Random matrix model of the Virasoro minimal string

The model of two dimensional quantum gravity defining the Virasoro minimal string, presented recently by Collier, Eberhardt, Mühlmann, and Rodriguez, was also shown to be perturbatively (in topology) equivalent to a random matrix model. An alternative definition is presented here, in terms of double-scaled orthogonal polynomials, thereby allowing direct access to nonperturbative physics. Already at leading order, the defining string equation’s properties yield valuable information about the nonperturbative fate of the model, confirming that the case <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><a:mo stretchy="false">(</a:mo><a:mi>c</a:mi><a:mo>=</a:mo><a:mn>25</a:mn><a:mo>,</a:mo><a:mover accent="true"><a:mi>c</a:mi><a:mo stretchy="false">^</a:mo></a:mover><a:mo>=</a:mo><a:mn>1</a:mn><a:mo stretchy="false">)</a:mo></a:math> (central charges of spacelike and timelike Liouville sectors) is special, by virtue of sharing certain key features of the <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><g:mi mathvariant="script">N</g:mi><g:mo>=</g:mo><g:mn>1</g:mn></g:math> supersymmetric JT gravity string equation. Solutions of the full string equation are constructed using a special limit, and the (Cardy) spectral density is completed to all genus and beyond. The distributions of the underlying discrete spectra are readily accessible too, as is the spectral form factor. Some examples of these are exhibited. Published by the American Physical Society 2024