Horizon as critical phenomenon

Abstract

We show that renormalization group flow can be viewed as a gradual wave function collapse, where a quantum state associated with the action of field theory evolves toward a final state that describes an IR fixed point. The process of collapse is described by the radial evolution in the dual holographic theory. If the theory is in the same phase as the assumed IR fixed point, the initial state is smoothly projected to the final state. If in a different phase, the initial state undergoes a phase transition which in turn gives rise to a horizon in the bulk geometry. We demonstrate the connection between critical behavior and horizon in an example, by deriving the bulk metrics that emerge in various phases of the U(N) vector model in the large N limit based on the holographic dual constructed from quantum renormalization group. The gapped phase exhibits a geometry that smoothly ends at a finite proper distance in the radial direction. The geometric distance in the radial direction measures a complexity: the depth of renormalization group transformation that is needed to project the generally entangled UV state to a direct product state in the IR. For gapless states, entanglement persistently spreads out to larger length scales, and the initial state can not be projected to the direct product state. The obstruction to smooth projection at charge neutral point manifests itself as the long throat in the anti-de Sitter space. The Poincare horizon at infinity marks the critical point which exhibits a divergent length scale in the spread of entanglement. For the gapless states with non-zero chemical potential, the bulk space becomes the Lifshitz geometry with the dynamical critical exponent two. The identification of horizon as critical point may provide an explanation for the universality of horizon. We also discuss the structure of the bulk tensor network that emerges from the quantum renormalization group.