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arxiv 1810.06995 v2 pith:GMPZ2L32 submitted 2018-10-16 hep-th cond-mat.stat-mech

Towards a C-theorem in defect CFT

classification hep-th cond-mat.stat-mech
keywords defectspheredefectsenergyfreetheoremconformaldcfts
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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We explore a $C$-theorem in defect conformal field theories (DCFTs) that unify all the known conjectures and theorems until now. We examine as a candidate $C$-function the additional contributions from conformal defects to the sphere free energy and the entanglement entropy across a sphere in a number of examples including holographic models. We find the two quantities are equivalent, when suitably regularized, for codimension-one defects (or boundaries), but differ by a universal constant term otherwise. Moreover, we find in a few field theoretic examples that the sphere free energy decreases but the entanglement entropy increases along a certain renormalization group (RG) flow triggered by a defect localized perturbation which is assumed to have a trivial IR fixed point without defects. We hence propose a $C$-theorem in DCFTs stating that the increment of the regularized sphere free energy due to the defect does not increase under any defect RG flow. We also provide a proof of our proposal in several holographic models of defect RG flows.

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Forward citations

Cited by 7 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Crosscap Defects

    hep-th 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Crosscap defects from Z2 spacetime quotients in CFTs yield new crossing equations and O(N) model examples without displacement or tilt operators, forming defect conformal manifolds lacking exactly marginal operators.

  2. Crosscap Defects

    hep-th 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Crosscap defects are introduced in CFTs via Z2 quotients, with crossing equations derived and CFT data computed in the O(N) model at Gaussian and Wilson-Fisher points showing absent displacement and tilt operators for...

  3. Boundary criticality in the Gross-Neveu-Yukawa model at higher orders

    hep-th 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    Higher-order large-N and epsilon-expansion calculations of boundary free energies, fermion dimensions, and central charge in the Gross-Neveu-Yukawa universality class, with consistency checks between methods.

  4. Matching $A$ with $F$ in long-range QFTs

    hep-th 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    In long-range non-unitary φ^4 models the RG flow obeys a gradient structure up to three loops, with A matching the sphere free energy F̃ at leading order.

  5. Matching $A$ with $F$ in long-range QFTs

    hep-th 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    RG flow in long-range φ⁴ theories obeys gradient structure ∂_I A = G_IJ β^J up to three loops, with A matching F-tilde and G matching C_IJ at leading nontrivial order.

  6. Matching $A$ with $F$ in long-range QFTs

    hep-th 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    Long-range φ⁴ theories have RG beta functions that satisfy a gradient flow with A matching the sphere free energy F̃ at leading nontrivial order.

  7. From Weyl Anomaly to Defect Supersymmetric R\'enyi Entropy and Casimir Energy

    hep-th 2025-01 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    In 6D (2,0) theories, defect supersymmetric Rényi entropy contribution is linear in 1/n and equals a constant times (2b - d2); Casimir energy contribution equals -d2 (up to constant) in the chiral algebra limit.