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arXiv:1403.3733 · Journal of High Energy Physics

Entanglement entropy: a perturbative calculation

Vladimir Rosenhaus, Michael Smolkin

Published Dec 1, 2014• 117 citations
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Abstract

We provide a framework for a perturbative evaluation of the reduced density matrix. The method is based on a path integral in the analytically continued spacetime. It suggests an alternative to the holographic and ‘standard’ replica trick calculations of entanglement entropy. We implement this method within solvable field theory examples to evaluate leading order corrections induced by small perturbations in the geometry of the background and entangling surface. Our findings are in accord with Solodukhin’s formula for the universal term of entanglement entropy for four dimensional CFTs.

DOI
10.1007/jhep12(2014)179

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We provide a framework for a perturbative evaluation of the reduced density matrix. The method is based on a path integral in the analytically continued spacetime. It suggests an alternative to the holographic and ‘standard’ replica trick calculations of entanglement entropy. We implement this method within solvable field theory examples to evaluate leading order corrections induced by small perturbations in the geometry of the background and entangling surface. Our findings are in accord with Solodukhin’s formula for the universal term of entanglement entropy for four dimensional CFTs.
This paper provides an in-depth analysis of entanglement entropy (EE) in quantum field theory (QFT), with a particular focus on its computation using the replica trick and its applications to both conformal and non-conformal systems. Beginning with an introduction to the basics of QFT, the study explains how entanglement entropy quantifies the quantum correlations between subsystems in a pure state, represented by the von Neumann entropy of the reduced density matrix. The replica trick is employed to derive the entanglement entropy, involving path integrals over n-sheeted Riemann surfaces. The paper demonstrates the method’s utility in 1+1-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT), where the central charge governs universal properties of entropy. It further extends the analysis to massive field theories, finite systems, and topological phases, exploring how deviations from conformal symmetry affect entanglement. The work also delves into the AdS/CFT correspondence, showcasing how holographic techniques facilitate entanglement entropy calculations in higher-dimensional systems via the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. In addition, the study investigates entanglement entropy in quantum lattice systems, considering the effects of spatial and thermal fluctuations. Numerical methods are used to compute the scaling of entanglement entropy with interval length for varying system masses and temperatures, highlighting the influence of these parameters on entropy behavior. Fractal lattice structures are explored to uncover unique entropy scaling laws and self-similar entanglement patterns. This study advances the under-standing of EE in diverse quantum systems and establishes a foundation for exploring its role in quantum criticality and fractal geometries. The paper also explores multiscale entanglement entropy (MSE), offering a comprehensive framework for future research in quantum critical phenomena and non-equilibrium systems, shedding light on the complex relationship between quantum entanglement and thermal effects. This work serves as a foundational reference for future theoretical and computational studies in quantum entanglement
A bstract We consider linear superpositions of single particle excitations in a scalar field theory on AdS 3 and evaluate their contribution to the bulk entanglement entropy across the Ryu-Takayanagi surface. We compare the entanglement entropy of these excitations obtained using the Faulkner-Lewkowycz-Maldacena formula to the entanglement entropy of linear superposition of global descendants of a conformal primary in a large c CFT obtained using the replica trick. We show that the closed form expressions for the entanglement entropy in the small interval expansion both in gravity and the CFT precisely agree. The agreement serves as a non-trivial check of the FLM formula for the quantum corrections to holographic entanglement entropy as well as the methods developed in the CFT to evaluate entanglement entropy of descendants. Our checks includes an example in which the state is time dependent and spatially in-homogenous as well another example involving a coherent state with a Bañados geometry as its holographic dual.
We further develop perturbative methods used to calculate entanglement entropy (EE) away from an interacting CFT fixed point. At second order we find certain universal terms in the renormalized EE which were predicted previously from holography and which we find hold universally for relevant deformations of any CFT in any dimension. We use both replica methods and direct methods to calculate the EE and in both cases find a non-local integral expression involving the CFT two point function. We show that this integral expression can be written as a local integral over a higher dimensional bulk modular hamiltonian in an emergent AdS space-time. This bulk modular hamiltonian is associated to an emergent scalar field dual to the deforming operator. We generalize to arbitrary spatially dependent couplings where a linearized metric emerges naturally as a way of efficiently encoding the field theory entanglement: by demanding that Einstein’s equations coupled to the bulk scalar field are satisfied, we show that EE can be calculated as the area of this metric. Not only does this show a direct emergence of a higher dimensional gravitational theory from any CFT, it allows for effective evaluation of the the integrals required to calculate EE perturbativly. Our results can also be interpreted as relating the non-locality of the modular hamiltonian for a spherical region in non-CFTs and the non-locality of the holographic bulk to boundary map.
Abstract Entanglement entropy of quantum fields in gravitational settings is a topic of growing importance. This entropy of entanglement is conventionally computed relative to Cauchy hypersurfaces where it is possible via a partial tracing to associate a reduced density matrix to the spacelike region of interest. In recent years Sorkin has proposed an alternative, manifestly covariant, formulation of entropy in terms of the spacetime two-point correlation function. This formulation, developed for a Gaussian scalar field theory, is explicitly spacetime in nature and evades some of the possible non-covariance issues faced by the conventional formulation. In this paper we take the first steps towards extending Sorkin’s entropy to non-Gaussian theories where Wick’s theorem no longer holds and one would expect higher correlators to contribute. We consider quartic perturbations away from the Gaussian case and find that to first order in perturbation theory, the entropy formula derived by Sorkin continues to hold but with the two-point correlators replaced by their perturbation-corrected counterparts. We then show that our results continue to hold for arbitrary perturbations (of both bosonic and fermionic theories). This is a non-trivial and, to our knowledge, novel result. Furthermore we also derive closed-form formulas of the entanglement entropy for arbitrary perturbations at first and second order. Our work also suggests avenues for further extensions to generic interacting theories.
Entanglement entropy (EE) is a pivotal quantity in quantum field theory (QFT) that captures the nonlocal correlations between subsystems, offering deep insights into the quantum structure of spacetime, field dynamics, and phase transitions. This work derives EE in QFT using the covariance matrix formalism, establishing its foundations through the von Neumann entropy of reduced density matrices. We analytically compute EE for coupled harmonic oscillators as a prototypical model, extending the results to quantum fields via perturbative expansions. In the context of Maxwell QFT, we analyze entropy corrections induced by external perturbations, revealing their fractal dynamics through the emergence of Julia sets. The study further incorporates noncommutative geometry, where the deformation of spacetime modifies the covariance matrix, field strength tensors, and modular indices. Numerical simulations validate the derived scaling laws, entropy corrections, and noncommutative effects. These findings provide a mathematically rigorous framework to explore the interplay between EE, field theory, and geometric structures in high-energy physics.