2017/04/30 by Horacio Casini, Eduardo Teste, Gonzalo Torroba · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.118.261602
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 261602 (2017) · 5 pages, two columns, 1 figure. v3: matches journal version
arxiv created 2017/06/30 · arxiv updated 2017/07/05
We use strong sub-additivity of entanglement entropy, Lorentz invariance, and the Markov property of the vacuum state of a conformal field theory to give a new proof of the irreversibility of the renormalization group in d=4 space-time dimensions -- the a-theorem. This extends the proofs of the c and F theorems in dimensions d=2 and d=3 based on vacuum entanglement entropy, and gives a unified picture of all known irreversibility theorems in relativistic quantum field theory.