The large D limit of dimensionally continued gravity

In a recent paper [arXiv:1302.6382] Emparan, Suzuki, and Tanabe studied general relativity in the limit in which the number of spacetime dimensions D tends to infinity. They showed that, in such limit, the theory simplifies notably. It reduces to a theory whose fundamental objects, black holes and black branes, behave as non-interacting particles. Here, we consider a different way of extending gravity to D dimensions. We present a special limit of dimensionally continued gravity in which black holes retain their gravitational interaction at large D and still have entropy proportional to the mass. The similarities and differences with the limit considered in [arXiv:1302.6382] are discussed.Comment: 10 page

Scattering of low lying states in the black hole atmosphere

We investigate finite $\alpha '$ effects in string theory on a black hole background. By explicitly computing tree level scattering amplitudes, we confirm a duality between seemingly different states recently conjectured by Giveon, Itzhaki, and Kutasov in [arXiv:1603.05822]. We verify that the relevant 3-point functions factorize in such a way that the duality between oscillator and winding states becomes manifest. This leads to determine the precise normalization of the dual vertex operators, and confirms at the level of the interacting theory the identification of states suggested by the analysis of the spectrum. This result implies a duality between two seemingly distinct mechanisms driving the violation of the string winding number in the black hole atmosphere.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

TT-deformations, AdS/CFT and correlation functions

A solvable irrelevant deformation of AdS3/CFT2 correspondence leading to a theory with Hagedorn spectrum at high energy has been recently proposed. It consists of a single trace deformation of the boundary theory, which is inspired by the recent work on solvable TT¯ deformations of two-dimensional CFTs. Thought of as a worldsheet σ-model, the interpretation of the deformed theory from the bulk viewpoint is that of string theory on a background that interpolates between AdS3 in the IR and a linear dilaton vacuum of little string theory in the UV. The insertion of the operator that realizes the deformation in the correlation functions produces a logarithmic divergence, leading to the renormalization of the primary operators, which thus acquire an anomalous dimension. We compute this anomalous dimension explicitly, and this provides us with a direct way of determining the spectrum of the theory. We discuss this and other features of the correlation functions in presence of the deformation.Fil: Giribet, Gaston Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentin

Aspects of the free field description of string theory on AdS_3

The near boundary limit of string theory in AdS_3 is analysed using the Wakimoto free field representation of SL(2,R). The theory is considered as a direct product of the SL(2,R)/U(1) coset and a free boson. Correlation functions are constructed generalizing to the non-compact case the integral representation of conformal blocks introduced by Dotsenko in the compact SU(2) CFT. Sectors of the theory obtained by spectral flow manifestly appear. The formalism naturally leads to consider scattering processes violating winding number conservation. The consistency of the procedure is verified in the factorization limit.Comment: 25 pages, typos corrected, references added, to appear in JHE

Screening Stringy Horizons

It has been argued recently that string theory effects qualitatively modify the effective black hole geometry experienced by modes with radial momentum of order $1/\sqrt{\alpha'}$. At tree level, these $\alpha'$-effects can be explicitly worked out in two-dimensional string theory, and have a natural explanation in the T-dual description as coming from the integration of the zero-mode of the linear dilaton, what yields a contribution that affects the scattering phase-shift in a peculiar manner. It has also been argued that the phase-shift modification has its origin in a region of the moduli space that does not belong to the exterior black hole geometry, leading to the conclusion that at high energy the physics of the problem is better described by the dual model. Here, we elaborate on this argument. We consider the contribution of worldsheet instantons in the 2D Euclidean black hole sigma-model and study its influence on the phase-shift at high energy.Comment: 14 page