String/Gravity Theory Seminar

Clifford Johnson (USC)

Random Matrix Spectroscopy and Quantum Gravity

Abstract
It is argued that in order to fully interpret the meaning of random matrix model formulations of JT gravity and related 2D gravity models, it is essential to have a fully non-perturbative formulation. Rather than supply an ensemble dual, as is so often stated (with puzzling consequences), the RMM is instead a natural Wignerian toolbox for understanding the properties of the 1D holographic dual, in particular the discrete black hole spectrum implied by the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. Within this framework, black hole thermodynamics, as well as the emergence of wormholes, are simply understood. New analytic results for the properties of the ground state distribution function are also presented. It is a gravitational analogue of the Tracy-Widom distribution.