Exact Bulk-Boundary Pairs in AdS/CFT

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an exact, conformal-kinematic pairing between boundary two-point functions and bulk geodesics in AdS/CFT without relying on large N or strong coupling assumptions.

Contribution

It establishes an exact bulk-boundary pairing in AdS/CFT that is purely conformal and does not depend on semiclassical bulk dynamics, extending previous boundary-anchored relations.

Findings

Exact pairing between boundary two-point functions and bulk geodesics.

Resummation of mode expansions yields simple geodesic expressions.

Supports a broader program of exact pairs in AdS/CFT.

Abstract

We show that for a CFT$_D$ on a flat open solid torus, the two point function in the Weyl frame is exactly paired with a finite geodesic lying entirely in the AdS$_{D+1}$ bulk interior. This relation is exact and requires neither large $N$, strong coupling, nor heavy operators. The exactness is that of conformal kinematics; no semiclassical bulk dynamics is assumed. The standard boundary-anchored relation is a singular limit of the exact pair. For the free scalar, a mode expansion along $S^1$ generates an infinite tower of effective masses on $H_{D-1}$, whose intricate propagators resum exactly to the same simple higher-dimensional geodesic expression. Together with another exact pair between disjoint entanglement entropy and entanglement wedge cross-section found on the same open solid torus, this result points toward a broader exact-pair program in AdS/CFT.