Massive higher spins and holography

We review recent progress towards the understanding of higher spin gauge symmetry breaking in AdS space from a holographic vantage point. According to the AdS/CFT correspondence, N=4 SYM theory at vanishing coupling constant should be dual to a theory in AdS which exhibits higher spin gauge symmetry enhancement. When the SYM coupling is non-zero, all but a handful of HS currents are violated by anomalies, and correspondingly local higher spin symmetry in the bulk gets spontaneously broken. In agreement with previous results and holographic expectations, we find that, barring one notable exception (spin 1 eating spin 0), the Goldstone modes responsible for HS symmetry breaking in AdS have non-vanishing mass even in the limit in which the gauge symmetry is restored. We show that spontaneous breaking a' la Stueckelberg implies that the mass of the relevant spin s'=s-1 Goldstone field is exactly the one predicted by the correspondence.Comment: 8 pages, talk presented by M.B. at the "Fourth Meeting on Constrained Dynamics and Quantum gravity" held in Cala Gonone (Sardinia, Italy), September 12-16, 200

SL(2,Z) Multiplets in N=4 SYM Theory

We discuss the action of SL(2,Z) on local operators in D=4, N=4 SYM theory in the superconformal phase. The modular property of the operator's scaling dimension determines whether the operator transforms as a singlet, or covariantly, as part of a finite or infinite dimensional multiplet under the SL(2,Z) action. As an example, we argue that operators in the Konishi multiplet transform as part of a (p,q) PSL(2,Z) multiplet. We also comment on the non-perturbative local operators dual to the Konishi multiplet.Comment: 14 pages, harvmac; v2: published version with minor change

String amplitudes in the Hpp-wave limit of AdS3xS3

We compute string amplitudes on pp-waves supported by NS-NS 3-form fluxes and arising in the Penrose limit of AdS3xS3xM. We clarify the role of the non-chiral accidental SU(2) symmetry of the background. We comment on the extension of our results to the superstring and propose a holographic formula in the BMN limit of the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence valid for any correlator.Comment: Latex,no figures, 47 p

Precision Spectroscopy and Higher Spin symmetry in the ABJM model

We revisit Kaluza-Klein compactification of 11-d supergravity on S^7/Z_k using group theory techniques that may find application in other flux vacua with internal coset spaces. Among the SO(2) neutral states, we identify marginal deformations and fields that couple to the recently discussed world-sheet instanton of Type IIA on CP^3. We also discuss charged states, dual to monopole operators, and the Z_k projection of the Osp(4|8) singleton and its tensor products. In particular, we show that the doubleton spectrum may account for N=6 higher spin symmetry enhancement in the limit of vanishing 't Hooft coupling in the boundary Chern-Simons theory.Comment: 44 page

Correlation functions in a cascading N=1 gauge theory from supergravity

We study fluctuations around the warped conifold supergravity solution of Klebanov and Tseytlin [hep-th/0002159], known to be dual to a cascading N=1 gauge theory. Although this supergravity background is not asymptotically AdS, corresponding to a non-conformal field theory, it is possible to apply the usual methods of AdS/CFT duality to extract the high energy behavior of field theory correlators by solving linearized equations of motion for fluctuations around the background. We consider the Goldstone vector dual to the anomalous R-symmetry current and compute its mass, which exactly matches the general prediction of [hep-th/0009156]. We find the high energy 2-point functions for the R-current and two other vectors. As expected, the R-current 2-point function has a longitudinal part because R-symmetry is broken. We also calculate the high energy 2-point function of the energy-momentum tensor from fluctuations of modes in the graviton sector. This 2-point function has a trace part corresponding to broken conformal symmetry.Comment: JHEP, 29 page

The EPRL intertwiners and corrected partition function

Do the SU(2) intertwiners parametrize the space of the EPRL solutions to the simplicity constraint? What is a complete form of the partition function written in terms of this parametrization? We prove that the EPRL map is injective for n-valent vertex in case when it is a map from SO(3) into SO(3)xSO(3) representations. We find, however, that the EPRL map is not isometric. In the consequence, in order to be written in a SU(2) amplitude form, the formula for the partition function has to be rederived. We do it and obtain a new, complete formula for the partition function. The result goes beyond the SU(2) spin-foam models framework.Comment: RevTex4, 15 pages, 5 figures; theorem of injectivity of EPRL map correcte

Simplifying one-loop amplitudes in superstring theory

We show that 4-point vector boson one-loop amplitudes, computed in ref.[1] in the RNS formalism, around vacuum configurations with open unoriented strings, preserving at least N=1 SUSY in D=4, satisfy the correct supersymmetry Ward identities, in that they vanish for non MHV configurations (++++) and (-+++). In the MHV case (--++) we drastically simplify their expressions. We then study factorisation and the limiting IR and UV behaviour and find some unexpected results. In particular no massless poles are exposed at generic values of the modular parameter. Relying on the supersymmetric properties of our bosonic amplitudes, we extend them to manifestly supersymmetric super-amplitudes and compare our results with those obtained in the D=4 hybrid formalism, pointing out difficulties in reconciling the two approaches for contributions from N=1,2 sectors.Comment: 38 pages plus appendice

Wilson-'t Hooft operators and the theta angle

We consider $(3+1)$-dimensional $SU(N)/\mathbb Z_N$ Yang-Mills theory on a space-time with a compact spatial direction, and prove the following result: Under a continuous increase of the theta angle $\theta\to\theta+2\pi$, a 't Hooft operator $T(\gamma)$ associated with a closed spatial curve $\gamma$ that winds around the compact direction undergoes a monodromy $T(\gamma) \to T^\prime(\gamma)$. The new 't Hooft operator $T^\prime(\gamma)$ transforms under large gauge transformations in the same way as the product $T(\gamma) W(\gamma)$, where $W(\gamma)$ is the Wilson operator associated with the curve $\gamma$ and the fundamental representation of SU(N).Comment: 7 page

D-brane Instantons on the T^6/Z_3 orientifold

We give a detailed microscopic derivation of gauge and stringy instanton generated superpotentials for gauge theories living on D3-branes at Z_3-orientifold singularities. Gauge instantons are generated by D(-1)-branes and lead to Affleck, Dine and Seiberg (ADS) like superpotentials in the effective N=1 gauge theories with three generations of bifundamental and anti/symmetric matter. Stringy instanton effects are generated by Euclidean ED3-branes wrapping four-cycles on T^6/\Z_3. They give rise to Majorana masses in one case and non-renormalizable superpotentials for the other cases. Finally we determine the conditions under which ADS like superpotentials are generated in N=1 gauge theories with adjoints, fundamentals, symmetric and antisymmetric chiral matter.Comment: 31 pages, no figure

On the spectrum of AdS/CFT beyond supergravity

We test the spectrum of string theory on AdS_5 x S^5 derived in hep-th/0305052 against that of single-trace gauge invariant operators in free N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. Masses of string excitations at critical tension are derived by extrapolating plane-wave frequencies at g_{YM}=0 down to finite J. On the SYM side, we present a systematic description of the spectrum of single-trace operators and its reduction to PSU(2,2|4) superconformal primaries via a refined Eratostenes' supersieve. We perform the comparison of the resulting SYM/string spectra of charges and multiplicities order by order in the conformal dimension \Delta up to \Delta=10 and find perfect agreement. Interestingly, the SYM/string massive spectrum exhibits a hidden symmetry structure larger than expected, with bosonic subgroup SO(10,2) and thirty-two supercharges.Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX2