15057808
(Non)perturbative tests of the AdS / CFT correspondence
I summarize perturbative and non-perturbative field theory tests of the holographic correspondence between type IIB superstring on AdS5 × S5 and N = 4 SYM theory. The holographic duality between D-instantons and YM instantons is briefly described. Non renormalization of two- and three-point functions of CPO's and their extremal and next-to-extremal correlators are then reviewed. Finally, partial non-renormalization of four-point functions of lowest CPO's is analyzed in view of the interpretation of short distance logarithmic behaviours in terms of anomalous dimensions of unprotected operators.
120082660
Toroidal compactification and symmetry breaking in open-string theories
Abstract In toroidal compactification of open-string theories, the background fields of the “parent” closed string (metric and antisymmetric tensor, with suitable restrictions) are accompanied by open-string Wilson lines. In the SO(32) superstring, these control the breaking of the Chan-Paton symmetry in a way that presents interesting analogies with the corresponding phenomenon in the heterotic string. An extension of the closed-string results to include contributions from the disk and the projective plane shows that these fields are genuine “moduli”, since their amplitudes vanish when the momenta are all scaled to zero.
121785638
Twist symmetry and open string Wilson lines
Abstract The Mobius amplitude plays an important role in open-string theories, since it determines which sectors of a given model consist of unoriented open strings. It also fixes the Chan-Paton representations of all their states, according to the behavior under the interchange of the ends of open strings (“twist”). In this paper we discuss the role played by conventional Wilson lines in Chan-Paton symmetry breaking, and we show that the presence of an extended symmetry algebra allows, in general, a number of choices for the behavior of massive states under twist. This freedom may be ascribed to additional discrete Wilson lines, and yields consistent modifications of the group assignments, that are illustrated in a number of examples.
7025247
Discrete torsion in non-geometric orbifolds and their open-string descendants
Abstract We discuss some Z N L × Z N R orbifold compactifications of the type IIB superstring to D =4,6 dimensions and their type I descendants. Although the Z N L × Z N R generators act asymmetrically on the chiral string modes, they result into left–right symmetric models that admit sensible unorientable reductions. We carefully work out the phases that appear in the modular transformations of the chiral amplitudes and identify the possibility of introducing discrete torsion. We propose a simplifying ansatz for the construction of the open-string descendants in which the transverse-channel Klein-bottle, annulus and Mobius-strip amplitudes are numerically identical in the proper parametrization of the world-sheet. A simple variant of the ansatz for the Z 2 L × Z 2 R orbifold gives rise to models with supersymmetry breaking in the open-string sector.
119886680
Planar duality in the discrete series
Abstract The models of the discrete series of Belavin, Polyakov and Zamolodchikov may be generalized by allowing for suitable open-string sectors. The resulting open-string disk amplitudes have planar duality and proper factorization in the presence of a global internal Chan-Paton symmetry.
3091781
Open Strings and Dualities
In the fruitful interplay between gauge fields and strings and in many conjectured M-theory dualities, open strings play a prominent role. We review the construction of open-string descendants (un-orientifolds) of closed-string theories admitting a generalized orientation reversal involution. We then specialize the construction to some classes of non-supersymmetric models in D=10 that have been recently considered in the context of duality without supersymmetry. We also discuss the propagation of open and unoriented strings on the NS pentabrane (N5-brane). This background is a prototype of the configurations of branes and orientifold planes that represent a powerful alternative to the geometric engineering of Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories. The resulting description of D-branes in non-trivial backgrounds looks very different from the one naively expected. In particular the very distinction between different Dp-branes becomes ambiguous in the presence of strong curvature effects.
119117490
Nonplanarity through unitarity in the ABJM theory
We use unitarity techniques to compute the two-loop non-planar corrections to the Sudakov form factor and the four-point amplitude in ABJM theory. We start by reconstructing non-planar integrals from two-particle cuts in three dimensions. This causes ambiguities, due to the one-loop four-point amplitude being subleading in dimensional regularization. We provide a prescription to circumvent them and show that it leads to the correct results, as checked against the recent Feynman diagram computation. For the amplitude we point out an alternative basis of integrals, including a non-planar double-box with a numerator inspired by color-kinematics duality. We reproduce the result using a combination thereof with the coefficients fixed by generalized unitarity. For BLG theory we propose that this gives the form of the amplitude satisfying color-kinematics duality. Finally, we compute the complete two-loop amplitude of three-dimensional N = 8 SYM, and the corresponding four-point amplitude in N = 16 supergravity as a double copy.
118703017
Diurnal effects on radiation sensitivity
54031010
Two-loop cusp anomaly in ABJM at strong coupling
A bstractWe compute the null cusp anomalous dimension of ABJM theory at strong coupling up to two-loop order. This is done by evaluating corrections to the corresponding superstring partition function, weighted by the AdS4 × ℂℙ3 action in AdS light-cone gauge. We compare our result, where we use an anomalous shift in the AdS4 radius, with the cusp anomaly of N$$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 SYM, and extract the two-loop contribution to the non-trivial integrable coupling h(λ) of ABJM theory. It coincides with the strong coupling expansion of the exact expression for h(λ) recently conjectured by Gromov and Sizov. Our work provides thus a non-trivial perturbative check for the latter, as well as evidence for two-loop UV-finiteness and quantum integrability of the Type IIA AdS4 × ℂℙ3 superstring in this gauge.
102332810
Scattering amplitudes/Wilson loop duality in ABJM theory
A bstractFor $$ \mathcal{N} = 6 $$ superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories in three dimensions, by a direct superspace Feynman diagram approach, we compute the two-loop four-point scattering amplitude with external chiral matter fields. We find that the result is in perfect agreement with the two-loop result for a light-like four-polygon Wilson loop. This is the first non-trivial evidence that an amplitudes/Wilson loop duality might work in three dimensions. Moreover, both the IR divergent and the finite parts of our two-loop result agree with a BDS-like ansatz for all-loop amplitudes where the scaling function is given in terms of the $$ \mathcal{N} = 4 $$ SYM one, according to the conjectured Bethe equations for ABJM. Consequently, we are able to make a prediction for the four-loop correction to the amplitude. We also discuss the dual conformal invariance of the two-loop result.
123488833
Scattering amplitudes in three-dimensional superconformal field theory
Recent progress in computation of loop amplitudes in three-dimensional superconformal models is reviewed.