Work

A proof of the conformal collider bounds

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper, we prove that the “conformal collider bounds” originally proposed in [1] hold for any unitary parity-preserving conformal field theory (CFT) with a unique stress tensor in dimensions d ≥ 3. In particular this implies that the ratio of central charges for a unitary 4d CFT lies in the interval $$ \frac{31}{18}\ge \frac{a}{c}\ge \frac{1}{3} $$ . For superconformal theories this is further reduced to $$ \frac{3}{2}\ge \frac{a}{c}\ge \frac{1}{2} $$ . The proof relies only on CFT first principles — in particular, bootstrap methods — and thus constitutes the first complete field theory proof of these bounds. We further elaborate on similar bounds for non-conserved currents and relate them to results obtained recently from deep inelastic scattering.

Source: Journal of High Energy Physics

DOI: 10.1007/jhep06(2016)111

Authors: Diego M. Hofman, Daliang Li, David Meltzer, David Poland, Fernando Rejon-Barrera

Institutions: Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Institute for Advanced Study

Language: English

Topic: Black Holes and Theoretical Physics

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: National Science Foundation, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología

Awards: CAREER: Conformal Field Theory and Quantum Gravity from the Bottom-Up, Field Theory and Gravity from the Bottom-Up, CAREER: Conformal Symmetry in Theoretical Physics