Background independent holographic description : From matrix field theory to quantum gravity

We propose a local renormalization group procedure where length scale is changed in spacetime dependent way. Combining this scheme with an earlier observation that high energy modes in renormalization group play the role of dynamical sources for low energy modes at each scale, we provide a prescription to derive background independent holographic duals for field theories. From a first principle construction, it is shown that the holographic theory dual to a D-dimensional matrix field theory is a (D+1)-dimensional quantum theory of gravity coupled with matter fields of various spins. The gravitational theory has (D+1) first-class constraints which generate local spacetime transformations in the bulk. The (D+1)-dimensional diffeomorphism invariance is a consequence of the freedom to choose different local RG schemes.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures; v2) sections VIII and IX added; v3) typos corrected (to appear in JHEP

Recent Developments in Non-Fermi Liquid Theory

Non-Fermi liquids arise when metals are subject to singular interactions mediated by soft collective modes. In the absence of well-defined quasiparticle, universal physics of non-Fermi liquids is captured by interacting field theories which replace Landau Fermi liquid theory. In this review, we discuss two approaches that have been recently developed for non-Fermi liquid theory with emphasis on two space dimensions. The first is a perturbative scheme based on a dimensional regularization, which achieves a controlled access to the low-energy physics by tuning the number of co-dimensions of Fermi surface. The second is a non-perturbative approach which treats the interaction ahead of the kinetic term through a non-Gaussian scaling called interaction-driven scaling. Examples of strongly coupled non-Fermi liquids amenable to exact treatments through the interaction-driven scaling are discussed.Comment: 23 pages; comments are welcom

Quantum Renormalization Group and Holography

Quantum renormalization group scheme provides a microscopic understanding of holography through a general mapping between the beta functions of underlying quantum field theories and the holographic actions in the bulk. We show that the Einstein gravity emerges as a long wavelength holographic description for a matrix field theory which has no other operator with finite scaling dimension except for the energy-momentum tensor. We also point out that holographic actions for general large N matrix field theories respect the inversion symmetry along the radial direction in the bulk if the beta functions of single-trace operators are gradient flows with respect to the target space metric set by the beta functions of double-trace operators.Comment: 5 pages; 1 figure; v2) references adde

Horizon as Critical Phenomenon

We show that renormalization group(RG) flow can be viewed as a gradual wave function collapse, where a quantum state associated with the action of field theory evolves toward a final state that describes an IR fixed point. The process of collapse is described by the radial evolution in the dual holographic theory. If the theory is in the same phase as the assumed IR fixed point, the initial state is smoothly projected to the final state. If in a different phase, the initial state undergoes a phase transition which in turn gives rise to a horizon in the bulk geometry. We demonstrate the connection between critical behavior and horizon in an example, by deriving the bulk metrics that emerge in various phases of the U(N) vector model in the large N limit based on the holographic dual constructed from quantum RG. The gapped phase exhibits a geometry that smoothly ends at a finite proper distance in the radial direction. The geometric distance in the radial direction measures a complexity : the depth of RG transformation that is needed to project the generally entangled UV state to a direct product state in the IR. For gapless states, entanglement persistently spreads out to larger length scales, and the initial state can not be projected to the direct product state. The obstruction to smooth projection at charge neutral point manifests itself as the long throat in the anti-de Sitter space. The Poincare horizon at infinity marks the critical point which exhibits a divergent length scale in the spread of entanglement. For the gapless states with non-zero chemical potential, the bulk space becomes the Lifshitz geometry with the dynamical critical exponent two. The identification of horizon as critical point may provide an explanation for the universality of horizon. We also discuss the structure of the bulk tensor network that emerges from the quantum RG.Comment: 37 pages, 8 figures; v2) introduction expande