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  • Open Access

Bulk reconstruction and gauge invariance

Sotaro Sugishita1,* and Seiji Terashima2,†

  • 1Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
  • 2Center for Gravitational Physics and Quantum Information, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

  • *Contact author: sotaro@gauge.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp
  • †Contact author: terasima@yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 046003 – Published 5 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qyd8-4hxp

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the concept of bulk reconstruction, which involves mapping bulk operators into CFT operators to understand the emergence of spacetime and gravity. We argue that the N=∞ approximation fails to capture crucial aspects of gravity, as it does not respect gauge invariance and lacks direct connections between energy and boundary metrics. Key concepts such as entanglement wedge reconstruction and holographic error correction codes, which are based on the N=∞ theory, may be incorrect or require significant revision when finite N effects are considered. We present explicit examples demonstrating discrepancies in bulk reconstructions and suggest that a gauge-invariant approach is necessary for an accurate understanding.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 046003– Published 5 August, 2025
  • Received 3 March 2025
  • Accepted 18 July 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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