Shape Dependence of Holographic Renyi Entropy in Conformal Field Theories

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the shape of entangling regions affects the Renyi entropy in four-dimensional holographic conformal field theories, revealing that a previously conjectured equality between shape coefficients does not hold holographically.

Contribution

It introduces a holographic framework to compute shape-dependent coefficients in Renyi entropy and demonstrates the failure of a prior conjecture relating these coefficients.

Findings

Calculated the shape coefficient $f_b(n)$ holographically.

Showed that $f_b(n) eq f_c(n)$, disproving the conjecture.

Linked $f_b(n)$ to stress tensor one-point functions in deformed backgrounds.

Abstract

We develop a framework for studying the well-known universal term in the Renyi entropy for an arbitrary entangling region in four-dimensional conformal field theories that are holographically dual to gravitational theories. The shape dependence of the Renyi entropy $S_n$ is described by two coefficients: $f_b(n)$ for traceless extrinsic curvature deformations and $f_c(n)$ for Weyl tensor deformations. We provide the first calculation of the coefficient $f_b(n)$ in interacting theories by relating it to the stress tensor one-point function in a deformed hyperboloid background. The latter is then determined by a straightforward holographic calculation. Our results show that a previous conjecture $f_b(n) = f_c(n)$, motivated by surprising evidence from a variety of free field theories and studies of conical defects, fails holographically.