Exploring causality in braneworld/cutoff holography via holographic scattering

Abstract

Abstract Holography with branes and/or cutoff surfaces presents a promising approach to studying quantum gravity beyond asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes. However, this generalized holography is known to face several inconsistencies, including potential violations of causality and fundamental entropic inequalities. In this work, we address these challenges by investigating the bulk scattering process and its holographic realization. Specifically, we propose that the information on a brane/cutoff surface Q propagates according to the induced light cones originating from a fictitious asymptotic boundary behind Q, rather than the conventional ones originating from a point on Q. Additionally, we establish the validity of the connected wedge theorem for generalized holography with induced light cones. We also demonstrate that entropic inequalities remain valid within the induced causal diamonds. While the induced light cone seemingly permits superluminal signaling, we argue that this causality violation can be an artifact of state preparation for radially propagating excitations, rather than local operator excitations on Q.