We derive a bound on the conformal dimensions of the lightest few states in general unitary 2d conformal field theories with discrete spectra using modular invariance, including CFTs with chiral currents. We derive a bound on the conformal dimensions $Δ_1$ and $Δ_2$ going as $c_{\rm tot}/12 + O(1)$. The bound is of the same form found for CFTs without chiral currents in arXiv:0902.2790 and arXiv:1312.0038. We then prove the inequality $Δ_n \leq c_{\rm tot}/12 + O(1)$ for large $c_{\rm tot}$ and with appropriate restrictions on $n$. Using the AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence, our bounds correspond to upper bounds on the masses of the lightest few states and a lower bound on the number of states. We conclude by checking our results against several candidate conformal field theories.
We derive a bound on the conformal dimensions of the lightest few states in general unitary 2d conformal field theories with discrete spectra using modular invariance, including CFTs with chiral currents. We derive a bound on the conformal dimensions Δ1 and Δ2 going as ctot/12+O(1). The bound is of the same form found for CFTs without chiral currents in arXiv:0902.2790 and arXiv:1312.0038. We then prove the inequality Δn≤ctot/12+O(1) for large ctot and with appropriate restrictions on n. Using the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence, our bounds correspond to upper bounds on the masses of the lightest few states and a lower bound on the number of states. We conclude by checking our results against several candidate conformal field theories.
We prove using invariance under the modular S- and ST-transformations that every unitary two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) of only even-spin operators (with no extended chiral algebra and with central charges c,c~>1) contains a primary operator with dimension Δ1 satisfying 0<Δ1<(c+c~)/24+0.09280... After deriving both analytical and numerical bounds, we discuss how to extend our methods to bound higher conformal dimensions before deriving lower and upper bounds on the number of primary operators in a given energy range. Using the AdS3/CFT2 dictionary, the bound on Δ1 proves the lightest massive excitation in appropriate theories of 3D matter and gravity with cosmological constant Λ<0 can be no heavier than 1/(8GN)+O(−Λ); the bounds on the number operators are related via AdS/CFT to the entropy of states in the dual gravitational theory. In the flat-space approximation, the limiting mass is exactly that of the lightest BTZ black hole.
We analyze the operator spectrum of Conformal Field Theories at large conformal dimensions Delta with and without global symmetries. General constraints of crossing symmetry and unitarity allow us to extract a number of universal properties of heavy operator spectrum perturbatively in 1overDelta.\nFirst, we consider four-point correlators and solve crossing equations in the deep Euclidean regime. Large scaling dimension Delta tails of the weighted spectral density of primary operators of given spin in one channel are matched to the Euclidean OPE data in the other channel. Subleading 1overDelta tails are systematically captured by including more operators in the Euclidean OPE in the dual channel. We use dispersion relations for conformal partial waves in the complex Delta plane, the Lorentzian inversion formula and complex tauberian theorems to derive this result. We make predictions for the 3d Ising model.\nSecond, we apply the methods of tauberian theory to modular invariance in 2d CFTs. We derive lower and upper bounds on the number of operators within a given energy interval. At high energies we rigorously derive the Cardy formula for the microcanonical entropy together with optimal error estimates for various widths of the averaging energy shell. We identify a new universal contribution to the microcanonical entropy controlled by the central charge and the width of the shell. We derive an upper bound on the spacings between Virasoro primaries. Analogous results are obtained in holographic 2d CFTs. \nThird, we consider unitary CFTs with continuous global symmetries in d>2. We consider a state created by the lightest operator of large charge Qgg1 and analyze the correlator of two light charged operators in this state. Assuming the correlator admits a well-defined large Q expansion and, relatedly, that the macroscopic (thermodynamic) limit of the correlator exists, we find that the crossing equations admit a consistent truncation, where only a finite number N of Regge trajectories contribute at leading nontrivial order. We classify all such solutions to the crossing. For one Regge trajectory N=1, the solution is unique and given by the effective field theory of a Goldstone mode.
In this dissertation we describe progress towards carving out the space of non-integrable conformal field theories (CFTs) in 1+1 dimensions using conformal bootstrap techniques. We develop and apply numerical and analytical techniques to explore the non-perturbative consequences of conformal symmetry, unitarity and locality on the spectrum and dynamics of 2D CFTs. Throughout we focus on compact irrational CFTs, which have a discrete spectrum consisting of an infinite number of primary operators and exhibit chaotic dynamics. In the first part of the dissertation we report on numerical advances in charting the space of 2D CFTs. We use semidefinite programming to compute bounds on the gap in the spectrum of primary operators as a function of the central charge and on spectral functions that capture the spectral density of primary operators. We then develop recursion relations for arbitrary Virasoro conformal blocks, and explore the constraints of modular invariance of the genus-two partition function, leading to ``critical surfaces'' that bound the heavy structure constants of a CFT. In the second part of the dissertation we develop the analytic bootstrap program for two dimensional conformal field theories, focusing on universal aspects of irrational unitary CFTs and holography. We show that the large-spin sector of irrational CFTs is universally governed by a ``Virasoro mean field theory,'' incorporating exact stress tensor dynamics into the analytic bootstrap and leading to non-perturbative insights about the bound-state dynamics of three-dimensional quantum gravity. We then leverage a generalized notion of modular invariance to derive a universal asymptotic formula for the average value of the structure constants whenever one or more of the operators has large conformal dimension. The large central charge limit makes contact with quantum gravity in three dimensions, where the averaging over heavy states corresponds to coarse-graining over black hole microstates. Finally, we study the Euclidean gravitational path integral of pure AdS3 quantum gravity, and use a modular bootstrap analysis to suggest new saddle point configurations that can be consistently included in the gravitational path integral and whose inclusion renders the dual torus partition function unitary.
Two-dimensional conformal field theories exhibit a universal free energy in the high temperature limit T → ∞, and a universal spectrum in the Cardy regime, Δ → ∞. We show that a much stronger form of universality holds in theories with a large central charge c and a sparse light spectrum. In these theories, the free energy is universal at all values of the temperature, and the microscopic spectrum matches the Cardy entropy for all Δ≥6c . The same is true of three-dimensional quantum gravity; therefore our results provide simple necessary and sufficient criteria for 2d CFTs to behave holographically in terms of the leading spectrum and thermodynamics. We also discuss several applications to CFT and gravity, including operator dimension bounds derived from the modular bootstrap, universality in symmetric orbifolds, and the role of non-universal ‘enigma’ saddlepoints in the thermodynamics of 3d gravity.
We derive Cardy-like formulas for the growth of operators in different sectors of unitary 2 dimensional CFT in the presence of topological defect lines by putting an upper and lower bound on the number of states with scaling dimension in the interval [Δ – δ, Δ + δ] for large Δ at fixed δ. Consequently we prove that given any unitary modular invariant 2D CFT symmetric under finite global symmetry G (acting faithfully), all the irreducible representations of G appear in the spectra of the untwisted sector; the growth of states is Cardy like and proportional to the “square” of the dimension of the irrep. In the Schwarzian limit, the result matches onto that of JT gravity with a bulk gauge theory. If the symmetry is non-anomalous, the result applies to any sector twisted by a group element. For c > 1, the statements are true for Virasoro primaries. Furthermore, the results are applicable to large c CFTs. We also extend our results for the continuous U(1) group.
We study the implications of the 't Hooft anomaly (i.e., obstruction to gauging) on conformal field theory, focusing on the case when the global symmetry is Z2. Using the modular bootstrap, universal bounds on (1+1)-dimensional bosonic conformal field theories with an internal Z2 global symmetry are derived. The bootstrap bounds depend dramatically on the 't Hooft anomaly. In particular, there is a universal upper bound on the lightest Z2 odd operator if the symmetry is anomalous, but there is no bound if the symmetry is nonanomalous. In the nonanomalous case, we find that the lightest Z2 odd state and the defect ground state cannot both be arbitrarily heavy. We also consider theories with a U(1) global symmetry, and comment that there is no bound on the lightest U(1) charged operator if the symmetry is nonanomalous.