Title: Boundary conditions for a free scalar field
Abstract:
In the first part of the talk, I will consider the problem of classifying the conformal boundary conditions (b.c.) for the free scalar CFT. We will see how to tackle this problem using conformal bootstrap techniques. In the case of 4d bulk, I will show ournumerical results, which feature a “kink” that indicates the existence of a non-trivial “interacting” b.c., besides the obvious Neumann and Dirichlet “free” b.c.’s.
In the second part of the talk, I will discuss the RG flow of a 4d free scalar field coupled to large N vector models on the boundary. The (classically marginal) coupling involves the boundary mode of the scalar and the O(N) single-trace scalar operator. Iwill explain that the resulting RG connects two fixed points with bulk and boundary decoupled, and the local 3d sector is the free vector model in one end, and the critical one in the other end. This same RG admits two weak-strong dual descriptions, one fromthe free end, and one from the critical end.