Black holes from large N singlet models

TL;DR

This paper investigates how black hole features manifest in simple large N gauge theories by analyzing time-dependent correlation functions, revealing signatures of bulk black holes and new thermalization time scales.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed study of thermal correlation functions in free large N gauge theories, connecting their behavior to bulk black hole properties in holographic duals.

Findings

Correlation functions show propagation consistent with approximate AdS spacetime at low temperatures.

At high temperatures, correlation functions exhibit evanescent modes and exponential decay indicative of black hole horizons.

A new time scale is identified where correlations revert to a thermal AdS form.

Abstract

The emergent nature of spacetime geometry and black holes can be directly probed in simple holographic duals of higher spin gravity and tensionless string theory. To this end, we study time dependent thermal correlation functions of gauge invariant observables in suitably chosen free large N gauge theories. At low temperature and on short time scales the correlation functions encode propagation through an approximate AdS spacetime while interesting departures emerge at high temperature and on longer time scales. This includes the existence of evanescent modes and the exponential decay of time dependent boundary correlations, both of which are well known indicators of bulk black holes in AdS/CFT. In addition, a new time scale emerges after which the correlation functions return to a bulk thermal AdS form up to an overall temperature dependent normalization. A corresponding length scale was seen in equal time correlation functions in the same models in our earlier work.