Holographic RG flows, entanglement entropy and the sum rule

Abstract

We calculate the two-point function of the trace of the stress tensor in holographic renormalization group flows between pairs of conformal field theories. We show that the term proportional to the momentum squared in this correlator gives the change of the central charge between fixed points in d = 2 and in d > 2 it gives the holographic entanglement entropy for a planar region. This can also be seen as a holographic realization of the Adler-Zee formula for the renormalization of Newton’s constant. Holographic regularization is found to provide a perfect match of the finite and divergent terms of the sum rule, and it is analogous to the regularization of the entropy in terms of mutual information. Finally, we provide a general proof of reflection positivity in terms of stability of the dual bulk action, and discuss the relation between unitarity constraints, the null energy condition and regularity in the interior of the gravity solution.