Constraining Weil-Petersson volumes by universal random matrix correlations in low-dimensional quantum gravity

TL;DR

This paper explores how universal random matrix theory constraints can inform and simplify the calculation of Weil-Petersson volumes of moduli spaces in low-dimensional quantum gravity, based on duality with Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity.

Contribution

It establishes linear relations between Weil-Petersson volume coefficients using RMT constraints, aiding their calculation and understanding.

Findings

Derived constraints impose linear relations on Weil-Petersson volumes.

Provided a method to test and simplify symbolic calculations of volumes.

Proposed a program to leverage RMT for studying moduli spaces of hyperbolic manifolds.

Abstract

Based on the discovery of the duality between Jackiw-Teitelboim quantum gravity and a double-scaled matrix ensemble by Saad, Shenker and Stanford in 2019, we show how consistency between the two theories in the universal Random Matrix Theory (RMT) limit imposes a set of constraints on the volumes of moduli spaces of Riemannian manifolds. These volumes are given in terms of polynomial functions, the Weil-Petersson volumes, solving a celebrated nonlinear recursion formula that is notoriously difficult to analyze. Since our results imply linear relations between the coefficients of the Weil-Petersson volumes, they therefore provide both a stringent test for their symbolic calculation and a possible way of simplifying their construction. In this way, we propose a long-term program to improve the understanding of mathematically hard aspects concerning moduli spaces of hyperbolic manifolds by using universal RMT results as input.