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arXiv:1811.02584 · Journal of High Energy Physics

Towards a full solution of the large N double-scaled SYK model

Micha Berkooz A, Mikhail Isachenkov, Vladimir Narovlansky, Genis Torrents

Published Mar 1, 2019• 188 citations
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Abstract

Abstract We compute the exact, all energy scale, 4-point function of the large N doublescaled SYK model, by using only combinatorial tools and relating the correlation functions to sums over chord diagrams. We apply the result to obtain corrections to the maximal Lyapunov exponent at low temperatures. We present the rules for the non-perturbative diagrammatic description of correlation functions of the entire model. The latter indicate that the model can be solved by a reduction of a quantum deformation of SL(2), that generalizes the Schwarzian to the complete range of energies.

DOI
10.1007/jhep03(2019)079

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hep-thCross-listedarXiv:2604.01320•Apr 3, 2026•0 citations
Abstract We compute the exact, all energy scale, 4-point function of the large N doublescaled SYK model, by using only combinatorial tools and relating the correlation functions to sums over chord diagrams. We apply the result to obtain corrections to the maximal Lyapunov exponent at low temperatures. We present the rules for the non-perturbative diagrammatic description of correlation functions of the entire model. The latter indicate that the model can be solved by a reduction of a quantum deformation of SL(2), that generalizes the Schwarzian to the complete range of energies.
Abstract We compute the exact density of states and 2-point function of the N \mathcal{N} N N = 2 super-symmetric SYK model in the large N double-scaled limit, by using combinatorial tools that relate the moments of the distribution to sums over oriented chord diagrams. In particular we show how SUSY is realized on the (highly degenerate) Hilbert space of chords. We further calculate analytically the number of ground states of the model in each charge sector at finite N, and compare it to the results from the double-scaled limit. Our results reduce to the super-Schwarzian action in the low energy short interaction length limit. They imply that the conformal ansatz of the 2-point function is inconsistent due to the large number of ground states, and we show how to add this contribution. We also discuss the relation of the model to SLq(2|1). For completeness we present an overview of the N \mathcal{N} N N = 1 super-symmetric SYK model in the large N double-scaled limit.
Abstract We review recent progress regarding the double scaled Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model and other p -local quantum mechanical random Hamiltonians. These models exhibit an expansion using chord diagrams, which can be solved by combinatorial methods. We describe exact results in these models, including their spectrum, correlation functions, and Lyapunov exponent. In a certain limit, these techniques manifest the relation to the Schwarzian quantum mechanics, a theory of quantum gravity in AdS 2 . More generally, the theory is controlled by a rigid algebraic structure of a quantum group, suggesting a theory of quantum gravity on non-commutative q -deformed AdS 2 . We conclude with discussion of related universality classes, and survey some of the current research directions.
A bstract The p-body SYK model at finite temperature exhibits submaximal chaos and contains stringy-like corrections to the dual JT gravity. It can be solved exactly in two different limits: “large p” SYK 1 ≪ p ≪ N and “double-scaled” SYK N , p → ∞ with λ = 2 p 2 / N fixed. We clarify the relation between the two. Starting from the exact results in the double-scaled limit, we derive several observables in the large p limit. We compute euclidean 2 n -point correlators and out-of-time-order four-point function at long lorentzian times. To compute the correlators we find the relevant asymptototics of the Uq(su(1,1)) {\mathcal{U}}_q\left( su\left(1,1\right)\right) Uq​(su(1,1)) U q su 1 1 6j-symbol.
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.
Abstract We solve for the exact energy spectrum, 2-point and 4-point functions of the complex SYK model, in the double scaling limit at all energy scales. This model has a U(1) global symmetry. The analysis shows how to incorporate a chemical potential in the chord diagram picture, and we present results for the various observables also at a given fixed charge sector. In addition to matching to the spectral asymmetry, we consider an analogous asymmetry measure of the 2-point function obeying a non-trivial dependence on the operator’s dimension. We also provide the chord diagram structure for an SYK-like model that has a U(M) global symmetry at any disorder realization. We then show how to exactly compute the effect of inserting very heavy operators, with formally infinite conformal dimension. The latter separate the gravitational spacetime into several parts connected by an interface, whose properties are exactly computable at all scales. In particular, light enough states can still go between the spaces. This behavior has a simple description in the chord diagram picture.
We present an exact solution in the large-NNN limit of the Lévy Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (LSYK) model introduced in Ref. [1], wherein the couplings are drawn from a Lévy Stable distribution parameterized by a tail exponent μ∈[0,2]μ\in [0, 2]μ∈[0,2]. Starting from the Hamiltonian and its associated partition function, we highlight the key differences from the standard Gaussian SYK model and derive the large-NNN Schwinger-Dyson equations via a bosonic oscillator representation of the action. These equations are solved both numerically and analytically in the large-qqq and infrared limits. We subsequently analyze the chaotic properties of the model by computing the Krylov exponent from the large-qqq Green's function and extracting the Lyapunov exponent from the 444-point function. The parameter μμμ continuously interpolates between a free theory at μ=0μ= 0μ=0 and the conventional, maximally chaotic Gaussian SYK model at μ=2μ= 2μ=2, with non-maximal chaos persisting throughout the intermediate regime 0<μ<20 < μ< 20<μ<2. Thermodynamic quantities, including the entropy, free energy, average energy, and specific heat capacity, are computed and compared with their Gaussian SYK counterparts. The interpretations of the thermodynamics are discussed with respect to the holographic dual and non-Fermi liquid theory. Finally, we discuss an alternative representation of the LSYK model based on a distinct decomposition of the Lévy Stable distribution, which establishes a non-trivial connection to Gaussian SYK, and provide supporting analytical and numerical results in the appendices.