English

Open-closed 3d gravity as a random ensemble

High Energy Physics - Theory 2026-01-01 v2 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

We investigate an ensemble of boundary CFTs within the framework of a tensor model recently constructed to model 3d quantum gravity. The incorporation of CFT borders introduces new elements to the gravity theory. In particular, it leads to an open-closed extension of Virasoro TQFT, which in the classical limit gives rise to 3d gravity with tensionful end-of-the-world branes. It also provides predictions for off-shell manifolds with bordered asymptotic boundaries, such as the annulus wormhole. As an application, we construct a purely open variant of the tensor model to study a purely open bootstrap problem in the context of CFT triangulation. We also briefly discuss the extension to non-orientable CFTs.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2506.19817,
  title  = {Open-closed 3d gravity as a random ensemble},
  author = {Daniel L. Jafferis and Liza Rozenberg and Diandian Wang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.19817},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

47 pages, many figures; v2: comments and figures added

R2 v1 2026-07-01T03:31:57.666Z