Markov property of the CFT vacuum and the a-theorem

Abstract

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.

5 pages, two columns, 1 figure. v3: matches journal version

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