Related papers: Light-ray operators, detectors and gravitational e…
We derive a nonperturbative, convergent operator product expansion (OPE) for null-integrated operators on the same null plane in a CFT. The objects appearing in the expansion are light-ray operators, whose matrix elements can be computed by…
A universal class of light-ray operators formed from null integrals of the stress tensor is constructed in generic interacting Lorentzian conformal field theories in four spacetime dimensions. This class of light-ray operators generates the…
We argue that every CFT contains light-ray operators labeled by a continuous spin J. When J is a positive integer, light-ray operators become integrals of local operators over a null line. However for non-integer J, light-ray operators are…
We study correlation functions involving generalized ANEC operators of the form $\int dx^- \left(x^-\right)^{n+2} T_{--}(\vec{x})$ in four dimensions. We compute two, three, and four-point functions involving external scalar states in both…
We study light-ray operators constructed from the energy-momentum tensor in $d$-dimensional Lorentzian conformal field theory. These include in particular the average null energy operator. The commutators of parallel light-ray operators on…
We consider light-ray operators $\mathcal{L}_{2n} = \int\mathrm{d} x^+ (x^+)^{2n}T_{++}$, where $x^+$ is a null coordinate and $n$ a positive integer, in QFT in Minkowski spacetime in arbitrary dimensions. These operators are…
Using integrability, we construct (to leading order in perturbation theory) the explicit form of twist-three light-ray operators in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. This construction allows us to directly compute analytically continued CFT data…
Energy conditions are attempts to summarise the properties of realistic descriptions of matter via constraints on the energy-momentum tensor. This is, for example, useful when one wants to understand the types of spacetime geometry that can…
We study propagation of a probe particle through a series of closely situated gravitational shocks. We argue that in any UV-complete theory of gravity the result does not depend on the shock ordering - in other words, coincident…
The nonperturbative parton distribution and wave functions are directly related to matrix elements of light-ray (nonlocal) operators. These operators are generalizations of the standard local operators known from the operator product…
We characterize lower bounds for the Bakry-Emery Ricci tensor of nonsymmetric diffusion operators by convexity of entropy on the $L^2$-Wasserstein space, and define a curvature-dimension condition for general metric measure spaces together…
We present a perturbative formulation of quantum gravity for asymptotically flat vacuum spacetimes based on the Null Surface Formulation (NSF), in which the expansion is ultraviolet-finite term by term up to the orders computed, without the…
We establish a connection between the averaged null energy condition (ANEC) and the monotonicity of the renormalization group, by studying the light-ray operator $\int du T_{uu}$ in quantum field theories that flow between two conformal…
This paper presents a systematic cataloging of the generators of celestial symmetries on phase space. Starting from the celestial OPEs, we first show how to extract a representation of the general-spin analog of the wedge subalgebra of…
Despite tremendous progress in our understanding of scattering amplitudes in perturbative (super-) gravity, much less is known about other asymptotic observables, such as correlation functions of detector operators. In this paper, we…
The widely used nonperturbative wave functions and distribution functions of QCD are determined as matrix elements of light-ray operators. These operators appear as large momentum limit of nonlocal hadron operators or as summed up local…
The Lorentz covariant theory of propagation of light in the (weak) gravitational fields of N-body systems consisting of arbitrarily moving point-like bodies with constant masses is constructed. The theory is based on the Lienard-Wiechert…
We study detector operators measuring energy to a power $\Delta-2$ at null infinity in four-dimensional gauge theories and gravity. These operators transform as conformal primaries on the celestial sphere and provide a natural basis for…
We analyze the commutation relations of light-ray operators in conformal field theories. We first establish the algebra of light-ray operators built out of higher spin currents in free CFTs and find explicit expressions for the…
We study the space and properties of global and local observables for radiation emitted in the scattering of a massive scalar field in gauge and gravitational plane-wave backgrounds, in both the quantum and classical theory. We first…