Wilson loop correlators at strong coupling: from matrices to bubbling geometries

Abstract

We compute at strong coupling the large N correlation functions of supersymmetric Wilson loops in large representations of the gauge group with local operators of = 4 super Yang-Mills. The gauge theory computation of these correlators is performed using matrix model techniques. We show that the strong coupling correlator of the Wilson loop with the stress tensor computed using the matrix model exactly matches the semiclassical computation of the correlator of the 't Hooft loop with the stress tensor, providing a non-trivial quantitative test of electric-magnetic duality of = 4 super Yang-Mills. We then perform these calculations using the dual bulk gravitational picture, where the Wilson loop is described by a ``bubbling'' geometry. By applying holographic methods to these backgrounds we calculate the Wilson loop correlation functions, finding perfect agreement with our gauge theory results.