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arXiv:1703.03413 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Cubic trihedral corner entanglement for a free scalar

Lauren E. Hayward Sierens, Pablo Bueno, Rajiv R. P. Singh, Robert Cobb Myers, Roger G. Melko

Published Jul 12, 2017• 11 citations
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Abstract

We calculate the universal contribution to the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-R\'enyi entropy from a cubic trihedral corner in the boundary of the entangling region in $3+1$ dimensions for a massless free scalar. The universal number ${v}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ is manifest as the coefficient of a scaling term that is logarithmic in the size of the entangling region. Our numerical calculations find that this universal coefficient has both larger magnitude and the opposite sign to that induced by a smooth spherical entangling boundary in $3+1$ dimensions, for which there is a well-known subleading logarithmic scaling. Despite these differences, up to the uncertainty of our finite-size lattice calculations, the functional dependence of the trihedral coefficient ${v}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ on the R\'enyi index $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ is indistinguishable from that for a sphere, which is known analytically for a massless free scalar. We comment on the possible source of this $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ dependence arising from the general structure of $(3+1)$-dimensional conformal field theories, and suggest calculations past the free scalar which could further illuminate the general structure of the trihedral divergence in the R\'enyi entropy.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.96.035117

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We calculate the universal contribution to the \ensuremathα\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremathα-R'enyi entropy from a cubic trihedral corner in the boundary of the entangling region in 3+13+13+1 dimensions for a massless free scalar. The universal number v\ensuremathα{v}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}v\ensuremathα​ is manifest as the coefficient of a scaling term that is logarithmic in the size of the entangling region. Our numerical calculations find that this universal coefficient has both larger magnitude and the opposite sign to that induced by a smooth spherical entangling boundary in 3+13+13+1 dimensions, for which there is a well-known subleading logarithmic scaling. Despite these differences, up to the uncertainty of our finite-size lattice calculations, the functional dependence of the trihedral coefficient v\ensuremathα{v}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}v\ensuremathα​ on the R'enyi index \ensuremathα\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremathα is indistinguishable from that for a sphere, which is known analytically for a massless free scalar. We comment on the possible source of this \ensuremathα\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremathα dependence arising from the general structure of (3+1)(3+1)(3+1)-dimensional conformal field theories, and suggest calculations past the free scalar which could further illuminate the general structure of the trihedral divergence in the R'enyi entropy.
We investigate the universal information contained in the R\'enyi entanglement entropies for a free massless Dirac fermion in three spatial dimensions. Using numerical calculations on the lattice, we examine the case where the entangling boundary contains trihedral corners. The entropy contribution arising from these corners grows logarithmically in the entangled subsystem's size with a universal coefficient. Our numerical results provide evidence that this logarithmic coefficient has a simple structure determined by two universal functions characterizing the underlying critical theory and the geometry of the corner. This form is similar to that of the analogous coefficient appearing for smooth entangling surfaces. Furthermore, our results support the idea that one of the geometric factors in the corner coefficient is topological in nature and related to the Euler characteristic of the boundary, in direct analogy to the case of the smooth surface. We discuss implications, including the possibility that one can use trihedral corner contributions to the R\'enyi entropy to determine both of the universal central charges of the underlying critical theory.
A bstract We study the structure of divergences and universal terms of the entanglement and Rényi entropies for singular regions. First, we show that for (3 + 1)-dimensional free conformal field theories (CFTs), entangling regions emanating from vertices give rise to a universal contribution Snuniv=−18πfb(n)∫γk2log⁡2(R/δ) {S}_n^{\mathrm{univ}}=-\frac{1}{8\pi }{f}_b(n){\int}_{\gamma }{k}^2{\log}^2\left(R/\delta \right) Snuniv​=−8π1​fb​(n)∫γ​k2log2(R/δ) S n univ = − 1 8 π f b n ∫ γ k 2 log 2 R / δ , where γ is the curve formed by the intersection of the entangling surface with a unit sphere centered at the vertex, and k the trace of its extrinsic curvature. While for circular and elliptic cones this term reproduces the general-CFT result, it vanishes for polyhedral corners. For those, we argue that the universal contribution, which is logarithmic, is not controlled by a local integral, but rather it depends on details of the CFT in a complicated way. We also study the angle dependence for the entanglement entropy of wedge singularities in 3+1 dimensions. This is done for general CFTs in the smooth limit, and using free and holographic CFTs at generic angles. In the latter case, we show that the wedge contribution is not proportional to the entanglement entropy of a corner region in the (2 + 1)-dimensional holographic CFT. Finally, we show that the mutual information of two regions that touch at a point is not necessarily divergent, as long as the contact is through a sufficiently sharp corner. Similarly, we provide examples of singular entangling regions which do not modify the structure of divergences of the entanglement entropy compared with smooth surfaces.
In the presence of a sharp corner in the boundary of the entanglement region, the entanglement entropy (EE) and Rényi entropies for 3d CFTs have a logarithmic term whose coefficient, the corner function, is scheme-independent. In the limit where the corner becomes smooth, the corner function vanishes quadratically with coefficient σ for the EE and σn for the Rényi entropies. For a free real scalar and a free Dirac fermion, we evaluate analytically the integral expressions of Casini, Huerta, and Leitao to derive exact results for σ and σn for all n=2,3,… . The results for σ agree with a recent universality conjecture of Bueno, Myers, and Witczak-Krempa that σ/CT=π2/24 in all 3d CFTs, where CT is the central charge. For the Rényi entropies, the ratios σn/CT do not indicate similar universality. However, in the limit n→∞, the asymptotic values satisfy a simple relationship and equal 1/(4π2) times the asymptotic values of the free energy of free scalars/fermions on the n-covered 3-sphere.
The entanglement entropy in three-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) receives a logarithmic contribution characterized by a regulator-independent function a(θ) when the entangling surface contains a sharp corner with opening angle θ. In the limit of a smooth surface (θ → π), this corner contribution vanishes as a(θ) = σ(θ − π)2. In arXiv:1505.04804 , we provided evidence for the conjecture that for any d = 3 CFT, this corner coefficient σ is determined by C T , the coefficient appearing in the two-point function of the stress tensor. Here, we argue that this is an instance of a much more general relation connecting the analogous corner coefficient σ n appearing in the nth Rényi entropy and the scaling dimension h n of the corresponding twist operator. In particular, we find the simple relation h n /σ n = (n − 1)π. We show how it reduces to our previous result as n → 1, and explicitly check its validity for free scalars and fermions. With this new relation, we show that as n → 0, σ n yields the coefficient of the thermal entropy, c S . We also reveal a surprising duality relating the corner coefficients of the scalar and the fermion. Further, we use our result to predict σ n for holographic CFTs dual to four-dimensional Einstein gravity. Our findings generalize to other dimensions, and we emphasize the connection to the interval Rényi entropies of d = 2 CFTs.
Entanglement entropy in even-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) contains well-known universal terms arising from the conformal anomaly. R\'enyi entropies are natural generalizations of the entanglement entropy that are much less understood. Above two spacetime dimensions, the universal terms in the R\'enyi entropies are unknown for general entangling geometries. We conjecture a new structure in the dependence of the four-dimensional R\'enyi entropies on the intrinsic and extrinsic geometry of the entangling surface. We provide evidence for this conjecture by direct numerical computations in the free scalar and fermion field theories. The computation involves relating the four-dimensional free massless R\'enyi entropies across cylindrical entangling surfaces to corresponding three-dimensional massive R\'enyi entropies across circular entangling surfaces. Our numerical technique also allows us to directly probe other interesting aspects of three-dimensional R\'enyi entropy, including the massless renormalized R\'enyi entropy and calculable contributions to the perimeter law.
We calculate the area, edge, and corner Renyi entanglement entropies in the ground state of the transverse-field Ising model, on a simple-cubic lattice, by high-field and low-field series expansions. We find that while the area term is positive and the line term is negative as required by strong subadditivity, the corner contributions are positive in three dimensions. Analysis of the series suggests that the expansions converge up to the physical critical point from both sides. The leading area-law Renyi entropies match nicely from the high- and low-field expansions at the critical point, forming a sharp cusp there. We calculate the coefficients of the logarithmic divergence associated with the corner entropy and compare them with conformal field theory results with smooth interfaces and find a striking correspondence.