Dual Superconformal Field Theory Research Articles

Higher derivative corrections and AdS5 black holes

The authors investigate the precise holography between a 5d gauged supergravity and the dual superconformal field theory (CFT) on the 4d boundary. They show that four-derivative contributions to the action of supersymmetric black holes on the supergravity site matches precisely with certain subleading terms in the CFT index which are determined by anomalies.

Black hole microstate counting in Type IIB from 5d SCFTs

We use recently established AdS6/CFT5 dualities to count the microstates of magnetically charged AdS6 × S2 × Σ black holes in Type IIB. The near-horizon limit is described by solutions with AdS2 × {varSigma}_{{mathfrak{g}}_1} × {varSigma}_{{mathfrak{g}}_2} × S2 × Σ geometry, where {varSigma}_{{mathfrak{g}}_i} are Riemann surfaces of constant curvature and Σ is a further Riemann surface over which the geometry is warped. Our results show that the topologically twisted indices of the proposed dual superconformal field theories precisely reproduce the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of this class of black holes. This provides further support for a prescription to compute fivedimensional topologically twisted indices put forth recently, and for the proposed dualities. We confirm the N4 scaling found in the sphere partition functions and extend previous matches of sphere partition functions to AdS6 solutions with monodromy.

Partition functions on 3d circle bundles and their gravity duals

The partition function of a three-dimensional mathcal{N}=2 theory on the manifold ℳg,p, an S1 bundle of degree p over a closed Riemann surface Σg, was recently computed via supersymmetric localization. In this paper, we compute these partition functions at large N in a class of quiver gauge theories with holographic M-theory duals. We provide the supergravity bulk dual having as conformal boundary such three-dimensional circle bundles. These configurations are solutions to mathcal{N}=2 minimal gauged supergravity and pertain to the class of Taub-NUT-AdS and Taub-Bolt-AdS preserving 1/4 of the supersymmetries. We discuss the conditions for the uplift of these solutions to M-theory, and compute the on-shell action via holographic renormalization. We show that the uplift condition and on-shell action for the Bolt solutions are correctly reproduced by the large N limit of the partition function of the dual superconformal field theory. In particular, the Σg × S1 = ℳg,0 partition function, which was recently shown to match the entropy of AdS4 black holes, and the S3 ≅ ℳ0,1 free energy, occur as special cases of our formalism, and we comment on relations between them.

Comments on supersymmetric solutions of minimal gauged supergravity in five dimensions

We investigate supersymmetric solutions of minimal gauged supergravity in five dimensions, in the timelike class. We propose an ansatz based on a four-dimensional local orthotoric Kähler metric and reduce the problem to a single sixth-order equation for two functions, each of one variable. We find an analytic, asymptotically locally AdS solution comprising five parameters. For a conformally flat boundary, this reduces to a previously known solution with three parameters, representing the most general solution of this type known in the minimal theory. We discuss the possible relevance of certain topological solitons contained in the latter to account for the supersymmetric Casimir energy of dual superconformal field theories on . Although we obtain a negative response, our analysis clarifies several aspects of these solutions. In particular, we show that there exists a unique regular topological soliton in this family.

Supersymmetric AdS7 backgrounds in half-maximal supergravity and marginal operators of (1, 0) SCFTs

We determine the supersymmetric AdS_7 backgrounds of seven-dimensional half-maximal gauged supergravities and show that they do not admit any deformations that preserve all 16 supercharges. We compare this result to the conformal manifold of the holographically dual (1,0) superconformal field theories and show that accordingly its representation theory implies that no supersymmetric marginal operators exist.

Type IIB supergravity solutions with AdS5 from Abelian and non-Abelian T dualities

We present a large class of new backgrounds that are solutions of type IIB supergravity with a warped AdS5 factor, non-trivial axion-dilaton, B-field and three-form Ramond-Ramond flux but yet have no five-form flux. We obtain these solutions and many of their variations by judiciously applying non-Abelian and Abelian T-dualities, as well as coordinate shifts to AdS5 × X 5 IIB supergravity solutions with X 5 = S 5 , T 1,1 , Y p,q . We address a number of issues pertaining to charge quantization in the context of non-Abelian T-duality. We comment on some properties of the expected dual super conformal field theories by studying their CFT central charge holographically. We also use the structure of the supergravity Page charges, central charges and some probe branes to infer aspects of the dual super conformal field theories.

Semiclassical strings and non-Abelian T-duality

We study semiclassical strings in the Klebanov–Witten and in the non-Abelian T-dual Klebanov–Witten backgrounds. We show that both backgrounds share a subsector of equivalent states up to conditions on the T-dual coordinates. We also analyse string configurations where the strings are stretched along the T-dual coordinates. This semiclassical analysis predicts the existence of (almost) chiral primary operators for the dual superconformal field theory whose (anomalous) bare dimensions depend on the T-dual coordinates. We briefly discuss the Penrose limit of the dualised background.

Laplace operators on Sasaki-Einstein manifolds

We decompose the de Rham Laplacian on Sasaki-Einstein manifolds as a sum over mostly positive definite terms. An immediate consequence are lower bounds on its spectrum. These bounds constitute a supergravity equivalent of the unitarity bounds in dual superconformal field theories. The proof uses a generalization of Kahler identities to the Sasaki-Einstein case.

A holographic quantum Hall ferromagnet

A detailed numerical study of a recent proposal for exotic states of the D3-probe D5 brane system with charge density and an external magnetic field is presented. The state has a large number of coincident D5 branes blowing up to a D7 brane in the presence of the worldvolume electric and magnetic fields which are necessary to construct the holographic state. Numerical solutions have shown that these states can compete with the the previously known chiral symmetry breaking and maximally symmetric phases of the D3-D5 system. Moreover, at integer filling fractions, they are incompressible with integer quantized Hall conductivities. In the dual superconformal defect field theory, these solutions correspond to states which break the chiral and global flavor symmetries spontaneously. The region of the temperature-density plane where the D7 brane has lower energy than the other known D5 brane solutions is identified. A hypothesis for the structure of states with filling fraction and Hall conductivity greater than one is made and tested by numerical computation. A parallel with the quantum Hall ferromagnetism or magnetic catalysis phenomenon which is observed in graphene is drawn. As well as demonstrating that the phenomenon can exist in a strongly coupled system, this work makes a number of predictions of symmetry breaking patterns and phase transitions for such systems.

Q-deformations of two-dimensional Yang–Mills theory: Classification, categorification and refinement

We characterise the quantum group gauge symmetries underlying q-deformations of two-dimensional Yang–Mills theory by studying their relationships with the matrix models that appear in Chern–Simons theory and six-dimensional N=2 gauge theories, together with their refinements and supersymmetric extensions. We develop uniqueness results for quantum deformations and refinements of gauge theories in two dimensions, and describe several potential analytic and geometric realisations of them. We reconstruct standard q-deformed Yang–Mills amplitudes via gluing rules in the representation category of the quantum group associated to the gauge group, whose numerical invariants are the usual characters in the Grothendieck group of the category. We apply this formalism to compute refinements of q-deformed amplitudes in terms of generalised characters, and relate them to refined Chern–Simons matrix models and generalised unitary matrix integrals in the quantum β-ensemble which compute refined topological string amplitudes. We also describe applications of our results to gauge theories in five and seven dimensions, and to the dual superconformal field theories in four dimensions which descend from the N=(2,0) six-dimensional superconformal theory.

On the pulsating strings in AdS5 × T1, 1

We study the class of pulsating strings in AdS5 × T1, 1. Using a generalized ansatz for pulsating string configurations, we find new solutions of this class. Further we semiclassically quantize the theory and obtain the first correction to the energy. The latter, due to AdS/CFT correspondence, is supposed to give the anomalous dimensions of operators in the dual superconformal gauge field theory.

The free energy of $ \mathcal{N} = 2 $ supersymmetric AdS4 solutions of M-theory

We show that general $ \mathcal{N} = 2 $ supersymmetric AdS4 solutions of M-theory with non-zero M2-brane charge admit a canonical contact structure. The free energy of the dual superconformal field theory on S 3 and the scaling dimensions of operators dual to supersymmetric wrapped M5-branes are expressed via AdS/CFT in terms of contact volumes. In particular, this leads to topological and localization formulae for the coefficient of N 3/2 in the free energy of such solutions.

AdS 5 Solutions of Type IIB Supergravity and Generalized Complex Geometry

We use the formalism of generalized geometry to study the generic supersymmetric AdS_5 solutions of type IIB supergravity that are dual to N=1 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) in d=4. Such solutions have an associated six-dimensional generalized complex cone geometry that is an extension of Calabi-Yau cone geometry. We identify generalized vector fields dual to the dilatation and R-symmetry of the dual SCFT and show that they are generalized holomorphic on the cone. We carry out a generalized reduction of the cone to a transverse four-dimensional space and show that this is also a generalized complex geometry, which is an extension of Kahler-Einstein geometry. Remarkably, provided the five-form flux is non-vanishing, the cone is symplectic. The symplectic structure can be used to obtain Duistermaat-Heckman type integrals for the central charge of the dual SCFT and the conformal dimensions of operators dual to BPS wrapped D3-branes. We illustrate these results using the Pilch-Warner solution.

NewAdS4×X7geometries with Script N = 6 in M theory

We study supersymmetric AdS_4 x X_7 solutions of 11-dim supergravity where the tri-Sasakian space X_7 has generically U(1)^2\times SU(2)_R isometry. The compact and regular 7-dim spaces X_7=S(t_1,t_2,t_3) is originated from 8-dim hyperkahler quotient of a 12-dim flat hyperkahler space by U(1) and belongs to the class of the Eschenburg space. We calculate the volume of X_7 and that of the supersymmetric five cycle via localization. From this we discuss the 3-dim dual superconformal field theories with \CN=3 supersymmetry.

Dual giant gravitons in Sasaki–Einstein backgrounds

We study the dynamics of a BPS D3-brane wrapped on a three-sphere in AdS5×L, a so-called dual giant graviton, where L is a Sasakian five-manifold. The phase space of these configurations is the symplectic cone X over L, and geometric quantisation naturally produces a Hilbert space of L2-normalisable holomorphic functions on X, whose states are dual to scalar chiral BPS operators in the dual superconformal field theory. We define classical and quantum partition functions and relate them to earlier mathematical constructions by the authors and S.-T. Yau, [D. Martelli, J. Sparks, S.-T. Yau, Sasaki–Einstein manifolds and volume minimisation, hep-th/0603021]. In particular, a Sasaki–Einstein metric then minimises an entropy function associated with the D3-brane. Finally, we introduce a grand canonical partition function that counts multiple dual giant gravitons. This is related simply to the index-character of the above reference, and provides a method for counting multi-trace scalar BPS operators in the dual superconformal field theory.

The Geometric Dual of a–Maximisation for Toric Sasaki–Einstein Manifolds

We show that the Reeb vector, and hence in particular the volume, of a Sasaki–Einstein metric on the base of a toric Calabi–Yau cone of complex dimension n may be computed by minimising a function Z on $$\mathbb {R}^{n}$$ which depends only on the toric data that defines the singularity. In this way one can extract certain geometric information for a toric Sasaki–Einstein manifold without finding the metric explicitly. For complex dimension n = 3 the Reeb vector and the volume correspond to the R–symmetry and the a central charge of the AdS/CFT dual superconformal field theory, respectively. We therefore interpret this extremal problem as the geometric dual of a–maximisation. We illustrate our results with some examples, including the Y p,q singularities and the complex cone over the second del Pezzo surface.

The plane-wave/super Yang-Mills duality

We present a self-contained review of the Plane-wave/super-Yang-Mills duality, which states that strings on a plane-wave background are dual to a particular large R-charge sector of N=4, D=4 superconformal U(N) gauge theory. This duality is a specification of the usual AdS/CFT correspondence in the "Penrose limit''. The Penrose limit of AdS_5 S^5 leads to the maximally supersymmetric ten dimensional plane-wave (henceforth "the'' plane-wave) and corresponds to restricting to the large R-charge sector, the BMN sector, of the dual superconformal field theory. After assembling the necessary background knowledge, we state the duality and review some of its supporting evidence. We review the suggestion by 't Hooft that Yang-Mills theories with gauge groups of large rank might be dual to string theories and the realization of this conjecture in the form of the AdS/CFT duality. We discuss plane-waves as exact solutions of supergravity and their appearance as Penrose limits of other backgrounds, then present an overview of string theory on the plane-wave background, discussing the symmetries and spectrum. We then make precise the statement of the proposed duality, classify the BMN operators, and mention some extensions of the proposal. We move on to study the gauge theory side of the duality, studying both quantum and non-planar corrections to correlation functions of BMN operators, and their operator product expansion. The important issue of operator mixing and the resultant need for re-diagonalization is stressed. Finally, we study strings on the plane-wave via light-cone string field theory, and demonstrate agreement on the one-loop correction to the string mass spectrum and the corresponding quantity in the gauge theory. A new presentation of the relevant superalgebra is given.

On the Hagedorn behaviour of pp-wave strings and [formula omitted] SYM theory at finite R-charge density

We discuss the high temperature behaviour of IIB strings in the maximally symmetric plane wave background, and show that there is a Hagedorn temperature. We discuss the map between strings in the pp-wave background and the dual superconformal field theory in the thermal domain. The Hagedorn bound describes a curve in the R-charge chemical potential versus temperature phase diagram of the dual Yang–Mills theory and the theory manifestly exists on both sides. Using a recent observation of Brower, Lowe, and Tan, we update our earlier calculation to reflect that the pp-wave string exists on both sides of the Hagedorn bound as well.

Brane splitting via quantum tunneling

We study the two-centred AdS 7× S 4 solution of eleven-dimensional supergravity using the Euclidean path-integral approach, and find that it can be interpreted as an instanton, signalling the splitting of the throat of the M5-brane. The instanton is interpreted as indicating a coherent superposition of the quantum states corresponding to classically distinct solutions. This is a surprising result since it leads, through the AdS/CFT correspondence, to contradictory implications for the dual (2,0) superconformal field theory on the M5-brane. We also argue that similar instantons should exist for other branes in ten- and eleven-dimensional supergravity. The counterterm subtraction technique for gravitational instantons, which arose from the AdS/CFT correspondence, is examined in terms of its applicability to our results. Connections are also made to the work of Maldacena et al on anti-de Sitter fragmentation.

Domain walls in five dimensional supergravity with non-trivial hypermultiplets

We study BPS domain wall solutions of 5-dimensional N=2 supergravity where isometries of the hypermultiplet geometry have been gauged. We derive the corresponding supersymmetric flow equations and define an appropriate c-function. As an example we discuss a domain wall solution of Freedman, Gubser, Pilch and Warner which is related to a RG-flow in a dual superconformal field theory.