Holographic spin networks from tensor network states

In the holographic correspondence of quantum gravity, a global on-site symmetry at the boundary generally translates to a local gauge symmetry in the bulk. We describe one way how the global boundary on-site symmetries can be gauged within the formalism of the multiscale renormalization ansatz (MERA), in light of the ongoing discussion between tensor networks and holography. We describe how to “lift” the MERA representation of the ground state of a generic one dimensional (1D) local Hamiltonian, which has a global on-site symmetry, to a dual quantum state of a 2D “bulk” lattice on which the symmetry appears gauged. The 2D bulk state decomposes in terms of spin network states, which label a basis in the gauge-invariant sector of the bulk lattice. This decomposition is instrumental to obtain expectation values of gauge-invariant observables in the bulk, and also reveals that the bulk state is generally entangled between the gauge and the remaining (“gravitational”) bulk degrees of freedom that are not fixed by the symmetry. We present numerical results for ground states of several 1D critical spin chains to illustrate that the bulk entanglement potentially depends on the central charge of the underlying conformal field theory. We also discuss the possibility of emergent topological order in the bulk using a simple example, and also of emergent symmetries in the nongauge (gravitational) sector in the bulk. More broadly, our holographic model translates the MERA, a tensor network state, to a superposition of spin network states, as they appear in lattice gauge theories in one higher dimension.