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Wave function of Vasiliev’s universe: A few slices thereof

Canonical reference. 100% of citing Pith papers cite this work as background.

6 Pith papers citing it
Background 100% of classified citations
abstract

We study the partition function of the free Sp(N) conformal field theory recently conjectured to be dual to asymptotically de Sitter higher-spin gravity in four-dimensions. We compute the partition function of this CFT on a round sphere as a function of a finite mass deformation, on a squashed sphere as a function of the squashing parameter, and on an S2xS1 geometry as a function of the relative size of S2 and S1. We find that the partition function is divergent at large negative mass in the first case, and for small $S^1$ in the third case. It is globally peaked at zero squashing in the second case. Through the duality this partition function contains information about the wave function of the universe. We show that the divergence at small S1 occurs also in Einstein gravity if certain complex solutions are included, but the divergence in the mass parameter is new. We suggest an interpretation for this divergence as indicating an instability of de Sitter space in higher spin gravity, consistent with general arguments that de Sitter space cannot be stable in quantum gravity.

citation-role summary

background 6

citation-polarity summary

fields

hep-th 6

years

2026 4 2025 2

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background 5

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background 5

representative citing papers

dS$^4$ Metamorphosis

hep-th · 2026-02-23 · conditional · novelty 7.0

Higher spin gravity path integral on S^4 glues to an Sp(N) or superconformal S^3 boundary theory, giving leading contribution 2^N with one-loop cancellations.

M\"obius randomness in the Hartle-Hawking state

hep-th · 2025-05-05 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0

The Hartle-Hawking state for toroidal quantum cosmologies is expressed in the Langlands decomposition as a sum over zeta zeros whose near-singularity dynamics follow the Hilbert-Pólya Hamiltonian and as a Möbius average of CFT partition functions.

citing papers explorer

Showing 6 of 6 citing papers.

  • Horizon Edge Partition Functions in $\Lambda>0$ Quantum Gravity hep-th · 2026-03-21 · unverdicted · none · ref 91 · internal anchor

    Horizon edge mode spectra in de Sitter and Nariai spacetimes exhibit universal shift symmetries that produce novel symmetry breaking in one-loop partition functions.

  • dS$^4$ Metamorphosis hep-th · 2026-02-23 · conditional · none · ref 50 · internal anchor

    Higher spin gravity path integral on S^4 glues to an Sp(N) or superconformal S^3 boundary theory, giving leading contribution 2^N with one-loop cancellations.

  • M\"obius randomness in the Hartle-Hawking state hep-th · 2025-05-05 · unverdicted · none · ref 8 · internal anchor

    The Hartle-Hawking state for toroidal quantum cosmologies is expressed in the Langlands decomposition as a sum over zeta zeros whose near-singularity dynamics follow the Hilbert-Pólya Hamiltonian and as a Möbius average of CFT partition functions.

  • Deforming the Double-Scaled SYK & Reaching the Stretched Horizon From Finite Cutoff Holography hep-th · 2026-02-05 · unverdicted · none · ref 234 · internal anchor

    Deformations of the double-scaled SYK model via finite-cutoff holography produce Krylov complexity as wormhole length and realize Susskind's stretched horizon proposal through targeted T² deformations in the high-energy spectrum.

  • Cosmological Entanglement Entropy from the von Neumann Algebra of Double-Scaled SYK & Its Connection with Krylov Complexity hep-th · 2025-11-05 · unverdicted · none · ref 150 · internal anchor

    Algebraic entanglement entropy from type II1 algebras in double-scaled SYK is matched via triple-scaling limits to Ryu-Takayanagi areas in (A)dS2, reproducing Bekenstein-Hawking and Gibbons-Hawking formulas for specific regions while depending on Krylov complexity of the Hartle-Hawking state.

  • The Fate of Nucleated Black Holes in de Sitter Quantum Gravity hep-th · 2026-05-04 · unverdicted · none · ref 19 · 2 links · internal anchor

    Nucleated black holes in de Sitter space evaporate via standard Hawking radiation back to the empty vacuum, rendering nucleation a temporary fluctuation.