On AdS2/CFT1AdS_2/CFT_1 transfer matrices, Bethe ansatz and scale invariance

We explicitly calculate the $AdS_2 \times S^2 \times T^6$ transfer-matrix eigenvalues in the massless sector using the exact integrable S-matrix, for up to 5 particles. This enables us to conjecture the general pattern. We use the conjectured form of the eigenvalues to write down a set of massless Bethe ansatz equations. The same procedure applies to the relativistic as well as to the non-relativistic situation. In the relativistic case, the right and left modes decouple. We speculate that the relativistic massless Bethe ansatz we obtain in that case might capture the integrable structure of an underlying 2D critical theory. We finally take advantage of some remarkable simplifications to make progress in the massive case as well.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure; v2: matching version accepted to J. Phys.

AdS3/CFT2 and q-Poincare' superalgebras

We discover that a certain deformation of the 1+1 dimensional Poincare' superalgebra is exactly realised in the massless sector of the AdS3/CFT2 integrable scattering problem. Deformed Poincar\'e superalgebras were previously noticed to appear in the AdS5/CFT4 correspondence - which displays only massive excitations -, but they were there only a partial symmetry. We obtain a representation of the boost operator and its coproduct, and show that the comultiplication exactly satisfies the homomorphism property. We present a classical limit, and finally speculate on an analogy with the physics of phonons.Comment: 21 pages, no figures, pdfLaTeX; v2: typos corrected, references added; v3: matches journal versio

qq-Poincar\'e supersymmetry in AdS5/CFT4AdS_5/CFT_4

We consider the exact S-matrix governing the planar spectral problem for strings on $AdS_5\times S^5$ and $\mathcal N=4$ super Yang-Mills, and we show that it is invariant under a novel "boost" symmetry, which acts as a differentiation with respect to the particle momentum. This generator leads us also to reinterpret the usual centrally extended $\mathfrak{psu}(2|2)$ symmetry, and to conclude that the S-matrix is invariant under a $q$-Poincar\'e supersymmetry algebra, where the deformation parameter is related to the 't Hooft coupling. We determine the two-particle action (coproduct) that turns out to be non-local, and study the property of the new symmetry under crossing transformations. We look at both the strong-coupling (large tension in the string theory) and weak-coupling (spin-chain description of the gauge theory) limits; in the former regime we calculate the cobracket utilising the universal classical r-matrix of Beisert and Spill. In the eventuality that the boost has higher partners, we also construct a quantum affine version of 2D Poincar\'e symmetry, by contraction of the quantum affine algebra $U_q(\widehat{\mathfrak{sl}_2})$ in Drinfeld's second realisation.Comment: 35 pages. Added discussion on antipode in the presence of the phase. Published versio

Open string pair creation from worldsheet instantons

Worldline instantons provide a particularly elegant way to derive Schwinger's well-known formula for the pair creation rate due to a constant electric field in quantum electrodynamics. In this note, we show how to extend this method to the corresponding problem of open string pair creation.Comment: 9 pages, no figure

Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter VI.2: Yangian Algebra

We review the study of Hopf algebras, classical and quantum R-matrices, infinite-dimensional Yangian symmetries and their representations in the context of integrability for the N=4 vs AdS5xS5 correspondence.Comment: 16 pages, see also overview article arXiv:1012.3982; v2: references to other chapters updated; v3: reference added; v4: acknowledgment added; v5: Journal versio

Yangians, S-matrices and AdS/CFT

This review is meant to be an account of the properties of the infinite-dimensional quantum group (specifically, Yangian) symmetry lying behind the integrability of the AdS/CFT spectral problem. In passing, the chance is taken to give a concise anthology of basic facts concerning Yangians and integrable systems, and to store a series of remarks, observations and proofs the author has collected in a five-year span of research on the subject. We hope this exercise will be useful for future attempts to study Yangians in field and string theories, with or without supersymmetry.Comment: 95 pages, pdfLaTeX, 1 figure. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an invited topical review accepted for publication in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. v2: fixed sign in (15), added comment about Jacobi identity in footnote 5