Correlation functions of boundary field theory from bulk Greenʹs functions and phases in the boundary theory Original Research Article

In the context of the bulk-boundary correspondence we study the correlation functions arising on a boundary for different types of boundary conditions. The most general condition is the mixed one, interpolating between the Neumann and Dirichlet conditions. We obtain the general expressions for the correlators on a boundary in terms of Greenʹs function in the bulk for the Dirichlet, Neumann and mixed boundary conditions and establish the relations between the correlation functions. As an instructive example we explicitly obtain the boundary correlators corresponding to the mixed condition on a plane boundary R0d of a domain in flat space Rd+1. The phases of the boundary theory with correlators of the Neumann and Dirichlet types are determined. The boundary correlation functions on a sphere Sd are calculated for the Dirichlet and Neumann conditions in two important cases: when sphere is a boundary of a domain in flat space Rd+1 and when it is a boundary at infinity of Anti-De Sitter space AdSd+1. For the massless case in the bulk theory the Neumann correlator on the boundary of AdS space is shown to have universal logarithmic behavior in all AdS spaces. In the massive case it is found to be finite at the coinciding points. We argue that the Neumann correlator may have a dual two-dimensional description. The structure of the correlators obtained, their conformal nature and some recurrent relations are analyzed. We identify the Dirichlet and Neumann phases living on the boundary of AdS space and discuss their evolution when the location of the boundary changes from infinity to the center of the AdS space.