Anomalous Dimensions from a Spinning D5-Brane

We consider the anomalous dimension of a certain twist two operator in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. At strong coupling and large-N it is captured by the classical dynamics of a spinning D5-brane. The present calculation generalizes the result of Gubser, Klebanov and Polyakov (hep-th/0204051): in order to calculate the anomalous dimension of a bound state of k coincident strings, the spinning closed string is replaced by a spinning D5 brane that wraps an S4 inside the S5 part of the AdS5 times S5 metric.Comment: 8 pages, LaTex. v2: figure added. minor changes. To appear in JHE

Degeneracy Between the Regge Slope of Mesons and Baryons from Supersymmetry

We consider the degeneracy between the Regge slope of mesons and baryons in QCD. We argue that within the "orientifold large-N approximation" asymptotically massive mesons and baryons become supersymmetric partners and hence degenerate. To this end, we generalize QCD by a SU(N) theory with a quark in the two-index antisymmetric representation. We show that in this framework the meson is represented by an oriented bosonic QCD-string and the baryon is represented by an un-oriented fermionic QCD-string. At large-N, due to an equivalence with super Yang-Mills, the tensions of the bosonic and the fermionic strings coincide. Our description of mesons and baryons as oriented and un-oriented bosonic and fermionic QCD-strings is in full agreement with the spectra of open strings in the dual type 0' string theory.Comment: v2: extended version. Appendices and references adde

Rotating Strings in Confining AdS/CFT Backgrounds

We study semiclassical rotating strings in AdS/CFT backgrounds that exhibit both confinement and finite-size effects. The energy versus spin dispersion relation for short strings is the expected Regge trajectory behaviour, with the same string tension as is measured by the Wilson loop. Long strings probe the interplay between confinement and finite-size effects. In particular, the dispersion relation for long strings shows a characteristic dependence on the string tension and the finite-size scale.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures. v2: minor changes, refs. adde

On the spectrum of QCD(1+1) with large numbers of flavours N_F and colours N_C near N_F/N_C = 0

QCD(1+1) in the limit of a large number of flavours N_F and a large number of colours N_C is examined in the small N_F/N_C regime. Using perturbation theory in N_F/N_C, stringent results for the leading behaviour of the spectrum departing from N_F/N_C = 0 are obtained. These results provide benchmarks in the light of which previous truncated treatments of QCD(1+1) at large N_F and N_C are critically reconsidered.Comment: 6 revtex page

Strings Inside Walls in N=1 Super Yang-Mills

We conjecture the existence of strings bounded inside walls in SU$(n)$ $\N=1$ Super Yang-Mills theory. These strings carry $\Z_{[k,n]}$ quantum number, where $[k,n]$ is the greatest common divisor between $k$, the charge of the wall, and $n$. We provide field-theoretical arguments and string-theoretical evidences, both from MQCD and from gauge-gravity correspondence. We interpret this result from the point of view of the low-energy effective action living on the $k$-wall.Comment: 25 pp. Major changes. In particular, following the recent work arXiv:0807.1908 we have been able to give a field theoretical proof of the statement. We have also corrected an important erroneous interpretation in the previous version regarding the 2+1 effective action; Typo

Large N Field Theory and AdS Tachyons

In non-supersymmetric orbifolds of N =4 super Yang-Mills, conformal invariance is broken by the logarithmic running of double-trace operators -- a leading effect at large N. A tachyonic instability in AdS_5 has been proposed as the bulk dual of double-trace running. In this paper we make this correspondence more precise. By standard field theory methods, we show that the double-trace beta function is quadratic in the coupling, to all orders in planar perturbation theory. Tuning the double-trace coupling to its (complex) fixed point, we find conformal dimensions of the form 2 + i b, as formally expected for operators dual to bulk scalars that violate the stability bound. We also show that conformal invariance is broken in perturbation theory if and only if dynamical symmetry breaking occurs. Our analysis is applicable to a general large N field theory with vanishing single-trace beta functions.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures. v3: small changes, version published on JHEP

The Renormalization of Non-Commutative Field Theories in the Limit of Large Non-Commutativity

We show that renormalized non-commutative scalar field theories do not reduce to their planar sector in the limit of large non-commutativity. This follows from the fact that the RG equation of the Wilson-Polchinski type which describes the genus zero sector of non-commutative field theories couples generic planar amplitudes with non-planar amplitudes at exceptional values of the external momenta. We prove that the renormalization problem can be consistently restricted to this set of amplitudes. In the resulting renormalized theory non-planar divergences are treated as UV divergences requiring appropriate non-local counterterms. In 4 dimensions the model turns out to have one more relevant (non-planar) coupling than its commutative counterpart. This non-planar coupling is ``evanescent'': although in the massive (but not in the massless) case its contribution to planar amplitudes vanishes when the floating cut-off equals the renormalization scale, this coupling is needed to make the Wilsonian effective action UV finite at all values of the floating cut-off.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures; typos correcte

A new lattice measurement for potentials between static SU(3) sources

In this article, a new calculation of static potentials between sources of different representations in SU(3) gauge group is presented. The results of author's previous study \cite{Deld00} at the smallest lattice spacing $a_{s}\simeq0.11$~ fm are shown to have been affected by finite volume effects. Within statistical errors, the new results obtained here are still in agreement with both, Casimir scaling and flux tube counting. There is also no contradiction to the results obtained in Ref.~ \cite{Bali00} which however exclude flux counting.Comment: To be published in EPJ

The Skyrmion strikes back: baryons and a new large NcN_c limit

In the large $N_c$ limit of QCD, baryons can be modeled as solitons, for instance, as Skyrmions. This modeling has been justified by Witten's demonstration that all properties of baryons and mesons scale with $N_c^{-1/2}$ in the same way as the analogous meson-based soliton model scales with a generic meson-meson coupling constant $g$. An alternative large $N_c$ limit (the orientifold large $N_c$ limit) has recently been proposed in which quarks transform in the two-index antisymmetric representation of $SU(N_c)$. By carrying out the analog of Witten's analysis for the new orientifold large $N_c$ limit, we show that baryons and solitons can also be identified in the orientifold large $N_c$ limit. However, in the orientifold large $N_c$ limit, the interaction amplitudes and matrix elements scale with $N_c^{-1}$ in the same way as soliton models scale with the generic meson coupling constant $g$ rather than as $N_c^{-1/2}$ as in the traditional large $N_c$ limit.Comment: 10 pages, 26 figure

On the Spectrum of QCD(1+1) with SU(N_c) Currents

Extending previous work, we calculate in this note the fermionic spectrum of two-dimensional QCD (QCD_2) in the formulation with SU(N_c) currents. Together with the results in the bosonic sector this allows to address the as yet unresolved task of finding the single-particle states of this theory as a function of the ratio of the numbers of flavors and colors, \lambda=N_f/N_c, anew. We construct the Hamiltonian matrix in DLCQ formulation as an algebraic function of the harmonic resolution K and the continuous parameter \lambda. Amongst the more surprising findings in the fermionic sector chiefly considered here is that the fermion momentum is a function of \lambda. This dependence is necessary in order to reproduce the well-known 't Hooft and large N_f spectra. Remarkably, those spectra have the same single-particle content as the ones in the bosonic sectors. The twist here is the dramatically different sizes of the Fock bases in the two sectors, which makes it possible to interpret in principle all states of the discrete approach. The hope is that some of this insight carries over into the continuum. We also present some new findings concerning the single-particle spectrum of the adjoint theory.Comment: 21 pp., 13 figures, version published in PR