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Main Author: Qiao, Jiaxin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.13975
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author Qiao, Jiaxin
author_facet Qiao, Jiaxin
contents For a local quantum field theory in anti-de Sitter space with conformal boundary conditions but without dynamical gravity, the boundary theory is generically a non-local conformal field theory. Such theories can support conformal defects, but the standard local-CFT arguments based on a boundary stress tensor and conserved currents do not apply. We argue that, under general assumptions, displacement and tilt operators nevertheless exist and have protected quantum numbers. The mechanism is a Goldstone-type phenomenon in AdS: defect-induced symmetry breaking on the boundary is spontaneous from the viewpoint of the local bulk theory, whose Ward identities enforce the corresponding protected defect operators. We illustrate the mechanism in weakly coupled defect RG flows, long-range Landau--Ginzburg models, 4D Maxwell theory, and Yang--Mills theory in AdS.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_13975
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Protected operators in non-local defect CFTs from AdS
Qiao, Jiaxin
High Energy Physics - Theory
Mathematical Physics
For a local quantum field theory in anti-de Sitter space with conformal boundary conditions but without dynamical gravity, the boundary theory is generically a non-local conformal field theory. Such theories can support conformal defects, but the standard local-CFT arguments based on a boundary stress tensor and conserved currents do not apply. We argue that, under general assumptions, displacement and tilt operators nevertheless exist and have protected quantum numbers. The mechanism is a Goldstone-type phenomenon in AdS: defect-induced symmetry breaking on the boundary is spontaneous from the viewpoint of the local bulk theory, whose Ward identities enforce the corresponding protected defect operators. We illustrate the mechanism in weakly coupled defect RG flows, long-range Landau--Ginzburg models, 4D Maxwell theory, and Yang--Mills theory in AdS.
title Protected operators in non-local defect CFTs from AdS
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
Mathematical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.13975