# Three Dimensional View of the SYK/AdS Duality

## TL;DR

This paper presents a 3D interpretation of the SYK model's spectrum, showing it can be viewed as a scalar coupled to gravity in a three-dimensional space, supporting the idea of a 3D bulk dual.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel 3D scalar-gravity framework that reproduces the SYK spectrum and its corrections, advancing the understanding of the SYK/AdS duality.

## Key findings

- Spectrum matches bi-local propagator at strong coupling
- Leading 1/J correction aligns with known SYK propagator corrections
- Supports the conjecture of a 3D bulk dual for the SYK model

## Abstract

We show that the spectrum of the SYK model can be interpreted as that of a 3D scalar coupled to gravity. The scalar has a mass which is at the Breitenholer-Freedman bound of AdS$_2$, and subject to a delta function potential at the center of the interval along the third direction. This, through Kaluza-Klein procedure on AdS$_2 \times (S^1)/Z_2$, generates the spectrum reproducing the bi-local propagator at strong coupling. Furthermore, the leading $1/J$ correction calculated in this picture reproduces the known correction to the poles of the SYK propagator, providing credence to a conjecture that the bulk dual of this model can be interpreted as a three dimensional theory.