The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model is a quantum-mechanical model of $N$ Majorana fermions which displays a number of appealing features---solvability in the strong coupling regime, near-conformal invariance and maximal chaos---which make it a suitable model for black holes in the context of the $\mathrm{AdS}/\mathrm{CFT}$ holography. In this paper, we show for the colored SYK model and several of its tensor model cousins that the next-to-leading order in the large-$N$ expansion preserves the conformal invariance of the two-point function in the strong-coupling regime, up to the contribution of the pseudo-Goldstone bosons due to the explicit breaking of the symmetry which are already seen in the leading-order four-point function. We also comment on the composite field approach for computing correlation functions in colored tensor models.
The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model is a quantum-mechanical model of N Majorana fermions which displays a number of appealing features---solvability in the strong coupling regime, near-conformal invariance and maximal chaos---which make it a suitable model for black holes in the context of the AdS/CFT holography. In this paper, we show for the colored SYK model and several of its tensor model cousins that the next-to-leading order in the large-N expansion preserves the conformal invariance of the two-point function in the strong-coupling regime, up to the contribution of the pseudo-Goldstone bosons due to the explicit breaking of the symmetry which are already seen in the leading-order four-point function. We also comment on the composite field approach for computing correlation functions in colored tensor models.
In this thesis, we discuss the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model and tensor models with similar properties. The SYK model is a quantum field theoretical model describing N interacting fermions, whose coupling constants are drawn from a Gaussian ensemble. Noteworthy properties of the SYK model include that it is analytically solvable in the large N limit, that it exhibits conformal symmetry at low energies and that it is maximally chaotic. These properties are remarkably similar to those of a 1 + 1 dimensional Schwarzschild black hole. It has been conjectured the SYK model is a holographic dual to the black hole. We introduce a set of Feynman rules for the SYK model. Using these rules, we show that in the large N limit the diagrams that contribute to the two-point function are all so-called iterated melonic diagrams. This allows us to derive a Schwinger-Dyson equation for the two-point function, which, in turn, can be solved exactly in the infrared limit. We also consider the four-point function. In the large N limit, the leading-order correction to the four-point function is given by so-called ladder diagrams. This allows us to derive an explicit expression for the four-point function. The SYK model can be generalized in a few different ways. In this thesis, we consider the generalization where the fermions act through q-fold interactions instead of quartic interactions present in the original SYK model. In particular, considerable simplifications can be achieved in the q → ∞ limit or q = 2 case, which we study. While the SYK model has many interesting properties, its random couplings limit its usability especially as a dual to a Schwarzschild black hole. We therefore also consider tensor models which do not have this drawback but manage to preserve the interesting properties of the SYK model. In the last chapter, we briefly inspect the chaotic behaviour of the SYK and tensor models and derive Lyapunov exponent for them. It can be shown that the expression saturates an upper bound for Lyapunov exponents of a large class of quantum systems, including large N systems.
The SYK model of Sachdev, Ye and Kitaev is a recent model of N Majorana fermions coupled via quartic random interaction. It has the extraordinary properties of being exactly solvable at large N , having emergent conformal symmetry in the IR, and exhibiting maximal quantum chaos. The confluence of these properties make SYK a highly attractive candidate for a solvable AdS/CFT correspondence. What’s more, it was found to capture elements of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in strange metals. This thesis introduces the SYK model and discusses a recent variant, the SYK∗ model of Marcus and Vandoren. In the latter, the effective action is derived and branches of conformal solutions are discussed. The parameter space of SYK∗ is investigated for large and small M . The former reveals a phase separation and a N critical point in the T−M plane is claimed to exist.
Abstract The Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model is a strongly coupled, quantum many-body system that is chaotic, nearly conformally invariant, and exactly solvable. This remarkable and, to date, unique combination of properties have driven the intense activity surrounding the SYK model and its applications within both high energy and condensed matter physics. In this review we give an introduction to the SYK model and recent developments connected to it. We discuss: SYK and tensor models as a new class of large N quantum field theories, the near-conformal invariance in the infrared, the computation of correlation functions, generalizations of the SYK model, and applications to AdS/CFT and strange metals.
We study the original Sachdev-Ye (SY) model in its Majorana fermion representation which can be called the two indices Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model. Its advantage over the original SY model in the $ SU(M) $ complex fermion representation is that it need no local constraints, so a $1/M $ expansion can be more easily performed. Its advantage over the 4 indices SYK model is that it has only two site indices $ J_{ij} $ instead of four indices $ J_{ijkl} $, so it may fit the bulk string theory better. By performing a $1/M $ expansion at $ N=\infty $, we show that a quantum spin liquid (QSL) state remains stable at a finite $ M $. The $ 1/M $ corrections are exactly marginal, so the system remains conformably invariant at any finite $ M $. The 4-point out of time correlation ( OTOC ) shows quantum chaos neither at $ N=\infty $ at any finite $ M $, nor at $ M=\infty $ at any finite $ N $. By looking at the replica off-diagonal channel, we find there is a quantum spin glass (QSG) instability at an exponentially suppressed temperature in $ M $. We work out a criterion for the two large numbers $ N $ and $ M $ to satisfy so that the QSG instability may be avoided. We speculate that at any finite $ N $, the quantum chaos appears at the order of $ 1/M^{0} $, which is the subleading order in the $ 1/M $ expansion. When the $ 1/N $ quantum fluctuations at any finite $ M $ are considered, from a general reparametrization symmetry breaking point of view, we argue that the eThis work may motivate future works to study the possible new gravity dual of the 2 indices SYK model.ffective action should still be described by the Schwarzian one, the OTOC shows maximal quantum chaos.
The SYK model proposed by Sachdev, Ye, and Kitaev consists of Majorana fermions that interact randomly four at a time. The model develops a dense spectrum above the ground state, due to which the model becomes nearly conformal. This suggests that a holographic dual may exist, which makes the SYK model interesting in the study of quantum gravity. It has been found that the SYK model is similar to large N tensor models: in both models, only the melonic diagrams survive in the large N limit. In this thesis, we explore the large N tensor model with O(N)3 symmetry containing two flavors of Majorana fermions in the fundamental representation. Its quartic Hamiltonian depends on a real parameter β. We derive the kernels of the four point functions. With the spectra that we find from the kernels, we calculate the scaling dimensions of several types of conformal primaries. We also find a duality relation between two Hamiltonians of different values of β. This is not a perfect duality, because the normalization of energy scales with the transformation. Nevertheless, the ratios of the energies are the same, and the operator dimensions are preserved. In addition, we discover that for β>1 or β<0 the scaling dimensions of one of the conformal primaries become complex, rendering the model unstable.
Abstract We study the generalization of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model to a 1 + 1 dimensional chiral SYK model of N flavors of right-moving chiral Majorana fermions with all-to-all random 4-fermion interactions. The interactions in this model are exactly marginal, leading to an exact scaling symmetry. We show the Schwinger-Dyson equation of this model in the large N limit is exactly solvable. In addition, we show this model is integrable for small N ≤ 6 by bosonization. Surprisingly, the two point function in the large N limit has exactly the same form as that for N = 4, although the four point functions of the two cases are quite different. The ground state entropy in the large N limit is the same as that of N free chiral Majorana fermions, leading to a zero ground state entropy density. The OTOC of the model in the large N limit exhibits a non-trivial spacetime structure reminscent of that found by Gu and Kitaev [1] for generic SYK-like models. Specifically we find a Lyapunov regime inside an asymmetric butterfly cone, which are signatures of quantum chaos, and that the maximal velocity dependent Lyapunov exponent approaches the chaos bound 2π/β as the interaction strength approaches its physical upper bound. Finally, the model is integrable for (at least) N ≤ 6 but chaotic in the large N limit, leading us to conjecture that there is a transition from integrability to chaos as N increases past a critical value.