We consider type-A higher-spin gravity in 4 dimensions, holographically dual to a free O(N) vector model. In this theory, the cubic correlators of higher-spin boundary currents are reproduced in the bulk by the Sleight-Taronna cubic vertex. We extend these cubic correlators from local boundary currents to bilocal boundary operators, which contain the tower of local currents in their Taylor expansion. In the bulk, these boundary bilocals are represented by linearized Didenko-Vasiliev (DV) "black holes". We argue that the cubic correlators are still described by local bulk structures, which include a new vertex coupling two higher-spin fields to the "worldline" of a DV solution. As an illustration of the general argument, we analyze numerically the correlator of two local scalars and one bilocal. We also prove a gauge-invariance property of the Sleight-Taronna vertex outside its original range of applicability: in the absence of sources, it is invariant not just within tranverse-traceless gauge, but rather in general traceless gauge, which in particular includes the DV solution away from its "worldline".

Abstract We consider type-A higher-spin gravity in AdS4, holographically dual to a free U(N ) vector model on the boundary. We study the linearized version of the Didenko-Vasiliev “BPS black hole”, which we view as this theory’s equivalent of the fundamental string. The Didenko-Vasiliev solution consists of gauge fields of all spins generated by a particle-like source along a bulk geodesic, and is holographically dual to a bilocal boundary operator at the geodesic’s endpoints. Our first main result is a new gauge for this solution, which makes manifest its behavior under the boundary field equation. It can be viewed as an AdS uplift of flat spacetime’s de Donder gauge, but is not de Donder in AdS. To our knowledge, this gauge is novel even in the spin-2 sector, and thus provides a new expression for the linearized gravitational field of a massive point particle in (A)dS4. Our second main result is a proof of the holographic duality between the mutual bulk action of two Didenko-Vasiliev solutions and the CFT correlator of two boundary bilocals. As an intermediate step, we show that in a bilocal→local limit, the Didenko-Vasiliev solution reproduces the standard boundary-bulk propagators of all spins. We work in the “metric-like” language of Fronsdal fields, and use the embedding-space formalism.

In the mid-19th century, both the laws of mechanics and thermodynamics were known, and both appeared fundamental. This was changed by Boltzmann and Gibbs, who showed that thermodynamics can be derived, by applying mechanics to very large systems, and making simple statistical assumptions about their behavior. Similarly, when Quantum Mechanics (QM) was first discovered, it appeared to require two sets of postulates: one about the deterministic evolution of wavefunctions, and another about the probabilistic measurement process. Here again, the latter is derivable from the former: by applying unitary evolution to large systems (apparatuses, observers and environment), and making simple assumptions about their behavior, one can derive all the features of quantum measurement. We set out to demonstrate this claim, using a simple and explicit model of a quantum experiment, which we hope will be clear and compelling to the average physicist.

We describe the symplectic reduction construction for the physical phase space in gauge theory and apply it for the BF theory. Symplectic reduction theorem allows us to rewrite the same phase space as a quotient by the gauge group action, what matches with the covariant phase space formalism. We extend the symplectic reduction method to describe the phase space of the initial data on a slice with boundary. We show that the invariant phase space has description in terms of generalized de Rham cohomology, what makes the topological properties of BF theory manifest. The symplectic reduction can be done in multiple steps using different decompositions of the gauge group with interesting finite-dimensional intermediate symplectic spaces.

Rotating black holes are algebraically special solutions to the vacuum Einstein equation. Using properties of the algebraically special solutions we construct the dual fluid, which flows on black hole horizon. An explicit form of the Kerr solution allows us to write an explicit dual fluid solution and investigate its stability using energy balance equation. We show that the dual fluid is stable because of high algebraic speciality of the Kerr solution.

We consider the scattering of massless particles coupled to an abelian gauge field in 2n-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. Weinberg's soft photon theorem is recast as Ward identities for infinitely many new nontrivial symmetries of the massless QED S-matrix, with one such identity arising for each propagation direction of the soft photon. These symmetries are identified as large gauge transformations with angle-dependent gauge parameters that are constant along the null generators of null infinity. Almost all of the symmetries are spontaneously broken in the standard vacuum and the soft photons are the corresponding Goldstone bosons. Our result establishes a relationship between soft theorems and asymptotic symmetry groups in any even dimension.

Asymptotic symmetries of theories with gravity in d=2m+2 spacetime dimensions are reconsidered for m>1 in light of recent results concerning d=4 BMS symmetries. Weinberg's soft graviton theorem in 2m+2 dimensions is re-expressed as a Ward identity for the gravitational S-matrix. The corresponding asymptotic symmetries are identified with 2m+2-dimensional supertranslations. An alternate derivation of these asymptotic symmetries as diffeomorphisms which preserve finite-energy boundary conditions at null infinity and act non-trivially on physical data is given. Our results differ from those of previous analyses whose stronger boundary conditions precluded supertranslations for d>4. We find for all even d that supertranslation symmetry is spontaneously broken in the conventional vacuum and identify soft gravitons as the corresponding Goldstone bosons.

Recently it was conjectured that a certain infinite-dimensional “diagonal” subgroup of BMS supertranslations acting on past and future null infinity ( Open image in new window and Open image in new window ) is an exact symmetry of the quantum gravity S-matrix, and an associated Ward identity was derived. In this paper we show that this supertranslation Ward identity is precisely equivalent to Weinberg’s soft graviton theorem. Along the way we construct the canonical generators of supertranslations at Open image in new window , including the relevant soft graviton contributions. Boundary conditions at the past and future of Open image in new window and a correspondingly modified Dirac bracket are required. The soft gravitons enter as boundary modes and are manifestly the Goldstone bosons of spontaneously broken supertranslation invariance.

We discuss the semiclassical scattering problem for massless matter coupled to Rarita-Schwinger field in four dimensional Minkowski space. We rewrite the soft gravitino theorem as a Ward identity for the S-matrix and discuss the relationship of corresponding symmetry charges to new asymptotic fermonic symmetries of massless Rarita-Schwinger field.

A scalar field in four-dimensional deSitter spacetime (dS_4) has quasinormal modes which are singular on the past horizon of the south pole and decay exponentially towards the future. These are found to lie in two complex highest-weight representations of the dS_4 isometry group SO(4,1). The Klein-Gordon norm cannot be used for quantization of these modes because it diverges. However a modified `R-norm', which involves reflection across the equator of a spatial S^3 slice, is nonsingular. The quasinormal modes are shown to provide a complete orthogonal basis with respect to the R-norm. Adopting the associated R-adjoint effectively transforms SO(4,1) to the symmetry group SO(3,2) of a 2+1-dimensional CFT. It is further shown that the conventional Euclidean vacuum may be defined as the state annihilated by half of the quasinormal modes, and the Euclidean Green function obtained from a simple mode sum. Quasinormal quantization contrasts with some conventional approaches in that it maintains manifest dS-invariance throughout. The results are expected to generalize to other dimensions and spins.

It was shown by Low in the 1950s that the subleading terms of soft-photon S-matrix elements obey a universal linear relation. In this Letter, we give a new interpretation to this old relation, for the case of massless QED, as an infinitesimal symmetry of the S matrix. The symmetry is shown to be locally generated by a vector field on the conformal sphere at null infinity. Explicit expressions are constructed for the associated charges as integrals over null infinity and shown to generate the symmetry. These charges are local generalizations of electric and magnetic dipole charges.

It is shown that the tree-level \( \mathcal{S} \)-matrix for quantum gravity in four-dimensional Minkowski space has a Virasoro symmetry which acts on the conformal sphere at null infinity.

The fluid/gravity correspondence relates solutions of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation to metrics which solve the Einstein equations. In this paper we extend this duality to a new magnetohydrodynamics/gravity correspondence, which translates solutions of the equations of magnetohydrodynamics (describing charged fluids) into geometries that satisfy the Einstein-Maxwell equations. We present an explicit example of this new correspondence in the context of flat Minkowski space. We show that a perturbative deformation of the Rindler wedge satisfies the Einstein-Maxwell equations provided that the parameters appearing in the expansion, which we interpret as fluid fields, satisfy the magnetohydrodynamics equations. As a byproduct of our analysis we show that in four dimensions, the dual geometry is algebraically special Petrov type II.

We show by explicit construction that for every solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation in p + 1 dimensions, there is a uniquely associated “dual” solution of the vacuum Einstein equations in p + 2 dimensions. The dual geometry has an intrinsically flat timelike boundary segment Σc whose extrinsic curvature is given by the stress tensor of the Navier-Stokes fluid. We consider a “near-horizon” limit in which Σc becomes highly accelerated. The near-horizon expansion in gravity is shown to be mathematically equivalent to the hydrodynamic expansion in fluid dynamics, and the Einstein equation reduces to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation. For p = 2, we show that the full dual geometry is algebraically special Petrov type II. The construction is a mathematically precise realization of suggestions of a holographic duality relating fluids and horizons which began with the membrane paradigm in the 70’s and resurfaced recently in studies of the AdS/CFT correspondence.

We consider a p+1-dimensional timelike hypersurface \Sigma_c embedded with a flat induced metric in a p+2-dimensional Einstein geometry. It is shown that imposing a Petrov type I condition on the geometry reduces the degrees of freedom in the extrinsic curvature of \Sigma_c to those of a fluid in \Sigma_c. Moreover, expanding around a limit in which the mean curvature of the embedding diverges, the leading-order Einstein constraint equations on \Sigma_c are shown to reduce to the non-linear incompressible Navier-Stokes equation for a fluid moving in \Sigma_c.

The problem of gravitational fluctuations confined inside a finite cutoff at radius r = r c outside the horizon in a general class of black hole geometries is considered. Consistent boundary conditions at both the cutoff surface and the horizon are found and the resulting modes analyzed. For general cutoff r c the dispersion relation is shown at long wavelengths to be that of a linearized Navier-Stokes fluid living on the cutoff surface. A cutoff-dependent line-integral formula for the diffusion constant D (r c ) is derived. The dependence on r c is interpreted as renormalization group (RG) flow in the fluid. Taking the cutoff to infinity in an asymptotically AdS context, the formula for D(∞) reproduces as a special case well-known results derived using AdS/CFT. Taking the cutoff to the horizon, the effective speed of sound goes to infinity, the fluid becomes incompressible and the Navier-Stokes dispersion relation becomes exact. The resulting universal formula for the diffusion constant D(horizon) reproduces old results from the membrane paradigm. Hence the old membrane paradigm results and new AdS/CFT results are related by RG flow. RG flow-invariance of the viscosity to entropy ratio \( \frac{\eta }{s} \) is shown to follow from the first law of thermodynamics together with isentropy of radial evolution in classical gravity. The ratio is expected to run when quantum gravitational corrections are included.

We give a short introduction, beginning with the Kerr geometry itself, to the basic results, motivation, open problems and future directions of the Kerr/CFT correspondence.

We show that a certain superfield formalism can be used to find an off-shell supersymmetric description for some supersymmetric field theories where conventional superfield formalism does not work. This "new" formalism contains auxiliary variables A' in addition to conventional super-coordinates theta(alpha). The idea of this construction is similar to the pure spinor formalism developed by N.Berkovits. It is demonstrated that using this formalism it is possible to prove that the certain Chern-Simons-like (Witten's OSFTlike) theory can be considered as an off-shell version for some on-shell supersymmetric field theories. We use the simplest non-trivial model found in [2] to illustrate the power of this pure spinor superfield formalism. Then we redo all the calculations for the case of tO-dimensional Super-Yang-Mills theory. The construction of off-shell description for this theory is more subtle in comparison with the model of [2] and requires additional Z2 projection. We discover experimentally (through a direct explicit calculation) a non-trivial Z2 duality at the level of Feynman diagrams. The nature of this duality requires a better investigation.