We give a pedagogical review of how concepts from quantum information theory build up the gravitational side of the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence. The review is self-contained in that it only presupposes knowledge of quantum mechanics and general relativity; other tools-including holographic duality itself-are introduced in the text. We have aimed to give researchers interested in entering this field a working knowledge sufficient for initiating original projects. The review begins with the laws of black hole thermodynamics, which form the basis of this subject, then introduces the Ryu-Takayanagi proposal, the Jafferis-Lewkowycz-Maldacena-Suh (JLMS) relation, and subregion duality. We discuss tensor networks as a visualization tool and analyze various network architectures in detail. Next, several modern concepts and techniques are discussed: Rényi entropies and the replica trick, differential entropy and kinematic space, modular Berry phases, modular minimal entropy, entanglement wedge cross-sections, bit threads, and others. We discuss the extent to which bulk geometries are fixed by boundary entanglement entropies, and analyze the relations such as the monogamy of mutual information, which boundary entanglement entropies must obey if a state has a semiclassical bulk dual. We close with a discussion of black holes, including holographic complexity, firewalls and the black hole information paradox, islands, and replica wormholes.
We give a pedagogical review of how concepts from quantum information theory build up the gravitational side of the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence. The review is self-contained in that it only presupposes knowledge of quantum mechanics and general relativity; other tools-including holographic duality itself-are introduced in the text. We have aimed to give researchers interested in entering this field a working knowledge sufficient for initiating original projects. The review begins with the laws of black hole thermodynamics, which form the basis of this subject, then introduces the Ryu-Takayanagi proposal, the Jafferis-Lewkowycz-Maldacena-Suh (JLMS) relation, and subregion duality. We discuss tensor networks as a visualization tool and analyze various network architectures in detail. Next, several modern concepts and techniques are discussed: Rényi entropies and the replica trick, differential entropy and kinematic space, modular Berry phases, modular minimal entropy, entanglement wedge cross-sections, bit threads, and others. We discuss the extent to which bulk geometries are fixed by boundary entanglement entropies, and analyze the relations such as the monogamy of mutual information, which boundary entanglement entropies must obey if a state has a semiclassical bulk dual. We close with a discussion of black holes, including holographic complexity, firewalls and the black hole information paradox, islands, and replica wormholes.
In these notes we give a pedagogical account of the replica trick derivation of CFT entanglement and its holographic counterpart, i.e. the Lewkowycz Maldacena derivation of the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. The application to an ‘island set-up’ for the calculation of black hole radiation entropy is briefly discussed. Further topics focused on are the relation to thermal entropy, thermofield double constructions and statements about the emergence of gravity from entanglement through reinterpretations of gravitational first laws.
In this Dissertation, different aspects of holographic entanglement entropy are explored. In quantum information theory, entanglement is a useful resource needed to perform quantum operations. Entanglement entropy quantifies this resource and even if computable in quantum field theories, it is quite hard to calculate explicitly. However, in the context of gauge/gravity duality, (holographic) entanglement entropy was proposed by Ryu and Takayanagi (RT) to be captured by the area of a minimal surface in Anti DeSitter (AdS) space, which is extremely simple to compute. We begin by using the holographic dictionary to derive the RT formula. This is done by first considering smooth bulk geometries which are dual to n copies of the boundary geometry glued in a particular way. The action of these geometries computes the Renyi entropies S_n for any integer n. We give a prescription to analytically continue the action to non-integer n and argue that, as n goes to 1,S_1, the entanglement entropy, is given by the area of a minimal surface, reproducing the RT conjecture. That is, we reduced the RT proposal to the equality between bulk and boundary partition functions, a standard entry in the dictionary. We then generalize the previous formalism to account for corrections due to bulk quantum fields (1/N corrections in the boundary). This allows us to derive a new formula: boundary entanglement entropy is given by the area of the minimal surface plus bulk entanglement entropy. This extends RT beyond the planar limit and we present several predictions of the proposal. Our exploration of holographic entanglement entropy continues by considering different states: by comparing the quantum corrected entropy for nearby states we obtain the modular hamiltonian operator in bulk perturbation theory. From this expression of the modular hamiltonian, we derive that relative entropy is bulk relative entropy and that the modular flow is the bulk modular flow.
The AdS/CFT correspondence, a remarkable duality between certain gravitational theories in anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime and quantum field theories with conformal symmetry (CFT), has had a profound effect on the development of theoretical physics in the past two decades. Recently, many connections of AdS/CFT to quantum information theory have been found, in particular by providing gravitationally dual descriptions of various entanglement measures. Understanding these manifestions of AdS/CFT --- or more generally, the conjectured holographic principle encompassing it --- requires the combination of tools from both high-energy theory and quantum information physics. In this cumulative thesis, the convergence between these two fields is approached from two fronts: First, by calculations within the dual gravitational theory, and second, using a tensor network ansatz to describe the quantum states suspected to possess such a gravitational description. In the first approach, using the gravitational side of AdS/CFT, entanglement entropies of complicated 2+1-dimensional excited CFTs are computed, thus showing how the holographic approach provides access to systems previously out of reach of practical methods, while introducing new numerical methods that this approach necessitates. The second approach is given by tensor networks, a highly successful ansatz for computing properties of one- and two-dimensional quantum systems. Efficiently computable classes of tensor networks are tested in their ability to represent simple holographic systems, successfully reproducing both hyperbolic geometrical features as well as critical boundary states. In addition, the general properties of tensor networks on regular hyperbolic tesselations are considered, leading to new connections to models not previously considered in the context of holography. This interplay of different approaches to quantum information holography showcases the richness of this new field and suggests that a wide range of physical phenomena is accessible via the new tools now at our disposal.
In recent years many discoveries have been made that reveal a close relation between quantum information and geometry in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence. In this duality between a conformal quantum field theory (CFT) and a theory of gravity on Anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) quantum information quantities in CFT are associated with geometric objects in AdS. Subject of this thesis is the examination of this intriguing property of AdS/CFT. We study two central elements of quantum information: subregion complexity -- which is a measure for the effort required to construct a given reduced state -- and the modular Hamiltonian -- which is given by the logarithm of a considered reduced state. While a clear definition for subregion complexity in terms of unitary gates exists for discrete systems, a rigorous formulation for quantum field theories is not known. In AdS/CFT, subregion complexity is proposed to be related to certain codimension one regions on the AdS side. The main focus of this thesis lies on the examination of such candidates for gravitational duals of subregion complexity. We introduce the concept of \textit{topological complexity}, which considers subregion complexity to be given by the integral over the Ricci scalar of codimension one regions in AdS. The Gauss-Bonnet theorem provides very general expressions for the topological complexity of CFT2 states dual to global AdS3, BTZ black holes and conical defects. In particular, our calculations show that the topology of the considered codimension one bulk region plays an essential role for topological complexity. Moreover, we study holographic subregion complexity (HSRC), which associates the volume of a particular codimension one bulk region with subregion complexity. We derive an explicit field theory expression for the HSRC of vacuum states. The formulation of HSRC in terms of field theory quantities may allow to investigate whether this bulk object indeed provides a concept of subregion complexity on the CFT side. In particular, if this turns out to be the case, our expression for HSRC may be seen as a field theory definition of subregion complexity. We extend our expression to states dual to BTZ black holes and conical defects. A further focus of this thesis is the modular Hamiltonian of a family of states ρλ depending on a continuous parameter λ. Here λ may be associated with the energy density or the temperature, for instance. The importance of the modular Hamiltonian for quantum information is due to its contribution to relative entropy -- one of the very few objects in quantum information with a rigorous definition for quantum field theories. The first order contribution in λ~=λ−λ0 of the modular Hamiltonian to the relative entropy between ρλ and a reference state ρλ0 is provided by the first law of entanglement. We study under which circumstances higher order contributions in λ~ are to be expected. We show that for states reduced to two entangling regions A, B the modular Hamiltonian of at least one of these regions is expected to provide higher order contributions in λ~ to the relative entropy if A and B saturate the Araki-Lieb inequality. The statement of the Araki-Lieb inequality is that the difference between the entanglement entropies of A and B is always smaller or equal to the entanglement entropy of the union of A and B. Regions for which this inequality is saturated are referred to as entanglement plateaux. In AdS/CFT the relation between geometry and quantum information provides many examples for entanglement plateaux. We apply our result to several of them, including large intervals for states dual to BTZ black holes and annuli for states dual to black brane geometries.
[This is a creative exploration of a concept with AI -it should not be taken as correct mathematics.] We present a detailed examination of the conjectured correspondence between Einstein-Rosen (ER) bridges and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entanglement, denoted as ER=EPR. This examination concentrates on the quantitative structures and derivations supporting this correspondence, primarily within the setting of the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT) duality. We analyze the realization of this correspondence in the eternal black hole geometry and its dual Thermofield Double (TFD) state. A complete exposition of the holographic entanglement entropy prescriptions is provided, including the derivation of the Quantum Extremal Surface (QES) prescription via the Lewkowycz-Maldacena argument concerning the gravitational path integral and conical singularities, and the subsequent derivation of the Jafferis-Lewkowycz-Maldacena-Suh (JLMS) relation establishing the equality of bulk and boundary relative entropies. We investigate the relationship between the temporal evolution of the spacetime geometry, characterized by the growth of the Einstein-Rosen bridge, and the evolution of quantum complexity. A complete derivation of the maximal volume growth rate is provided, carefully analyzing the geometry inside the horizon. Furthermore, a complete derivation of the action growth rate, supporting the Complexity=Action conjecture, is provided, clarifying the precise contribution of bulk, boundary, and joint terms in the gravitational action according to the definitions established by Lehner et al. for manifolds with null boundaries. The correspondence is extended to typical entangled states, characterized by Einstein-Rosen caterpillars. We derive the effective Hamiltonian governing the ensemble average of the generating random circuits and establish the quantitative relationship between the geometric length of the wormhole and the measure of quantum randomness (k-designs), utilizing the results of Magán, Sasieta, and Swingle. The role of QES and the derivation of the Page curve via replica wormholes are analyzed, detailing the calculations in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity theories following Penington et al. Mechanisms for rendering wormholes traversable via boundary interactions (Gao-Jafferis-Wall construction) and operational interpretations based on Local Operationsand Classical Communication protocols are also discussed, emphasizing the quantitative consistency of these interconnected concepts.
Black holes are windows into the deepest structures of reality, where quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and geometry converge. In this pedagogical preprint we explore how quantum entanglement entropy provides a microscopic foundation for black hole thermodynamics. Starting from rst principles of quantum information theory, we introduce entanglement entropy, the area law, and Hawking radiation, then proceed to modern results: the Ryu-Takayanagi formula, quantum extremal surfaces, the Page curve, replica wormholes, and the island formula. Throughout, the emphasis is on physical intuition. No prior knowledge of string theory or loop quantum gravity is assumed.