English

Solving Puzzles in Deformed JT Gravity: Phase Transitions and Non-Perturbative Effects

High Energy Physics - Theory 2021-05-07 v3 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

Recent work has shown that certain deformations of the scalar potential in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity can be written as double-scaled matrix models. However, some of the deformations exhibit an apparent breakdown of unitarity in the form of a negative spectral density at disc order. We show here that the source of the problem is the presence of a multi-valued solution of the leading order matrix model string equation. While for a class of deformations we fix the problem by identifying a first order phase transition, for others we show that the theory is both perturbatively and non-perturbatively inconsistent. Aspects of the phase structure of the deformations are mapped out, using methods known to supply a non-perturbative definition of undeformed JT gravity. Some features are in qualitative agreement with a semi-classical analysis of the phase structure of two-dimensional black holes in these deformed theories.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2011.06026,
  title  = {Solving Puzzles in Deformed JT Gravity: Phase Transitions and Non-Perturbative Effects},
  author = {Clifford V. Johnson and Felipe Rosso},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.06026},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

37 pages, 12 figures. (v2: An important error was corrected, resulting in removal of a non-perturbative gap reported in v1. Refs. updated. Other minor improvements in presentation. v3: Updated to match published version.)

R2 v1 2026-06-23T20:06:32.336Z