Real time dynamics from low point correlators in 2d BCFT

Abstract

Abstract In this article, we demonstrate how a 3-point correlation function can capture the out-of-time-ordered features of a higher point correlation function, in the context of a conformal field theory (CFT) with a boundary, in two dimensions. Our general analyses of the analytic structures are independent of the details of the CFT and the operators, however, to demonstrate a Lyapunov growth we focus on the Virasoro identity block in large-c CFT’s. Motivated by this, we also show that the phenomenon of pole-skipping is present in a 2-point correlation function in a two-dimensional CFT with a boundary. This pole-skipping is related, by an analytic continuation, to the maximal Lyapunov exponent for maximally chaotic systems. Our results hint that, the dynamical content of higher point correlation functions, in certain cases, may be encrypted within low-point correlation functions, and analytic properties thereof.