We explore entanglement entropy of a cap-like region for a generic quantum field theory residing in the Bunch-Davies vacuum on de Sitter space. Entanglement entropy in our setup is identical with the thermal entropy in the static patch of de Sitter, and we derive a simple relation between the vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor trace and the RG flow of entanglement entropy. In particular, renormalization of the bare couplings and logarithmic divergence of the entanglement entropy are interrelated in our setup. We confirm our findings by recovering known universal contributions for a free field theory deformed by a mass operator as well as obtain correct universal behaviour at the fixed points. Simple examples of entanglement entropy flows are elaborated in d=2,3,4. Inthreedimensionswefindthatwhiletherenormalizedentanglemententropy is stationary at the fixed points, it is not monotonic. We provide a computational evidence that the universal ‘area law’ for a conformally coupled scalar is different from the known result in the literature, and argue that this difference survives in the limit of flat space. Finally, we carry out the spectral decomposition of entanglement entropy flow and discuss its application to the F-theorem.
In three dimensions, the pure Maxwell theory with a compact
U(1) gauge group is dual to a free compact scalar, and it flows from the Maxwell theory with a noncompact gauge group in the ultraviolet to a noncompact free massless scalar theory in the infrared. We compute the vacuum disk entanglement entropy all along this flow and show that the renormalized entropy
F(r) decreases monotonically with the radius
r as predicted by the F-theorem, interpolating between a logarithmic growth for small
r (matching the behavior of the
S3 free energy) and a constant at large
r (equal to the free energy of the conformal scalar). The calculation is carried out by the replica trick, employing the scalar formulation of the theory. The R\'enyi entropies for
n>1 are given by a sum over winding sectors, leading to a Riemann-Siegel theta function. The extrapolation to
n=1, to obtain the von Neumann entropy, is done by analytic continuation in the large- and small-
r limits and by a numerical extrapolation method at intermediate values. We also compute the leading contribution to the renormalized entanglement entropy of the compact free scalar in higher dimensions. Finally, we point out some interesting features of the reduced density matrix for the compact scalar, and its relation to that for the noncompact theory.
We compute the renormalized entanglement entropy (REE) for BPS black solutions in
N=2, four-dimensional gauged supergravity. We find that this quantity decreases monotonically with the size of the entangling region until it reaches a critical point, then increases and approaches the entropy density of the brane. This behavior can be understood as a consequence of the renormalized entanglement entropy being driven by two competing factors, namely, entanglement and the mixedness of the black brane. In the UV, entanglement dominates, whereas in the IR, the mixedness takes over.
We extend previous work on the perturbative expansion of the Rényi entropy, S q , around q = 1 for a spherical entangling surface in a general CFT. Applied to conformal scalar fields in various spacetime dimensions, the results appear to conflict with the known conformal scalar Rényi entropies. On the other hand, the perturbative results agree with known Rényi entropies in a variety of other theories, including theories of free fermions and vector fields and theories with Einstein gravity duals. We propose a resolution stemming from a careful consideration of boundary conditions near the entangling surface. This is equivalent to a proper treatment of total-derivative terms in the definition of the modular Hamiltonian. As a corollary, we are able to resolve an outstanding puzzle in the literature regarding the Rényi entropy of
N=4 super-Yang-Mills near q = 1. A related puzzle regards the question of stationarity of the renormalized entanglement entropy (REE) across a circle for a (2+1)-dimensional massive scalar field. We point out that the boundary contributions to the modular Hamiltonian shed light on the previously-observed non-stationarity. Moreover, IR divergences appear in perturbation theory about the massless fixed point that inhibit our ability to reliably calculate the REE at small non-zero mass.
We investigate the connection between entanglement entropy and the notion of irreversibility in the renormalization-group flow in the context of a simple theory for which an explicit calculation from first principles is feasible. The change of the entanglement entropy for a spherical entangling surface as its radius grows from zero to infinity corresponds to the flow from the UV to the IR. Through analytical and numerical means, we compute the entanglement entropy for a free massive scalar theory, making use of the method of correlation functions. We deduce a c -function in 1 + 1 dimensions and an a -function in 3 + 1 dimensions. Both functions are monotonic and vary continuously between one and zero, which are the expected values for this theory.
Understanding the dependence of entanglement entropy on the renormalized mass in quantum field theories can provide insight into phenomena such as quantum phase transitions, since the mass varies in a singular way near the transition. Here we perturbatively calculate the entanglement entropy in interacting scalar field theory, focusing on the dependence on the field’s mass. We study λϕ 4 and g ϕ 3 theories in their ground state. By tracing over a half space, using the replica trick and position space Green’s functions on the cone, we show that spacetime volume divergences cancel and renormalization can be consistently performed in this conical geometry. We establish finite contributions to the entanglement entropy up to two-loop order, involving a finite area law. The resulting entropy is simple and intuitive: the free theory result in d = 3 (that we included in an earlier publication) Δ S ∼ A m 2 ln ( m 2 ) is altered, to leading order, by replacing the bare mass m by the renormalized mass m r evaluated at the renormalization scale of zero momentum.