Wilson loops in minimal surfaces

Abstract

The AdS/CFT correspondence suggests that the Wilson loop of the large N gauge theory with N = 4 supersymmetry in 4 dimensions is described by a minimal surface in AdS{sub 5} x S{sup 5}. The authors examine various aspects of this proposal, comparing gauge theory expectations with computations of minimal surfaces. There is a distinguished class of loops, which the authors call BPS loops, whose expectation values are free from ultra-violet divergence. They formulate the loop equation for such loops. To the extent that they have checked, the minimal surface in AdS{sub 5} x S{sup 5} gives a solution of the equation. The authors also discuss the zig-zag symmetry of the loop operator. In the N = 4 gauge theory, they expect the zig-zag symmetry to hold when the loop does not couple the scalar fields in the supermultiplet. They will show how this is realized for the minimal surface.