Thermal field theory correlators in the large-$N$ limit and the spectral duality relation

Abstract

In Ref.~\cite{Grozdanov:2024wgo}, we derived a spectral duality relation applicable to the spectra of 3$d$ conformal field theories (CFTs) and their holographically dual 4$d$ black holes. In this work, we further elaborate on the properties of this duality relation and argue that the same relation can be applied to certain pairs of thermal correlator spectra in large-$N$ quantum field theories in any number of spacetime dimensions, provided the correlators are meromorphic functions with only simple poles and satisfy the thermal product formula. We discuss a rich set of properties that such retarded two-point functions must exhibit. We then show that the spectral duality relation and its implications apply to pairs of correlators in double-trace deformed CFTs and, more generally, to correlators in theories related by the Legendre transform. We illustrate, through several examples, how the spectrum of one correlator can be reconstructed from that of its dual correlation function. Notably, this includes cases relating the thermal spectra of scalar primary operators at ultraviolet and infrared fixed points, as well as current operators in a CFT$_3$ and its particle-vortex dual.