One-loop effective actions and 2D hydrodynamics with anomalies

We revisit the study of a 2D quantum field theory in the hydrodynamic regime and develop a formalism based on Euclidean one-loop partition functions that is suitable to analyze transport properties due to gauge and gravitational anomalies. To do so, we generalize the method of a modified Dirac operator developed for zero-temperature anomalies to finite temperature, chemical potentials and rotations.Comment: 5 page

Partition Functions in Even Dimensional AdS via Quasinormal Mode Methods

In this note, we calculate the one-loop determinant for a massive scalar (with conformal dimension $\Delta$) in even-dimensional AdS$_{d+1}$ space, using the quasinormal mode method developed in arXiv:0908.2657 by Denef, Hartnoll, and Sachdev. Working first in two dimensions on the related Euclidean hyperbolic plane $H_2$, we find a series of zero modes for negative real values of $\Delta$ whose presence indicates a series of poles in the one-loop partition function $Z(\Delta)$ in the $\Delta$ complex plane; these poles contribute temperature-independent terms to the thermal AdS partition function computed in arXiv:0908.2657. Our results match those in a series of papers by Camporesi and Higuchi, as well as Gopakumar et.al. in arXiv:1103.3627 and Banerjee et.al. in arXiv:1005.3044. We additionally examine the meaning of these zero modes, finding that they Wick-rotate to quasinormal modes of the AdS$_2$ black hole. They are also interpretable as matrix elements of the discrete series representations of $SO(2,1)$ in the space of smooth functions on $S^1$. We generalize our results to general even dimensional AdS$_{2n}$, again finding a series of zero modes which are related to discrete series representations of $SO(2n,1)$, the motion group of $H_{2n}$.Comment: 27 pages; v2: minor updates and JHEP versio

Aspects of Symmetry in de Sitter Space

We study various aspects of symmetry in four-dimensional de Sitter space (dS$_4$).Physic

Holographic Thermal Helicity

We study the thermal helicity, defined in arXiv:1211.3850, of a conformal field theory with anomalies in the context of AdS$_{2n+1}$/CFT$_{2n}$. To do so, we consider large charged rotating AdS black holes in the Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with a negative cosmological constant using fluid/gravity expansion. We compute the anomaly-induced current and stress tensor of the dual CFT in leading order of the fluid/gravity derivative expansion and show their agreement with the field theoretical replacement rule for the thermal helicity. Such replacement rule is reflected in the bulk by new replacement rules obeyed by the Hall currents around the black hole.Comment: 20 pages + 47 pages of appendices ; v2: minor correction

Covariant Noether Charge for Higher Dimensional Chern-Simons Terms

We construct a manifestly covariant differential Noether charge for theories with Chern-Simons terms in higher dimensional spacetimes. This is in contrast to Tachikawa's extension of the standard Lee-Iyer-Wald formalism which results in a non-covariant differential Noether charge for Chern-Simons terms. On a bifurcation surface, our differential Noether charge integrates to the Wald-like entropy formula proposed by Tachikawa in arXiv:hep-th/0611141.Comment: 45 pages; v2: minor corrections and JHEP versio

Warped AdS_3 Black Holes in Higher Derivative Gravity Theories

We consider warped AdS_3 black holes in generic higher derivatives gravity theories in 2+1 dimensions. The asymptotic symmetry group of the phase space containing these black holes is the semi-direct product of a centrally extended Virasoro algebra and an affine u(1) Kac-Moody algebra. Previous works have shown that in some specific theories, the entropy of these black holes agrees with a Cardy-like entropy formula derived for warped conformal field theories. In this paper, we show that this entropy matching continues to hold for the most general higher derivative theories of gravity. We also discuss the existence of phase transitions.Comment: 35 pages, 1 figure, added reference