1. Flat entanglement spectra in fixed-area states of quantum gravity
- Author
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Daniel Harlow, Donald Marolf, and Xi Dong
- Subjects
High Energy Physics - Theory ,Nuclear and High Energy Physics ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Semiclassical physics ,Quantum entanglement ,AdS-CFT Correspondence ,01 natural sciences ,Atomic ,Mathematical Sciences ,Gauge-gravity correspondence ,Gravitation ,Particle and Plasma Physics ,Quantum mechanics ,0103 physical sciences ,Euclidean geometry ,lcsh:Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity ,Nuclear ,010306 general physics ,Quantum ,Mathematical Physics ,Physics ,Quantum Physics ,010308 nuclear & particles physics ,hep-th ,Molecular ,Nuclear & Particles Physics ,AdS/CFT correspondence ,High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) ,Path integral formulation ,Physical Sciences ,lcsh:QC770-798 ,Quantum gravity ,Classical Theories of Gravity - Abstract
We use the Einstein-Hilbert gravitational path integral to investigate gravitational entanglement at leading order $O(1/G)$. We argue that semiclassical states prepared by a Euclidean path integral have the property that projecting them onto a subspace in which the Ryu-Takayanagi or Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi surface has definite area gives a state with a flat entanglement spectrum at this order in gravitational perturbation theory. This means that the reduced density matrix can be approximated as proportional to the identity to the extent that its Renyi entropies $S_n$ are independent of $n$ at this order. The $n$-dependence of $S_n$ in more general states then arises from sums over the RT/HRT-area, which are generally dominated by different values of this area for each $n$. This provides a simple picture of gravitational entanglement, bolsters the connection between holographic systems and tensor network models, clarifies the bulk interpretation of algebraic centers which arise in the quantum error-correcting description of holography, and strengthens the connection between bulk and boundary modular Hamiltonians described by Jafferis, Lewkowycz, Maldacena, and Suh., 29 pages, 3 figures; v2: added references and minor corrections, removed an incorrect assertion about the necessity of Renyi flatness for preserving the bulk algebra in the entanglement wedge under boundary modular flow; v3: minor clarifications added to the Discussion section
- Published
- 2019