Recognition: unknown
Quasinormal Modes of pp-Wave Spacetimes and Zero Temperature Dissipation
Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 13:05 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
pp-Wave spacetimes exhibit zero-temperature dissipation for scalar modes when d is at least 3
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
The pp-wave deformation promotes the Poincaré horizon at r equals 0 to an irregular singular point of rank (d plus 2) over 2. This point acts as a geometric absorber for ingoing waves. As a result, when d is at least 3 every scalar quasinormal mode satisfies Im(ω_n) less than 0, establishing zero-temperature dissipation without horizon or entropy. At zeroth order the radial equation is Bessel's equation of order μ equals d over (d plus 2), proving the modes are gapped. For d equals 2 the equation reduces to the Whittaker equation and yields an exact non-dissipative spectrum with Im(ω) equals 0.
What carries the argument
The irregular singular point of rank (d+2)/2 at r=0, which functions as a geometric absorber for ingoing waves under the chosen boundary conditions
If this is right
- All scalar quasinormal modes form a discrete gapped dissipative tower for d greater than or equal to 3.
- Linear stability of the background is established by the negative imaginary parts of all frequencies.
- Zero-temperature dissipation is realized in horizonless geometries dual to null fluids.
- The two-dimensional case recovers the known non-dissipative spectrum of extremal BTZ black holes.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The rank of the irregular singularity may control whether dissipation appears at zero temperature.
- The same mechanism could operate in other horizonless AdS geometries used for holographic models.
- The leading Bessel approximation supplies an analytic estimate for the gap that could be compared with lattice data in the dual field theory.
Load-bearing premise
That the irregular singular point at r=0 functions as an absorber for ingoing waves with the boundary conditions chosen in the analysis.
What would settle it
Discovery of any quasinormal mode with non-negative imaginary part for d greater than or equal to 3 would falsify the claim that dissipation occurs universally in these spacetimes.
read the original abstract
We compute the quasinormal mode spectrum of scalar perturbations on Kaigorodov pp-wave spacetimes, the horizonless gravity duals of zero temperature null fluids. The pp-wave deformation promotes the Poincar\'e horizon at $r=0$ to an irregular singular point of rank $(d+2)/2$, which acts as a geometric absorber for ingoing waves: rank~$0$ corresponds to thermal dissipation, rank~$1$ to quantum-critical (extremal black hole), and rank~$\geq 2$ to gapped, horizonless dissipation. For $d=2$ (extremal BTZ) the radial equation reduces to the Whittaker equation with exact non-dissipative spectrum $\mathrm{Im}(\omega)=0$; for $d \geq 3$ all modes satisfy $\mathrm{Im}(\omega_n) < 0$, establishing zero temperature dissipation without horizon or entropy. At zeroth order the radial equation becomes Bessel's equation of order $\mu=d/(d+2)$, proving all scalar QNMs are gapped. Numerical spectra for $d=3,4,5$ yield a discrete dissipative tower and confirm linear stability.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript computes the quasinormal mode spectrum of scalar perturbations on Kaigorodov pp-wave spacetimes, horizonless gravity duals to zero-temperature null fluids. The pp-wave deformation is argued to promote the Poincaré horizon at r=0 to an irregular singular point of rank (d+2)/2 that acts as a geometric absorber for ingoing waves. For d=2 the radial equation reduces exactly to the Whittaker equation yielding a non-dissipative spectrum with Im(ω)=0. For d≥3 all modes satisfy Im(ω_n)<0, establishing zero-temperature dissipation without horizon or entropy. At zeroth order the radial equation reduces to Bessel's equation of order μ=d/(d+2), proving the spectrum is gapped; numerical spectra for d=3,4,5 confirm a discrete dissipative tower and linear stability.
Significance. If the boundary-condition selection at the irregular singular point and the control of higher-order corrections are rigorously justified, the result would be significant: it supplies an explicit analytic and numerical example of dissipation at zero temperature in a horizonless spacetime, without invoking entropy or a horizon. The exact d=2 reduction and the clean Bessel approximation at leading order are attractive features that could inform holographic models of non-equilibrium null fluids.
major comments (3)
- [Boundary conditions at the irregular singular point r=0] The central claim that Im(ω_n)<0 for all scalar modes when d≥3 rests on the irregular singular point at r=0 functioning as a geometric absorber. For rank (d+2)/2 ≥2 the local solutions involve essential singularities and Stokes sectors; the manuscript must therefore specify the precise linear combination of solutions that selects the physical ingoing branch (see the discussion following the radial equation in the abstract and the numerical implementation for d=3,4,5). Without this explicit selection the sign of Im(ω_n) is not guaranteed.
- [Zeroth-order radial equation] The reduction of the radial equation to Bessel's equation of order μ=d/(d+2) at zeroth order is invoked to prove that all scalar QNMs are gapped. Because this is an approximation, the manuscript should supply either an error estimate for the neglected terms or a demonstration that those terms cannot shift any mode into Im(ω)≥0 (abstract and the paragraph containing the Bessel reduction).
- [Numerical spectra for d=3,4,5] The numerical spectra for d=3,4,5 are presented as confirmation of the dissipative tower. These results inherit the same boundary-condition choice at r=0; the paper must therefore document the numerical method, convergence tests, and how the ingoing condition is imposed at the irregular point to exclude the possibility that discretization or truncation artifacts mask a zero or positive-Im mode.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the careful and constructive report. The comments identify areas where additional rigor and documentation are needed to support the claims of zero-temperature dissipation. We address each major comment below and will revise the manuscript to incorporate the requested clarifications.
read point-by-point responses
-
Referee: [Boundary conditions at the irregular singular point r=0] The central claim that Im(ω_n)<0 for all scalar modes when d≥3 rests on the irregular singular point at r=0 functioning as a geometric absorber. For rank (d+2)/2 ≥2 the local solutions involve essential singularities and Stokes sectors; the manuscript must therefore specify the precise linear combination of solutions that selects the physical ingoing branch. Without this explicit selection the sign of Im(ω_n) is not guaranteed.
Authors: We agree that an explicit description of the ingoing boundary condition is required for rigor. In the revised manuscript we will add a dedicated subsection that specifies the physical branch at the irregular singular point of rank (d+2)/2. This will include the relevant Stokes sectors, the asymptotic form of the local solutions, and the precise linear combination chosen to enforce absorption, thereby confirming that all modes satisfy Im(ω_n)<0 for d≥3. revision: yes
-
Referee: [Zeroth-order radial equation] The reduction of the radial equation to Bessel's equation of order μ=d/(d+2) at zeroth order is invoked to prove that all scalar QNMs are gapped. Because this is an approximation, the manuscript should supply either an error estimate for the neglected terms or a demonstration that those terms cannot shift any mode into Im(ω)≥0.
Authors: The referee is correct that the Bessel reduction is leading-order. We will include in the revision a perturbative error estimate for the higher-order terms in the pp-wave deformation and a demonstration that these corrections cannot move any frequency into the upper half-plane, preserving both the gap and the dissipative character of the spectrum. revision: yes
-
Referee: [Numerical spectra for d=3,4,5] The numerical spectra for d=3,4,5 are presented as confirmation of the dissipative tower. These results inherit the same boundary-condition choice at r=0; the paper must therefore document the numerical method, convergence tests, and how the ingoing condition is imposed at the irregular point to exclude the possibility that discretization or truncation artifacts mask a zero or positive-Im mode.
Authors: We will expand the numerical section to document the method (a shooting algorithm adapted to the irregular singularity), convergence tests under changes in grid resolution and truncation order, and the explicit implementation of the ingoing condition via the selected asymptotic branch at r=0. These additions will rule out numerical artifacts and confirm the dissipative tower. revision: yes
Circularity Check
No circularity: derivation reduces metric wave equation to standard special functions via direct substitution
full rationale
The paper begins with the scalar wave equation on the explicit Kaigorodov pp-wave metric, substitutes the ansatz for time and transverse dependence, and obtains a radial ODE. At leading order this ODE is exactly Bessel's equation of order μ = d/(d+2) by algebraic rearrangement of the metric coefficients; the spectrum properties (Im ω_n < 0 for d ≥ 3) are then read off from the known analytic continuation and asymptotic behavior of Bessel functions under the stated ingoing boundary condition at the irregular singular point r = 0. No parameter is fitted to data and relabeled a prediction, no self-citation supplies a uniqueness theorem or ansatz, and the boundary condition is an explicit choice of linear combination of local solutions rather than a redefinition of the output. The numerical spectra are independent verifications, not inputs. The derivation chain is therefore self-contained against external mathematical facts about Bessel functions.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (2)
- domain assumption The Kaigorodov pp-wave metric satisfies Einstein's equations with negative cosmological constant and serves as the gravity dual to zero-temperature null fluids.
- domain assumption Ingoing wave boundary conditions at the irregular singular point r=0 define the quasinormal modes.
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
S. Bhattacharyya, V. E. Hubeny, S. Minwalla and M. Rangamani,Nonlinear Fluid Dynamics from Gravity,JHEP02(2008) 045 [arXiv:0712.2456]
- [2]
-
[3]
J. M. Maldacena,The Large N limit of superconformal field theories and supergravity,Adv. Theor. Math. Phys.2(1998) 231 [hep-th/9711200]
work page internal anchor Pith review arXiv 1998
- [4]
-
[5]
Sachdev,Quantum Phase Transitions
S. Sachdev,Quantum Phase Transitions. Cambridge University Press, 2 ed., 2011
2011
-
[6]
G. T. Horowitz and V. E. Hubeny,Quasinormal modes of AdS black holes and the approach to thermal equilibrium,Phys. Rev. D62(2000) 024027 [hep-th/9909056]
work page Pith review arXiv 2000
-
[7]
P. K. Kovtun and A. O. Starinets,Quasinormal modes and holography,Phys. Rev. D72 (2005) 086009 [hep-th/0506184]
work page Pith review arXiv 2005
-
[8]
Viscosity in Strongly Interacting Quantum Field Theories from Black Hole Physics
P. Kovtun, D. T. Son and A. O. Starinets,Viscosity in strongly interacting quantum field theories from black hole physics,Phys. Rev. Lett.94(2005) 111601 [hep-th/0405231]. – 30 –
work page internal anchor Pith review arXiv 2005
-
[9]
D. T. Son and A. O. Starinets,Minkowski space correlators in AdS / CFT correspondence: Recipe and applications,JHEP09(2002) 042 [hep-th/0205051]
work page internal anchor Pith review arXiv 2002
- [10]
- [11]
-
[12]
NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions
“NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions.”https://dlmf.nist.gov/
- [13]
-
[14]
The Black Hole in Three Dimensional Space Time
M. Bañados, C. Teitelboim and J. Zanelli,The Black hole in three-dimensional space-times, Phys. Rev. Lett.69(1992) 1849 [hep-th/9204099]
work page Pith review arXiv 1992
-
[15]
K. Fransen, D. Pereñiguez and J. Redondo-Yuste,Perturbations of Plane Waves and Quadratic Quasinormal Modes on the Lightring,JHEP12(2025) 148 [arXiv:2509.03598]
-
[16]
D. Kapec and A. Sheta,pp-waves and the hidden symmetries of black hole quasinormal modes,Class. Quant. Grav.42(2025) 155002 [arXiv:2412.08551]
-
[17]
A. Kehagias, D. Perrone and A. Riotto,Non-linear Quasi-Normal Modes of the Schwarzschild Black Hole from the Penrose Limit,arXiv:2503.09350
-
[18]
Penrose,Any space-time has a plane wave as a limit, inDifferential Geometry and Relativity: A Volume in Honour of André Lichnerowicz on His 60th Birthday, pp
R. Penrose,Any space-time has a plane wave as a limit, inDifferential Geometry and Relativity: A Volume in Honour of André Lichnerowicz on His 60th Birthday, pp. 271–275. Springer, 1976
1976
-
[19]
Strings in flat space and pp waves from N=4 superYang-Mills,
D. Berenstein, J. Maldacena and H. Nastase,Strings in flat space and pp waves fromN= 4 Super Yang–Mills,JHEP04(2002) 013 [hep-th/0202021]
- [20]
-
[21]
D. Brecher, A. Chamblin and H. S. Reall,AdS/CFT in the infinite momentum frame,Nucl. Phys. B607(2001) 155 [hep-th/0012076]
- [22]
- [23]
-
[24]
H. Zhao and R.-D. Zhu,Connection formulae in the Collision Limit I: Case Studies in Lifshitz Geometry,J. Phys. A57(2024) 455207 [arXiv:2405.03564]
-
[25]
T. Faulkner, H. Liu, J. McGreevy and D. Vegh,Emergent quantum criticality, Fermi surfaces, and AdS2,Phys. Rev. D83(2011) 125002 [arXiv:0907.2694]
-
[26]
N. Iqbal, H. Liu and M. Mezei,Lectures on holographic non-Fermi liquids and quantum phase transitions, inTheoretical Advanced Study Institute in Elementary Particle Physics: String theory and its Applications: From meV to the Planck Scale, pp. 707–816, 10, 2011, arXiv:1110.3814
- [27]
- [28]
-
[29]
P. Banerjee and B. Sathiapalan,Zero Temperature Dissipation and Holography,JHEP04 (2016) 089 [arXiv:1512.06414]
-
[30]
K. Bhattacharya, S. Dey and B. R. Majhi,A note on gravity and fluid dynamic correspondence on a null hypersurface,Phys. Scripta101(2026) 025213 [2411.06914]
- [31]
-
[32]
G. Arenas-Henriquez, L. Ciambelli, F. Diaz, W. Jia and D. Rivera-Betancour,Radiation in fluid/gravity and the flat limit,JHEP01(2026) 086 [arXiv:2508.01446]
-
[33]
Diaz,Nonperfect Carrollian Fluids Through Holography,arXiv:2602.00396
F. Diaz,Nonperfect Carrollian Fluids Through Holography,arXiv:2602.00396
-
[34]
Flat holography and Carrollian fluids
L. Ciambelli, C. Marteau, A. C. Petkou, P. M. Petropoulos and K. Siampos,Flat holography and Carrollian fluids,JHEP07(2018) 165 [arXiv:1802.06809]
work page Pith review arXiv 2018
-
[35]
Carrollian Physics at the Black Hole Horizon,
L. Donnay and C. Marteau,Carrollian Physics at the Black Hole Horizon,Class. Quant. Grav.36(2019) 165002 [arXiv:1903.09654]
-
[36]
V. R. Kaigorodov,Einstein spaces of maximum mobility,Sov. Phys. Dokl.7(1963) 893
1963
-
[37]
Araneda,Parallel spinors, pp-waves, and gravitational perturbations,Class
B. Araneda,Parallel spinors, pp-waves, and gravitational perturbations,Class. Quant. Grav. 40(2023) 025006 [arXiv:2204.13673]
- [38]
-
[39]
E. W. Leaver,An Analytic representation for the quasi normal modes of Kerr black holes, Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. A402(1985) 285
1985
-
[40]
Quasinormal modes of black holes and black branes
E. Berti, V. Cardoso and A. O. Starinets,Quasinormal modes of black holes and black branes,Class. Quant. Grav.26(2009) 163001 [arXiv:0905.2975]
work page internal anchor Pith review arXiv 2009
-
[41]
Gravity duals of Lifshitz-like fixed points,
S. Kachru, X. Liu and M. Mulligan,Gravity Duals of Lifshitz-like Fixed Points,Phys. Rev. D 78(2008) 106005 [arXiv:0808.1725]
-
[42]
R. B. Dingle,Asymptotic Expansions: Their Derivation and Interpretation. Academic Press, 1973
1973
-
[43]
O. Costin and G. V. Dunne,Physical Resurgent Extrapolation,Phys. Lett. B808(2020) 135627 [arXiv:2003.07451]
-
[44]
I. Aniceto, R. Schiappa and M. Vonk,The Resurgence of Instantons in String Theory, Commun. Num. Theor. Phys.6(2012) 339 [arXiv:1106.5922]
-
[45]
R. A. Konoplya and A. Zhidenko,Quasinormal modes of black holes: From astrophysics to string theory,Rev. Mod. Phys.83(2011) 793 [arXiv:1102.4014]
work page internal anchor Pith review arXiv 2011
-
[46]
D. Birmingham, I. Sachs and S. N. Solodukhin,Relaxation in conformal field theory, Hawking-Page transition, and quasinormal/normal modes,Phys. Rev. D67(2003) 104026 [hep-th/0212308]
-
[47]
J. Crisóstomo, S. Lepe and J. Saavedra,Quasinormal modes of the extremal BTZ black hole, Class. Quant. Grav.21(2004) 2801 [hep-th/0402048]
-
[48]
Breitenlohner and D
P. Breitenlohner and D. Z. Freedman,Stability in Gauged Extended Supergravity,Annals Phys.144(1982) 249. – 32 –
1982
-
[49]
J. Natário and R. Schiappa,On the classification of asymptotic quasinormal frequencies for d-dimensional black holes and quantum gravity,Adv. Theor. Math. Phys.8(2004) 1001 [hep-th/0411267]
work page Pith review arXiv 2004
-
[50]
D. E. Muller,A method for solving algebraic equations using an automatic computer, Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation10(1956) 208
1956
-
[51]
L. F. Richardson,The approximate arithmetical solution by finite differences of physical problems involving differential equations, with an application to the stresses in a masonry dam,Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A210(1911) 307
1911
-
[52]
Brillouin,Wave Propagation and Group Velocity
L. Brillouin,Wave Propagation and Group Velocity. Academic Press, 1960
1960
-
[53]
Quasinormal modes of maximally charged black holes
H. Onozawa, T. Mishima, T. Okamura and H. Ishihara,Quasinormal modes of maximally charged black holes,Phys. Rev. D53(1996) 7033 [gr-qc/9603021]
work page Pith review arXiv 1996
-
[54]
Quasinormal modes of extremal black holes
M. Richartz,Quasinormal modes of extremal black holes,Phys. Rev. D93(2016) 064062 [arXiv:1509.04260]
work page Pith review arXiv 2016
-
[55]
A. Zimmerman and Z. Mark,Damped and zero-damped quasinormal modes of charged, nearly extremal black holes,Phys. Rev. D93(2016) 044033 [arXiv:1512.02247]
-
[56]
G. Bonelli, C. Iossa, D. P. Lichtig and A. Tanzini,Exact solution of Kerr black hole perturbations via CFT2 and instanton counting: Greybody factor, quasinormal modes, and Love numbers,Phys. Rev. D105(2022) 044047 [arXiv:2105.04483]
- [57]
-
[58]
A. Karch and M. Youssef,Dissipation in Open Holography,JHEP12(2025) 157 [arXiv:2509.14312]
-
[59]
J. de Boer, M. P. Heller and N. Pinzani-Fokeeva,Holographic Schwinger-Keldysh effective field theories,JHEP05(2019) 188 [arXiv:1812.06093]
-
[60]
Effective field theory of dissipative fluids,
M. Crossley, P. Glorioso and H. Liu,Effective field theory of dissipative fluids,JHEP09 (2017) 095 [arXiv:1511.03646]
- [61]
-
[62]
R. Emparan, R. Suzuki and K. Tanabe,The large D limit of General Relativity,JHEP06 (2013) 009 [arXiv:1302.6382]
-
[63]
R. Emparan and K. Tanabe,Universal quasinormal modes of largeDblack holes,Phys. Rev. D89(2014) 064028 [arXiv:1401.1957]
-
[64]
W. Sybesma and S. Vandoren,Lifshitz quasinormal modes and relaxation from holography, JHEP05(2015) 021 [arXiv:1503.07457]. – 33 –
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.