Modular Commutators in Conformal Field Theory

Abstract: The modular commutator is a recently discovered multipartite entanglement measure that quantifies the chirality of the underlying many-body quantum state. In this Letter, we derive a universal expression for the modular commutator in conformal field theories in $1+1$ dimensions and discuss its salient features. We show that the modular commutator depends only on the chiral central charge and the conformal cross ratio. We test this formula for a gapped $(2+1)$-dimensional system with a chiral edge, i.e., the quantum Hall state, and observe excellent agreement with numerical simulations. Furthermore, we propose a geometric dual for the modular commutator in certain preferred states of the AdS/CFT correspondence. For these states, we argue that the modular commutator can be obtained from a set of crossing angles between intersecting Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces.