Breaking the spell of the tensor product

TL;DR

This paper challenges the conventional tensor product assumption in holographic duality, proposing a smaller Hilbert space for wormholes that suggests non-local interactions and impacts black hole modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a novel perspective that the Hilbert space of wormholes is smaller than the tensor product, affecting the understanding of quantum states in holography.

Findings

Hilbert space of wormholes is smaller than tensor product

Non-local interactions stabilize the wormhole

Implications for black hole models and quantum state counting

Abstract

In this essay I argue that the Hilbert space of states dual to a traversable wormhole is smaller than the tensor product of the independent Hilbert spaces of the boundary field theories. From the point of view of semiclassical physics, the decrease in the number of states is perceived as an emergent, non-local interaction stabilizing the wormhole. This presents new possibilities for models of radiating black holes and raises questions about results established under the spell of the tensor product.