Universality of non-equilibrium dynamics of CFTs from holography

Abstract

Motivated by a low-energy effective description of gauge theory/string theory duality, we conjecture that the dynamics of $SO(4)$-invariant states in a large class of four-dimensional conformal gauge theories on $S^3$ with non-equal central charges $c\ne a$ are universal on time scales $t_{\mathrm{universal}}\propto (\mathcal{E}-{\mathcal{E}}_{\mathrm{vacuum}}{)}^{-1}$, in the limit where the energy $\mathcal{E}\to {\mathcal{E}}_{\mathrm{vacuum}}$. We show that low-energy excitations in $c\ne a$ CFTs do not thermalize in this limit. The holographic universality conjecture then implies that within the Einstein-scalar field system (dual to theories with $c=a$), $Ad{S}_5$ is stable to spherically symmetric perturbations against formation of trapped surfaces within time scales $t_{\mathrm{universal}}$.

12 pages; v2: reference added