Large N limit of SYM theories with 16 supercharges from superstrings on D p-brane backgrounds

Abstract

We investigate the holographic correspondence between ( p + 1 ) -dimensional ( 0 ⩽ p ⩽ 4 ) SYM theories with 16 supercharges and superstring theories on the near-horizon limit of D p-brane backgrounds. We take an approach to holography based on the tunneling picture and study superstring with Euclidean world-sheet. We obtain the amplitude in a semi-classical approximation around a null geodesic which connects two-points on the boundary of the spacetime. As an extension of the analysis of hep-th/0308024, we study the fermionic sector of the superstring. For p ≠ 3 , we do not have world-sheet supersymmetry, and the energies of bosonic and fermionic fluctuations do not match. By interpreting the superstring amplitudes as correlators of gauge theory operators with large R-charge J, we obtain gauge theory two-point functions including those of fermionic operators. Our approach yields results consistent with the previous supergravity analysis for the D0-branes, including the subleading part in J. Our prediction from holography is that the two-point functions for the supergravity modes are power-law behaved, even for the non-conformal ( p ≠ 3 ) SYM theories.