Modular crossings, OPE coefficients and black holes

Abstract

In (1+1)-d CFTs, the 4-point function on the plane can be mapped to the pillow geometry and thereby crossing symmetry gets translated into a modular property. We use these modular features to derive a universal asymptotic formula for OPE coefficients in which one of the operators is averaged over heavy primaries. The coarse-grained heavy channel then reproduces features of the gravitational 2-to-2 S-matrix which has black holes as their intermediate states.