Large $N$ analytical functional bootstrap I: 1D CFTs and total positivity

TL;DR

This paper develops an analytical approach to the large N conformal bootstrap in 1D, revealing the role of total positivity in conformal blocks and constructing functionals that prove bootstrap bounds.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical framework for large N 1D CFTs, utilizing total positivity of conformal blocks to derive bootstrap bounds and construct extremal functionals.

Findings

Conformal blocks are totally positive for large scaling dimensions.

Total positivity is violated below a critical dimension $oxed{0.32315626}$.

Constructed functionals approach the bootstrap bound analytically.

Abstract

We initiate the analytical functional bootstrap study of conformal field theories with large $N$ limits. In this first paper we particularly focus on the 1D $O(N)$ vector bootstrap. We obtain a remarkably simple bootstrap equation from the $O(N)$ vector crossing equations in the large $N$ limit. The bootstrap bound is saturated by the generalized free field theory. We study the analytical extremal functionals of this crossing equation, for which the total positivity of the $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ conformal block plays a critical role. We prove the $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ conformal block is totally positive for large scaling dimension $\Delta$ and show that the total positivity is violated below a critical value $\Delta_{\textrm{TP}}^*\approx 0.32315626$. The conformal block forms a surprisingly sophisticated mathematical structure, which for instance can violate total positivity at the order $10^{-5654}$ for a normal value $\Delta=0.1627$! We construct a series of analytical functionals $\{\alpha_M\}$ which satisfy the bootstrap positive conditions up to a range $\Delta\leqslant \Lambda_M$. The functionals $\{\alpha_M\}$ have a trivial large $M$ limit. Surprisingly, due to total positivity, they can approach the large $M$ limit in a way consistent with the bootstrap positive conditions for arbitrarily high $\Lambda_M$, therefore proving the bootstrap bound analytically. Our result provides a concrete example to illustrate how the analytical properties of the conformal block lead to nontrivial bootstrap bounds. We expect this work paves the way for large $N$ analytical functional bootstrap in higher dimensions.