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Main Authors: Bachas, Constantin, Chen, Zhongwu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.14998
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author Bachas, Constantin
Chen, Zhongwu
author_facet Bachas, Constantin
Chen, Zhongwu
contents We revisit the problem of defining an invariant notion of tension in gravity. For spacetimes whose asymptotics are those of a Defect CFT we propose two independent definitions : Gravitational tension given by the one-point function of the dilatation current, and inertial tension, or stiffness, given by the norm of the displacement operator. We show that both reduce to the tension of the Nambu-Goto action in the limit of classical thin probe branes. Subtle normalisations of the relevant Witten diagrams are fixed by the Weyl and diffeomorphism Ward identities of the boundary DCFT. The gravitational tension is not defined for domain walls, whereas stiffness is not defined for point particles. When they both exist these two tensions are in general different, but the examples of line and surface BPS defects in $d=4$ show that superconformal invariance can identify them.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_14998
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Invariant tensions from holography
Bachas, Constantin
Chen, Zhongwu
High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
81T35
We revisit the problem of defining an invariant notion of tension in gravity. For spacetimes whose asymptotics are those of a Defect CFT we propose two independent definitions : Gravitational tension given by the one-point function of the dilatation current, and inertial tension, or stiffness, given by the norm of the displacement operator. We show that both reduce to the tension of the Nambu-Goto action in the limit of classical thin probe branes. Subtle normalisations of the relevant Witten diagrams are fixed by the Weyl and diffeomorphism Ward identities of the boundary DCFT. The gravitational tension is not defined for domain walls, whereas stiffness is not defined for point particles. When they both exist these two tensions are in general different, but the examples of line and surface BPS defects in $d=4$ show that superconformal invariance can identify them.
title Invariant tensions from holography
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
81T35
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.14998