-dimensional EFThedron carves out a tiny island for the couplings, which continues to shrink as the derivative order is increased. At the eighth derivative order, on a three-dimensional monodromy plane, the intersection fixes the width of this island to around 1.5% (of ζ(3)) and 0.2% (of ζ(5)) with respect to the toroidally compactified Type-I super string answer. This leads us to conjecture that the four-point open superstring amplitude can be completely determined by the geometry of the intersection of the monodromy plane and the EFThedron.

Anomalies in gravitational charge algebras of null boundaries and black hole entropy

We revisit the covariant phase space formalism applied to gravitational theories with null boundaries, utilizing the most general boundary conditions consistent with a fixed null normal. To fix the ambiguity inherent in the Wald-Zoupas definition of quasilocal charges, we propose a new principle, based on holographic reasoning, that the flux be of Dirichlet form. This also produces an expression for the analog of the Brown-York stress tensor on the null surface. Defining the algebra of charges using the Barnich-Troessaert bracket for open subsystems, we give a general formula for the central — or more generally, abelian — extensions that appear in terms of the anomalous transformation of the boundary term in the gravitational action. This anomaly arises from having fixed a frame for the null normal, and we draw parallels between it and the holographic Weyl anomaly that occurs in AdS/CFT. As an application of this formalism, we analyze the near-horizon Virasoro symmetry considered by Haco, Hawking, Perry, and Strominger, and perform a systematic derivation of the fluxes and central charges. Applying the Cardy formula to the result yields an entropy that is twice the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the horizon. Motivated by the extended Hilbert space construction, we interpret this in terms of a pair of entangled CFTs associated with edge modes on either side of the bifurcation surface.

Kerr–Bolt black hole entropy and soft hair

Recently it has been speculated that a set of infinitesimal [Formula: see text] diffeomorphisms exist which act nontrivially on the horizon of some black holes such as Kerr and Kerr–Newman black holes.[Formula: see text] Having applied this symmetry in covariant phase space formalism, one can obtain Virasoro charges as surface integrals on the horizon. Kerr–Bolt space–time is well known for its asymptotically topology and has been studied widely in recent years. In this work, we are interested to find conserved charge associated to the Virasoro symmetry of Kerr–Bolt geometry using covariant phase space formalism. We will show right and left central charge are [Formula: see text], respectively. Our results also show good agreement with Kerr space–time in the limiting behavior.