Abstract
We revisit the results of Zamolodchikov and others on the deformation of two-dimensional quantum field theory by the determinant det T of the stress tensor, commonly referred to as \( T\overline{T} \). Infinitesimally this is equivalent to a random coordinate transformation, with a local action which is, however, a total derivative and therefore gives a contribution only from boundaries or nontrivial topology. We discuss in detail the examples of a torus, a finite cylinder, a disk and a more general simply connected domain. In all cases the partition function evolves according to a linear diffusion-type equation, and the deformation may be viewed as a kind of random walk in moduli space. We also discuss possible generalizations to higher dimensions.
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Cardy, J. The \( T\overline{T} \) deformation of quantum field theory as random geometry. J. High Energ. Phys. 2018, 186 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2018)186
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2018)186