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arXiv:1809.00026 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Entropy and modular Hamiltonian for a free chiral scalar in two intervals

Raúl Arias, Horacio Casini, Marina Huerta, Diego Pontello

Published Dec 17, 2018• 88 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We calculate the analytic form of the vacuum modular Hamiltonian for a two interval region and the algebra of a current $j(x)=\ensuremath{\partial}\ensuremath{\phi}(x)$ corresponding to a chiral free scalar $\ensuremath{\phi}$ in $d=2$. We also compute explicitly the mutual information between the intervals. This model shows a failure of Haag duality for two intervals that translates into a loss of a symmetry property for the mutual information usually associated with modular invariance. Contrary to the case of a free massless fermion, the modular Hamiltonian turns out to be completely nonlocal. The calculation is done diagonalizing the density matrix by computing the eigensystem of a correlator kernel operator. These eigenvectors are obtained by a novel method that involves solving an equivalent problem for a holomorphic function in the complex plane where multiplicative boundary conditions are imposed on the intervals. Using the same technique we also rederive the free fermion modular Hamiltonian in a more transparent way.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.98.125008

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We calculate the analytic form of the vacuum modular Hamiltonian for a two interval region and the algebra of a current j(x)=\ensuremath∂\ensuremathϕ(x)j(x)=\ensuremath{\partial}\ensuremath{\phi}(x)j(x)=\ensuremath∂\ensuremathϕ(x) corresponding to a chiral free scalar \ensuremathϕ\ensuremath{\phi}\ensuremathϕ in d=2d=2d=2. We also compute explicitly the mutual information between the intervals. This model shows a failure of Haag duality for two intervals that translates into a loss of a symmetry property for the mutual information usually associated with modular invariance. Contrary to the case of a free massless fermion, the modular Hamiltonian turns out to be completely nonlocal. The calculation is done diagonalizing the density matrix by computing the eigensystem of a correlator kernel operator. These eigenvectors are obtained by a novel method that involves solving an equivalent problem for a holomorphic function in the complex plane where multiplicative boundary conditions are imposed on the intervals. Using the same technique we also rederive the free fermion modular Hamiltonian in a more transparent way.
A bstract We study the modular Hamiltonian and the entanglement entropy of the BMS-invariant free fermion model. Starting from the modular Hamiltonian on a half-line interval, we calculate the modular Hamiltonian for a region consisting of two disjoint intervals using the uniformization map and a background field method. The resulting modular Hamiltonian contains a local term which generates a geometrical flow, and a bi-local term which mixes operators between the two intervals. We further derive a relation between Wightman functions and the modular Hamiltonian using both diagonalization and a coherent state method. This enables us to compute the entanglement entropy for multi-disjoint intervals. Our explicit results in the BMS free fermion model are compatible with earlier ones based on symmetry and holography.
We study the entanglement negativity for the free, scalar chiral current in two spacetime dimensions, which is a simple model violating the Haag duality in regions with nontrivial topology. For the ground state of the system, both on the line and on the circle, we consider the setups given by two intervals, either adjacent or disjoint. We find analytic expressions for the moments of the partial transpose of the reduced density matrix and the logarithmic negativity. In the limit of small separation distance, this expression yields the same subleading topological contribution occurring in the mutual information. In the limit of large separation distance between the two intervals, the exponential decay of the logarithmic negativity is obtained from its analytic expression. The analytic formulas are checked against exact numerical results from a bosonic lattice model, finding a perfect agreement. We observe that, since the chiral current generates the neutral subalgebra of the full chiral Dirac fermion theory, this analysis highlights how symmetries produce nontrivial features in the entanglement structure that are analogue to those ones already observed in the mutual information for regions with nontrivial topology.
A bstract We study the modular Hamiltonians of an interval for the massless Dirac fermion on the half-line. The most general boundary conditions ensuring the global energy conservation lead to consider two phases, where either the vector or the axial symmetry is preserved. In these two phases we derive the corresponding modular Hamiltonian in explicit form. Its density involves a bi-local term localised in two points of the interval, one conjugate to the other. The associated modular flows are also established. Depending on the phase, they mix fields with different chirality or charge that follow different modular trajectories. Accordingly, the modular flow preserves either the vector or the axial symmetry. We compute the two-point correlation functions along the modular flow and show that they satisfy the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger condition in both phases. The entanglement entropies are also derived.
Modular flow is a symmetry of the algebra of observables associated to spacetime regions. Being closely related to entanglement, it has played a key role in recent connections between information theory, QFT and gravity. However, little is known about its action beyond highly symmetric cases. The key idea of this work is to introduce a new formula for modular flows for free chiral fermions in 1+11+11+1 dimensions, working directly from the \\textit{resolvent}, a standard technique in complex analysis. We present novel results -- not fixed by conformal symmetry -- for disjoint regions on the plane, cylinder and torus. Depending on temperature and boundary conditions, these display different behaviour ranging from purely local to non-local in relation to the mixing of operators at spacelike separation. We find the modular two-point function, whose analytic structure is in precise agreement with the KMS condition that governs modular evolution. Our ready-to-use formulae may provide new ingredients to explore the connection between spacetime and entanglement.
In this article, we extend our study on a new class of modular Hamiltonians on an interval attached to the origin on the semi-infinite line, introduced in a recent work dedicated to scalar fields. Here, we shift our attention to fermions and similarly to the scalar case, we investigate the modular Hamiltonians of theories which are obtained through dimensional reduction, this time, of a free massless Dirac field in ddd dimensions. By following the same methodology, we perform dimensional reduction on both the physical and modular Hamiltonians. This process enables us to establish a correspondence: we identify the modular Hamiltonian in an interval connected to the origin to the one obtained from the reduction of the modular Hamiltonian pertaining to the conformal parent theory on a sphere. Intriguingly, although the resulting one-dimensional theories lack conformal symmetry due to the presence of a term proportional to 1/r1/r1/r, the corresponding modular Hamiltonians are local functions in the energy density. This phenomenon mirrors the well known behaviour observed in the conformal case and indicates the existence of a residual symmetry, characterized by a subset of the original conformal group. Furthermore, through an analysis of the spectrum of the modular Hamiltonians, we derive an analytic expression for the associated entanglement entropy. Our findings also enable us to successfully recover the conformal anomaly coefficient from the universal piece of the entropy in even dimensions, as well as the universal constant FFF term in d=3d=3d=3, by extending the radial regularization scheme originally introduced by Srednicki to perform the sum over angular modes.
Abstract Modular flow is a symmetry of the algebra of observables associated to space-time regions. Being closely related to entanglement, it has played a key role in recent connections between information theory, QFT and gravity. However, little is known about its action beyond highly symmetric cases. The key idea of this work is to introduce a new formula for modular flows for free chiral fermions in 1 + 1 dimensions, working directly from the resolvent, a standard technique in complex analysis. We present novel results — not fixed by conformal symmetry — for disjoint regions on the plane, cylinder and torus. Depending on temperature and boundary conditions, these display different behaviour ranging from purely local to non-local in relation to the mixing of operators at spacelike separation. We find the modular two-point function, whose analytic structure is in precise agreement with the KMS condition that governs modular evolution. Our ready-to-use formulae may provide new ingredients to explore the connection between spacetime and entanglement.