We study a holographic theory of general spacetimes that does not rely on the existence of asymptotic regions. This theory is to be formulated in a holographic space. When a semiclassical description is applicable, the holographic space is assumed to be a holographic screen: a codimension-1 surface that is capable of encoding states of the gravitational spacetime. Our analysis is guided by conjectured relationships between gravitational spacetime and quantum entanglement in the holographic description. To understand basic features of this picture, we catalog predictions for the holographic entanglement structure of cosmological spacetimes. We find that qualitative features of holographic entanglement entropies for such spacetimes differ from those in AdS/CFT but that the former reduce to the latter in the appropriate limit. The Hilbert space of the theory is analyzed, and two plausible structures are found: a direct sum and "spacetime equals entanglement" structure. The former preserves a naive relationship between linear operators and observable quantities, while the latter respects a more direct connection between holographic entanglement and spacetime. We also discuss the issue of selecting a state in quantum gravity, in particular how the state of the multiverse may be selected in the landscape.
Motivated by the ability to consistently apply the Ryu-Takayanagi prescription for general convex surfaces and the relationship between entanglement and geometry in tensor networks, we introduce a novel, covariant bulk object-the holographic slice. The holographic slice is found by considering the continual removal of short-range information in a boundary state. It thus provides a natural interpretation as the bulk dual of a series of coarse-grained holographic states. The slice possesses many desirable properties that provide consistency checks for its boundary interpretation. These include the monotonicity of both area and entanglement entropy, uniqueness, and the inability to probe beyond late-time black hole horizons. Additionally, the holographic slice illuminates physics behind entanglement shadows, as minimal-area extremal surfaces anchored to a coarse-grained boundary may probe entanglement shadows. This lets the slice flow through shadows. To aid in developing intuition for these slices, many explicit examples of holographic slices are investigated. Finally, the relationship to tensor networks and renormalization (particularly in AdS=CFT) is discussed.
The past decade has seen a tremendous effort toward unraveling the relationship between entanglement and emergent spacetime. These investigations have revealed that entanglement between holographic degrees of freedom is crucial for the existence of bulk spacetime. We examine this connection from the other end of the entanglement spectrum and clarify the assertion that maximally entangled states have no reconstructable spacetime. To do so, we first define the conditions for bulk reconstructability. Under these terms, we scrutinize two cases of maximally entangled holographic states. One is the familiar example of AdS black holes; these are dual to thermal states of the boundary conformal field theory. Sending the temperature to the cutoff scale makes the state maximally entangled and the respective black hole consumes the spacetime. We then examine the de Sitter limit of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetimes. This limit is maximally entangled if one formulates the boundary theory on the holographic screen. Paralleling the anti-de Sitter (AdS) black hole, we find the resulting reconstructable region of spacetime vanishes. Motivated by these results, we prove a theorem showing that maximally entangled states have no reconstructable spacetime. Evidently, the emergence of spacetime is endemic to intermediate entanglement. By studying the manner in which intermediate entanglement is achieved, we uncover important properties about the boundary theory of FRW spacetimes. With this clarified understanding, our final discussion elucidates the natural way in which holographic Hilbert spaces may house states dual to different geometries. This paper provides a coherent picture clarifying the link between spacetime and entanglement and develops many promising avenues of further work.
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