AdS scalar-field boundary asymptotics Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-11-05
For a free scalar field of mass in Anti-de Sitter spacetime of dimension and radius , use coordinates with
The conformal boundary is at . The Klein-Gordon equation gives the radial leading balance . A power law therefore obeys the AdS scalar mass--dimension relation
For distinct roots and generic nonresonant parameters,
In standard quantization, is the source of the dual local field operator; determines its expectation value after holographic renormalization, with a normalization fixed by the bulk action. [ref]
The Breitenlohner-Freedman bound makes real. At the roots coincide and a second solution involves . Resonant expansions can also contain logarithms. In the appropriate mass window, Alternative quantization of an AdS scalar field changes which coefficient acts as source. [ref]
The Breitenlohner-Freedman bound permits a scalar field in Anti-de Sitter spacetime to have a moderately negative squared mass without the instability that the same parameter would imply in flat spacetime. In of curvature radius , the bound is for the standard scalar dynamical stability problem with appropriate boundary conditions.
The near-boundary exponents satisfy , hence . The bound keeps these exponents real. The spacetime geometry and boundary conditions are part of the dynamical stability statement; a negative squared mass cannot be classified without them.[ref]
Daniel Z. Freedman 2026-11-05
Daniel Z. Freedman is a theoretical physicist whose work includes supergravity and the stability of fields in Anti-de Sitter spacetime. With Peter Breitenlohner, he derived the condition known as the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound.
Under the appropriate boundary conditions, a scalar field in Anti-de Sitter spacetime can be stable even when its mass-squared parameter is negative, provided it remains above the bound. Curved background geometry changes the stability criterion familiar from flat spacetime.[ref] His MIT profile also identifies his 1976 collaborative construction of supergravity.[ref]
Peter Breitenlohner 2026-11-05
For a scalar field in -dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetime with curvature radius , the familiar form is , with stability also requiring suitable boundary conditions. The negative right-hand side explains the surprising feature: a negative mass-squared parameter alone does not establish instability in this curved background. Their result links field dynamics to the geometry and boundary conditions of spacetime.[ref]