Supersymmetric RG flows and Janus from type II orbifold compactification

Abstract

We study holographic RG flow solutions within four-dimensional N=4 gauged supergravity obtained from type IIA and IIB string theories compactified on T^6/mathbb {Z}_2times mathbb {Z}_2 orbifold with gauge, geometric and non-geometric fluxes. In type IIB non-geometric compactifications, the resulting gauged supergravity has ISO(3)times ISO(3) gauge group and admits an N=4mathrm{AdS}_4 vacuum dual to an N=4 superconformal field theory (SCFT) in three dimensions. We study various supersymmetric RG flows from this N=4 SCFT to N=4 and N=1 non-conformal field theories in the IR. The flows preserving N=4 supersymmetry are driven by relevant operators of dimensions Delta =1,2 or alternatively by one of these relevant operators, dual to the dilaton, and irrelevant operators of dimensions Delta =4 while the N=1 flows in addition involve marginal deformations. Most of the flows can be obtained analytically. We also give examples of supersymmetric Janus solutions preserving N=4 and N=1 supersymmetries. These solutions should describe two-dimensional conformal defects within the dual N=4 SCFT. Geometric compactifications of type IIA theory give rise to N=4 gauged supergravity with ISO(3)ltimes U(1)^6 gauge group. In this case, the resulting gauged supergravity admits an N=1mathrm{AdS}_4 vacuum. We also numerically study possible N=1 RG flows to non-conformal field theories in this case.