Gravity duals of N=2 SCFTs and asymptotic emergence of the electrostatic description

We built the first eleven-dimensional supergravity solutions with SO(2,4)xSO(3)xU(1)_R symmetry that exhibit the asymptotic emergence of an extra U(1) isometry. This enables us to make the connection with the usual electrostatics-quiver description. The solution is obtained via the Toda frame of Kahler surfaces with vanishing scalar curvature and SU(2) action.Comment: 1+15 pages, Latex, v2: few minor changes, JHEP versio

Holographic perfect fluidity, Cotton energy-momentum duality and transport properties

We investigate background metrics for 2+1-dimensional holographic theories where the equilibrium solution behaves as a perfect fluid, and admits thus a thermodynamic description. We introduce stationary perfect-Cotton geometries, where the Cotton--York tensor takes the form of the energy--momentum tensor of a perfect fluid, i.e. they are of Petrov type D_t. Fluids in equilibrium in such boundary geometries have non-trivial vorticity. The corresponding bulk can be exactly reconstructed to obtain 3+1-dimensional stationary black-hole solutions with no naked singularities for appropriate values of the black-hole mass. It follows that an infinite number of transport coefficients vanish for holographic fluids. Our results imply an intimate relationship between black-hole uniqueness and holographic perfect equilibrium. They also point towards a Cotton/energy--momentum tensor duality constraining the fluid vorticity, as an intriguing boundary manifestation of the bulk mass/nut duality.Comment: V3: 1+39 pages, JHEP versio

Isometries, gaugings and N = 2 supergravity decoupling

We study off-shell rigid limits for the kinetic and scalar-potential terms of a single N = 2 hypermultiplet. In the kinetic term, these rigid limits establish relations between four-dimensional quaternion-Kähler and hyper-Kähler target spaces with symmetry. The scalar potential is obtained by gauging the graviphoton along an isometry of the quaternion-Kähler space. The rigid limits unveil two distinct cases. A rigid N = 2 theory on Minkowski or on AdS4 spacetime, depending on whether the isometry is translational or rotational respectively. We apply these results to the quaternion-Kähler space with Heisenberg ⋉ U(1) isometry, which describes the universal hypermultiplet at type-II string one-loop

Quantum equivalence in Poisson-Lie T-duality

We prove that, general \s-models related by Poisson-Lie T-duality are quantum equivalent under one-loop renormalization group flow. We reveal general properties of the flows, we study the associated generalized coset models and provide explicit examples.Comment: 16 page

Stability of strings dual to flux tubes between static quarks in N=4 SYM

Computing heavy quark-antiquark potentials within the AdS/CFT correspondence often leads to behaviors that differ from what one expects on general physical grounds and field-theory considerations. To isolate the configurations of physical interest, it is of utmost importance to examine the stability of the string solutions dual to the flux tubes between the quark and antiquark. Here, we formulate and prove several general statements concerning the perturbative stability of such string solutions, relevant for static quark-antiquark pairs in a general class of backgrounds, and we apply the results to N=4 SYM at finite temperature and at generic points of the Coulomb branch. In all cases, the problematic regions are found to be unstable and hence physically irrelevant.Comment: 43 pages, 18 figures; v3: typos correcte