Exact lattice bosonization of finite N matrix quantum mechanics and c = 1

TL;DR

This paper introduces an exact lattice bosonization method for matrix quantum mechanics that accurately captures finite N effects, reproduces finite entanglement entropy, and offers a potentially new dual perspective for c=1 models.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel exact lattice bosonization for matrix quantum mechanics valid at finite N, incorporating trace identities and finite entanglement entropy, differing from standard density fluctuation approaches.

Findings

Exact bosonization maps fermionic Hamiltonian to bosonic form.

Finite N leads to a finite lattice and entanglement entropy.

The approach applies to c=1 models, providing a new dual description.

Abstract

We describe a new exact lattice bosonization of matrix quantum mechanics (equivalently of non-relativistic fermions) that is valid for arbitrary rank N of the matrix, based on an exact operator bosonization introduced earlier in [1]. The trace identities are automatically incorporated in this formalism. The finite number N of fermions is reflected in the finite number N of bosonic oscillators, or equivalently to the finite number N of lattice points. The fermion Hamiltonian is exactly mappable to a bosonic Hamiltonian. At large N, the latter becomes local and corresponds to the lattice version of a relativistic boson Hamiltonian, with a lattice spacing of order 1/N. The finite lattice spacing leads to a finite entanglement entropy (EE) of the bosonic theory, which reproduces the finite EE of the fermionic theory. Such a description is not available in the standard bosonization in terms of fermion density fluctuations on the Fermi surface, which does not have a built-in short distance cut-off (see, however, [2]). The bosonic lattice is equipped with a geometry determined by the matrix potential or equivalently by the shape of the Fermi surface. Our bosonization also works in the double scaled c=1 model, where the bosonic EE again turns out to be finite, with the short distance cut-off turning as g_s l_s, and reproduces the matrix result. Once again, such a short distance cut-off cannot appear in the conventional dual of c=1 in terms of the 2D string ``tachyon'', where the expected short distance scale is l_s. This indicates our bosonization as a possibly different dual description to the c=1 matrix model appropriate for ``local physics'' like quantum entanglement, by contrast with the conventional duality to the eigenvalue density which works well for asymptotic observables like S-matrices. We briefly discuss possible relation of our bosonization to D0 branes.