Universality of effective central charge in interface CFTs

We consider a quantum junction described by a 1+1-dimensional boundary conformal field theory (BCFT). Our analysis focuses on correlations emerging at finite temperature, achieved through the computation of entanglement measures. Our approach relies on characterizing correlation functions of twist fields using BCFT techniques. We provide non-perturbative predictions for the crossover between low and high temperatures. An intriguing interplay between bulk and boundary effects, associated with the bulk/boundary scaling dimensions of the fields above, is found. In particular, the entanglement entropy is primarily influenced by bulk thermal fluctuations, exhibiting extensiveness for large system sizes with a prefactor independent of the scattering properties of the defect. In contrast, negativity is governed by fluctuations across the entangling points only, adhering to an area law; its value depends non-trivially on the defect, and it diverges logarithmically as the temperature is decreased. To validate our predictions, we numerically check them for free fermions on the lattice, finding good agreement.

Thermal entanglement in conformal junctions

Capizzi,

Rotaru

2024

Moving interfaces and two-dimensional black holes

Biswas,

Das,

Dinda

2024

Conformal field theories can exchange energy through a boundary interface. Imposing conformal boundary conditions for static interfaces implies energy conservation at the interface. Recently, the reflective and transmittive properties of such static conformal interfaces have been studied in two dimensions by scattering matter at the interface impurity. In this note, we generalize this to the case of dynamic interfaces. Motivated by the connections between the moving mirror and the black hole, we choose a particular profile for the dynamical interface. We show that a part of the total energy of each side will be lost in the interface. In other words, a time-dependent interface can accumulate or absorb energy. While, in general, the interface follows a time-like trajectory, one can take a particular limit of a profile parameter(β), such that the interface approaches a null line asymptotically(β → 0). In this limit, we show that for a class of boundary conditions, the interface behaves like a semipermeable membrane - it behaves like a (partially) reflecting mirror from one side and is (partially) transparent from the other side. We also consider another set of conformal boundary conditions for which, in the null line limit, the interface mimics the properties expected of a horizon. In this case, we devise a scattering experiment, where (zero-point subtracted) energy from one CFT is fully transmitted to the other CFT, while from the other CFT, energy can neither be transmitted nor reflected, i.e., it gets lost in the interface. This boundary condition is also responsible for the thermal energy spectrum which mimics Hawking radiation. This is analogous to the black hole where the horizon plays the role of a one-sided ‘membrane’, which accumulates all the interior degrees of freedom and radiates thermally in the presence of quantum fluctuation. Stimulated by this observation, we comment on some plausible construction of wormhole analogues.

Double holography of entangled universes

Myers,

Ruan,

Ugajin

2024

We employ double holography to examine a system of two entangled gravitating universes that live on two codimension-one branes in an asymptotically AdS3 spacetime with two disjoint conformal boundaries. There are distinct brane configurations depending on the temperature of the thermofield double (TFD) state between the left and right systems. The topology transition between two branes is naturally identified with the emergence of an Einstein-Rosen bridge connecting the two entangled universes. This doubly holographic construction offers a holographic perspective on gravitational collapse and black hole formation in brane universes. Through this holographic framework, we analyze the quantum information structure of the two gravitating universes. Specifically, we calculate the mutual information between defects present in the boundary theories on the left and right sides. Furthermore, we investigate the decoupling process in the Hayden-Preskill protocol applied to the two copies of the defect field theory and discuss the interpretation of the Yoshida-Kitaev decoding protocol.