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1. When left and right disagree: entropy and von Neumann algebras in quantum gravity with general AlAdS boundary conditions

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2024)010  

   Marolf, Donald; Zhang, Daiming (August 2024, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> Euclidean path integrals for UV-completions ofd-dimensional bulk quantum gravity were recently studied in [1] by assuming that they satisfy axioms of finiteness, reality, continuity, reflection-positivity, and factorization. Sectors$$ {\mathcal{H}}_{\mathcal{B}} $$ $H_B$of the resulting Hilbert space were then defined for any (d− 2)-dimensional surface$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$, where$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$may be thought of as the boundary ∂Σ of a bulk Cauchy surface in a corresponding Lorentzian description, and where$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$includes the specification of appropriate boundary conditions for bulk fields. Cases where$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$was the disjoint unionB⊔Bof two identical (d− 2)-dimensional surfacesBwere studied in detail and, after the inclusion of finite-dimensional ‘hidden sectors,’ were shown to provide a Hilbert space interpretation of the associated Ryu-Takayanagi entropy. The analysis was performed by constructing type-I von Neumann algebras$$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^B $$ $A_L^B$,$$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^B $$ $A_R^B$that act respectively at the left and right copy ofBinB⊔B. Below, we consider the case of general$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$, and in particular for$$ \mathcal{B} $$ $B$=B_L⊔B_RwithB_L,B_Rdistinct. For anyB_R, we find that the von Neumann algebra atB_Lacting on the off-diagonal Hilbert space sector$$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_R} $$ $H_{B_L\bigsqcup B_R}$is a central projection of the corresponding type-I von Neumann algebra on the ‘diagonal’ Hilbert space$$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_L} $$ $H_{B_L\bigsqcup B_L}$. As a result, the von Neumann algebras$$ {\mathcal{A}}_L^{B_L} $$ $A_L^{B_L}$,$$ {\mathcal{A}}_R^{B_L} $$ $A_R^{B_L}$defined in [1] using the diagonal Hilbert space$$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_L} $$ $H_{B_L\bigsqcup B_L}$turn out to coincide precisely with the analogous algebras defined using the full Hilbert space of the theory (including all sectors$$ {\mathcal{H}}_{\mathcal{B}} $$ $H_B$). A second implication is that, for any$$ {\mathcal{H}}_{B_L\bigsqcup {B}_R} $$ $H_{B_L\bigsqcup B_R}$, including the same hidden sectors as in the diagonal case again provides a Hilbert space interpretation of the Ryu-Takayanagi entropy. We also show the above central projections to satisfy consistency conditions that lead to a universal central algebra relevant to all choices ofB_LandB_R. 

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2. Block mapping class groups and their finiteness properties

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10711-025-00985-9  

   Aramayona, J; Aroca, J; Cumplido, M; Skipper, R; Wu, X (April 2025, Geometriae Dedicata)

   Abstract Given$$g \in \mathbb N \cup \{0, \infty \}$$ $g\in N\cup \{0,\infty \}$, let$$\Sigma _g$$ ${\Sigma }_g$denote the closed surface of genusgwith a Cantor set removed, if$$g<\infty $$ $g<\infty$; or the blooming Cantor tree, when$$g= \infty $$ $g=\infty$. We construct a family$$\mathfrak B(H)$$ $B\left(H\right)$of subgroups of$${{\,\textrm{Map}\,}}(\Sigma _g)$$ $\text{Map}\left({\Sigma }_g\right)$whose elements preserve ablock decompositionof$$\Sigma _g$$ ${\Sigma }_g$, andeventually like actlike an element ofH, whereHis a prescribed subgroup of the mapping class group of the block. The group$$\mathfrak B(H)$$ $B\left(H\right)$surjects onto an appropriate symmetric Thompson group of Farley–Hughes; in particular, it answers positively. Our main result asserts that$$\mathfrak B(H)$$ $B\left(H\right)$is of type$$F_n$$ $F_n$if and only ifHis. As a consequence, for every$$g\in \mathbb N \cup \{0, \infty \}$$ $g\in N\cup \{0,\infty \}$and every$$n\ge 1$$ $n\ge 1$, we construct a subgroup$$G <{{\,\textrm{Map}\,}}(\Sigma _g)$$ $G<\text{Map}\left({\Sigma }_g\right)$that is of type$$F_n$$ $F_n$but not of type$$F_{n+1}$$ $F_{n+1}$, and which contains the mapping class group of every compact surface of genus$$\le g$$ $\le g$and with non-empty boundary. 

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3. Generalized Parking Function Polytopes

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00026-023-00671-1  

   Hanada, Mitsuki; Lentfer, John; Vindas-Meléndez, Andrés R (June 2024, Annals of Combinatorics)

   Abstract A classical parking function of lengthnis a list of positive integers$$(a_1, a_2, \ldots , a_n)$$ $(a_1,a_2,\dots ,a_n)$whose nondecreasing rearrangement$$b_1 \le b_2 \le \cdots \le b_n$$ $b_1\le b_2\le \cdots \le b_n$satisfies$$b_i \le i$$ $b_i\le i$. The convex hull of all parking functions of lengthnis ann-dimensional polytope in$${\mathbb {R}}^n$$ $R^n$, which we refer to as the classical parking function polytope. Its geometric properties have been explored in Amanbayeva and Wang (Enumer Combin Appl 2(2):Paper No. S2R10, 10, 2022) in response to a question posed by Stanley (Amer Math Mon 127(6):563–571, 2020). We generalize this family of polytopes by studying the geometric properties of the convex hull of$${\textbf{x}}$$ $x$-parking functions for$${\textbf{x}}=(a,b,\dots ,b)$$ $x=(a,b,\cdots ,b)$, which we refer to as$${\textbf{x}}$$ $x$-parking function polytopes. We explore connections between these$${\textbf{x}}$$ $x$-parking function polytopes, the Pitman–Stanley polytope, and the partial permutahedra of Heuer and Striker (SIAM J Discrete Math 36(4):2863–2888, 2022). In particular, we establish a closed-form expression for the volume of$${\textbf{x}}$$ $x$-parking function polytopes. This allows us to answer a conjecture of Behrend et al. (2022) and also obtain a new closed-form expression for the volume of the convex hull of classical parking functions as a corollary. 

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4. On a Traveling Salesman Problem for Points in the Unit Cube

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00453-024-01257-w  

   Balogh, József; Clemen, Felix Christian; Dumitrescu, Adrian (September 2024, Algorithmica)

   Abstract LetXbe ann-element point set in thek-dimensional unit cube$$[0,1]^k$$ ${[0,1]}^k$where$$k \ge 2$$ $k\ge 2$. According to an old result of Bollobás and Meir (Oper Res Lett 11:19–21, 1992) , there exists a cycle (tour)$$x_1, x_2, \ldots , x_n$$ $x_1,x_2,\dots ,x_n$through thenpoints, such that$$\left( \sum _{i=1}^n |x_i - x_{i+1}|^k \right) ^{1/k} \le c_k$$ ${\left({\sum }_{i=1}^n,{|x_i-x_{i+1}|}^k\right)}^{1/k}\le c_k$, where$$|x-y|$$ $|x-y|$is the Euclidean distance betweenxandy, and$$c_k$$ $c_k$is an absolute constant that depends only onk, where$$x_{n+1} \equiv x_1$$ $x_{n+1}\equiv x_1$. From the other direction, for every$$k \ge 2$$ $k\ge 2$and$$n \ge 2$$ $n\ge 2$, there existnpoints in$$[0,1]^k$$ ${[0,1]}^k$, such that their shortest tour satisfies$$\left( \sum _{i=1}^n |x_i - x_{i+1}|^k \right) ^{1/k} = 2^{1/k} \cdot \sqrt{k}$$ ${\left({\sum }_{i=1}^n,{|x_i-x_{i+1}|}^k\right)}^{1/k}=2^{1/k}·\sqrt{k}$. For the plane, the best constant is$$c_2=2$$ $c_2=2$and this is the only exact value known. Bollobás and Meir showed that one can take$$c_k = 9 \left( \frac{2}{3} \right) ^{1/k} \cdot \sqrt{k}$$ $c_k=9{\left(\frac{2}{3}\right)}^{1/k}·\sqrt{k}$for every$$k \ge 3$$ $k\ge 3$and conjectured that the best constant is$$c_k = 2^{1/k} \cdot \sqrt{k}$$ $c_k=2^{1/k}·\sqrt{k}$, for every$$k \ge 2$$ $k\ge 2$. Here we significantly improve the upper bound and show that one can take$$c_k = 3 \sqrt{5} \left( \frac{2}{3} \right) ^{1/k} \cdot \sqrt{k}$$ $c_k=3\sqrt{5}{\left(\frac{2}{3}\right)}^{1/k}·\sqrt{k}$or$$c_k = 2.91 \sqrt{k} \ (1+o_k(1))$$ $c_k=2.91\sqrt{k}(1+o_k\left(1\right))$. Our bounds are constructive. We also show that$$c_3 \ge 2^{7/6}$$ $c_3\ge 2^{7/6}$, which disproves the conjecture for$$k=3$$ $k=3$. Connections to matching problems, power assignment problems, related problems, including algorithms, are discussed in this context. A slightly revised version of the Bollobás–Meir conjecture is proposed. 

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5. Carleson’s $$\varepsilon ^{2}$$ conjecture in higher dimensions

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00222-025-01337-w  

   Fleschler, Ian; Tolsa, Xavier; Villa, Michele (July 2025, Inventiones mathematicae)

   Abstract In this paper we prove a higher dimensional analogue of Carleson’s$$\varepsilon ^{2}$$ ${\epsilon }^2$conjecture. Given two arbitrary disjoint Borel sets$$\Omega ^{+},\Omega ^{-}\subset \mathbb{R}^{n+1}$$ ${\Omega }^{+},{\Omega }^{-}\subset R^{n+1}$, and$$x\in \mathbb{R}^{n+1}$$ $x\in R^{n+1}$,$$r>0$$ $r>0$, we denote$$ \varepsilon _{n}(x,r) := \frac{1}{r^{n}}\, \inf _{H^{+}} \mathcal{H}^{n} \left ( ((\partial B(x,r)\cap H^{+}) \setminus \Omega ^{+}) \cup (( \partial B(x,r)\cap H^{-}) \setminus \Omega ^{-})\right ), $$ ${\epsilon }_n(x,r):=\frac{1}{r^n}\underset{H^{+}}{inf}{H}^n\left(\right(\left(\partial B\right(x,r)\cap H^{+})\setminus {\Omega }^{+})\cup (\left(\partial B\right(x,r)\cap H^{-})\setminus {\Omega }^{-}\left)\right),$where the infimum is taken over all open affine half-spaces$$H^{+}$$ $H^{+}$such that$$x \in \partial H^{+}$$ $x\in \partial H^{+}$and we define$$H^{-}= \mathbb{R}^{n+1} \setminus \overline{H^{+}}$$ $H^{-}=R^{n+1}\setminus \overline{H^{+}}$. Our first main result asserts that the set of points$$x\in \mathbb{R}^{n+1}$$ $x\in R^{n+1}$where$$ \int _{0}^{1} \varepsilon _{n}(x,r)^{2} \, \frac{dr}{r}< \infty $$ ${\int }_0^1{\epsilon }_n{(x,r)}^2\frac{dr}{r}<\infty$is$$n$$ $n$-rectifiable. For our second main result we assume that$$\Omega ^{+}$$ ${\Omega }^{+}$,$$\Omega ^{-}$$ ${\Omega }^{-}$are open and that$$\Omega ^{+}\cup \Omega ^{-}$$ ${\Omega }^{+}\cup {\Omega }^{-}$satisfies the capacity density condition. For each$$x \in \partial \Omega ^{+} \cup \partial \Omega ^{-}$$ $x\in \partial {\Omega }^{+}\cup \partial {\Omega }^{-}$and$$r>0$$ $r>0$, we denote by$$\alpha ^{\pm }(x,r)$$ ${\alpha }^{\pm }(x,r)$the characteristic constant of the (spherical) open sets$$\Omega ^{\pm }\cap \partial B(x,r)$$ ${\Omega }^{\pm }\cap \partial B(x,r)$. We show that, up to a set of$$\mathcal{H}^{n}$$ $H^n$measure zero,$$x$$ $x$is a tangent point for both$$\partial \Omega ^{+}$$ $\partial {\Omega }^{+}$and$$\partial \Omega ^{-}$$ $\partial {\Omega }^{-}$if and only if$$ \int _{0}^{1} \min (1,\alpha ^{+}(x,r) + \alpha ^{-}(x,r) -2) \frac{dr}{r} < \infty . $$ ${\int }_0^{1}min(1,{\alpha }^{+}(x,r)+{\alpha }^{-}(x,r)-2)\frac{dr}{r}<\infty .$The first result is new even in the plane and the second one improves and extends to higher dimensions the$$\varepsilon ^{2}$$ ${\epsilon }^2$conjecture of Carleson. 

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