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]