Unstable Giants

We find giant graviton solutions in Frolov's three parameter generalization of the Lunin-Maldacena background. The background we study has $\tilde{\gamma}_1=0$ and $\tilde{\gamma}_2=\tilde{\gamma}_3=\tilde{\gamma}$. This class of backgrounds provide a non-superymmetric example of the gauge theory/gravity correspondence that can be tested quantitatively, as recently shown by Frolov, Roiban and Tseytlin. The giant graviton solutions we find have a greater energy than the point gravitons, making them unstable states. Despite this, we find striking quantitative agreement between the gauge theory and gravity descriptions of open strings attached to the giant.Comment: 1+24 pages, 2 figures; v2: coupling to NSNS B field included, refs added and typos corrected; v3 new results on stability of giants included, presentation improved, refs added; v4 final version to appear in Phys. Rev.

2PI Effective Action and Evolution Equations of N = 4 super Yang-Mills

We employ nPI effective action techniques to study N = 4 super Yang-Mills, and write down the 2PI effective action of the theory. We also supply the evolution equations of two-point correlators within the theory.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures. Figure 2 replaced, approximation scheme clarified, references adde

Deformed PP-waves from the Lunin-Maldacena Background

In this article we study a pp-wave limit of the Lunin-Maldacena background. We show that the relevant string theory background is a homogeneous pp-wave. We obtain the string spectrum. The dual field theory is a deformation of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. We have shown that, for a class of operators, at O(g_{YM}^2) and at leading order in N, all contributions to the anomalous dimension come from F-terms. We are able to identify the operator in the deformed super Yang-Mills which is dual to the lowest string mode. By studying the undeformed theory we are able to provide some evidence, directly in the field theory, that a small set of nearly protected operators decouple. We make some comments on operators in the Yang-Mills theory that are dual to excited string modes.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figure; Final version to appear in JHE

Holography for Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories from generalized dimensional reduction

We show that a class of Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton (EMD) theories are related to higher dimensional AdS-Maxwell gravity via a dimensional reduction over compact Einstein spaces combined with continuation in the dimension of the compact space to non-integral values (`generalized dimensional reduction'). This relates (fairly complicated) black hole solutions of EMD theories to simple black hole/brane solutions of AdS-Maxwell gravity and explains their properties. The generalized dimensional reduction is used to infer the holographic dictionary and the hydrodynamic behavior for this class of theories from those of AdS. As a specific example, we analyze the case of a black brane carrying a wave whose universal sector is described by gravity coupled to a Maxwell field and two neutral scalars. At thermal equilibrium and finite chemical potential the two operators dual to the bulk scalar fields acquire expectation values characterizing the breaking of conformal and generalized conformal invariance. We compute holographically the first order transport coefficients (conductivity, shear and bulk viscosity) for this system.Comment: v2, Important additions: (1) discussion of the entropy current, (2) postulated zeta/eta bound is generically violated. Some comments and references added, typos corrected. 50 page

AdS/CFT duality involving deformed PP-waves from the Lunin-Maldacena background

ABSTRACT WOULD NOT LOAD ON DSpac