AnAdS3dual for minimal model CFTs

Abstract

We propose a duality between the 2d ${\mathcal{W}}_{N}$ minimal models in the large $N$ 't Hooft limit, and a family of higher spin theories on ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{3}$. The 2d conformal field theories (CFTs) can be described as Wess-Zumino-Witten coset models, and include, for $N=2$, the usual Virasoro unitary series. The dual bulk theory contains, in addition to the massless higher spin fields, two complex scalars (of equal mass). The mass is directly related to the 't Hooft coupling constant of the dual CFT. We give convincing evidence that the spectra of the two theories match precisely for all values of the 't Hooft coupling. We also show that the renormalization group flows in the 2d CFT agree exactly with the usual AdS/CFT prediction of the gravity theory. Our proposal is in many ways analogous to the Klebanov-Polyakov conjecture for an ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{4}$ dual for the singlet sector of large $N$ vector models.