Entropy inequalities from reflection positivity

We investigate the question of whether the entropy and the Renyi entropies of the vacuum state reduced to a region of the space can be represented in terms of correlators in quantum field theory. In this case, the positivity relations for the correlators are mapped into inequalities for the entropies. We write them using a real time version of reflection positivity, which can be generalized to general quantum systems. Using this generalization we can prove an infinite sequence of inequalities which are obeyed by the Renyi entropies of integer index. There is one independent inequality involving any number of different subsystems. In quantum field theory the inequalities acquire a simple geometrical form and are consistent with the integer index Renyi entropies being given by vacuum expectation values of twisting operators in the Euclidean formulation. Several possible generalizations and specific examples are analyzed.Comment: Significantly enlarged and corrected version. Counterexamples found for the most general form of the inequalities. V3: minor change

Mutual information challenges entropy bounds

We consider some formulations of the entropy bounds at the semiclassical level. The entropy S(V) localized in a region V is divergent in quantum field theory (QFT). Instead of it we focus on the mutual information I(V,W)=S(V)+S(W)-S(V\cup W) between two different non-intersecting sets V and W. This is a low energy quantity, independent of the regularization scheme. In addition, the mutual information is bounded above by twice the entropy corresponding to the sets involved. Calculations of I(V,W) in QFT show that the entropy in empty space cannot be renormalized to zero, and must be actually very large. We find that this entropy due to the vacuum fluctuations violates the FMW bound in Minkowski space. The mutual information also gives a precise, cutoff independent meaning to the statement that the number of degrees of freedom increases with the volume in QFT. If the holographic bound holds, this points to the essential non locality of the physical cutoff. Violations of the Bousso bound would require conformal theories and large distances. We speculate that the presence of a small cosmological constant might prevent such a violation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, minor change

Remarks on the entanglement entropy for disconnected regions

Few facts are known about the entanglement entropy for disconnected regions in quantum field theory. We study here the property of extensivity of the mutual information, which holds for free massless fermions in two dimensions. We uncover the structure of the entropy function in the extensive case, and find an interesting connection with the renormalization group irreversibility. The solution is a function on space-time regions which complies with all the known requirements a relativistic entropy function has to satisfy. We show that the holographic ansatz of Ryu and Takayanagi, the free scalar and Dirac fields in dimensions greater than two, and the massive free fields in two dimensions all fail to be exactly extensive, disproving recent conjectures.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, some addition

Positivity, entanglement entropy, and minimal surfaces

The path integral representation for the Renyi entanglement entropies of integer index n implies these information measures define operator correlation functions in QFT. We analyze whether the limit $n\rightarrow 1$, corresponding to the entanglement entropy, can also be represented in terms of a path integral with insertions on the region's boundary, at first order in $n-1$. This conjecture has been used in the literature in several occasions, and specially in an attempt to prove the Ryu-Takayanagi holographic entanglement entropy formula. We show it leads to conditional positivity of the entropy correlation matrices, which is equivalent to an infinite series of polynomial inequalities for the entropies in QFT or the areas of minimal surfaces representing the entanglement entropy in the AdS-CFT context. We check these inequalities in several examples. No counterexample is found in the few known exact results for the entanglement entropy in QFT. The inequalities are also remarkable satisfied for several classes of minimal surfaces but we find counterexamples corresponding to more complicated geometries. We develop some analytic tools to test the inequalities, and as a byproduct, we show that positivity for the correlation functions is a local property when supplemented with analyticity. We also review general aspects of positivity for large N theories and Wilson loops in AdS-CFT.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures. Changes in presentation and discussion of Wilson loops. Conclusions regarding entanglement entropy unchange

Entanglement and alpha entropies for a massive scalar field in two dimensions

We find the analytic expression of the trace of powers of the reduced density matrix on an interval of length L, for a massive boson field in 1+1 dimensions. This is given exactly (except for a non universal factor) in terms of a finite sum of solutions of non linear differential equations of the Painlev\'e V type. Our method is a generalization of one introduced by Myers and is based on the explicit calculation of quantities related to the Green function on a plane, where boundary conditions are imposed on a finite cut. It is shown that the associated partition function is related to correlators of exponential operators in the Sine-Gordon model in agreement with a result by Delfino et al. We also compute the short and long distance leading terms of the entanglement entropy. We find that the bosonic entropic c-function interpolates between the Dirac and Majorana fermion ones given in a previous paper. Finally, we study some universal terms for the entanglement entropy in arbitrary dimensions which, in the case of free fields, can be expressed in terms of the two dimensional entropy functions.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure