Related papers: Penrose limits and spin chains in the GJV/CS-SYM d…

In this note, we propose gravity duals for 3+1 dimensional Lorentz invariant theories exhibiting discrete scale invariance. We construct non-singular solutions of a six dimensional gravitational theory that are warped products of $AdS_{5}$…

We consider M-theory on AdS_4 x N^{0,1,0} where N^{0,1,0}= (SU(3) x SU(2))/(SU(2) x U(1)). We review a Penrose limit of AdS_4 x N^{0,1,0} that provides the pp-wave geometry of AdS_4 x S^7. There exists a subsector of three dimensional N=3…

We consider rigid rotating closed strings with spikes in AdS5 dual to certain higher twist operators in N=4 SYM theory. In the limit of large spin when the spikes reach the boundary of AdS5, the solutions with different numbers of spikes…

Generalised Complex Geometry provides a natural interpretation of the $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry conditions for warped solutions of type II supergravity as differential equations on polyforms on the internal manifold. Written in this…

We analyze in detail the relation between an exactly marginal deformation of N=4 SYM - the Leigh-Strassler or ``beta-deformation'' - and its string theory dual (recently constructed in hep-th/0502086) by comparing energies of semiclassical…

Various recently developed connections between supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in four dimensions and two dimensional integrable systems serve as crucial ingredients in improving our understanding of the AdS/CFT correspondence. In this…

We conjecture a precise relation between the superconformal indices of two theories defined in different spacetime dimensions. The first is the three-dimensional ABJM theory describing the worldvolume of parallel M2-branes in M-theory on…

The gravity duals of nonlocal field theories in the large N limit exhibit a novel behavior near the boundary. To explore this, we present and study the duals of dipole theories - a particular class of nonlocal theories with fundamental…

We investigate a recently identified class of six-dimensional supergravities without tensor multiplets whose primitive BPS strings are described by a rational superconformal field theory. Rationality imposes severe constraints on the…

We study the defect AdS/CFT correspondence for a system of N_c D3-branes intersecting certain configurations of D7-branes and O7-planes in 1+1-dimensions. The intersection is chiral, preserving N=(0,8) supersymmetry. The geometry produced…

In this work we use constructs from the dual space of the semi-direct product of the Virasoro algebra and the affine Lie algebra of a circle to write a theory of gravitation which is a natural analogue of Yang-Mills theory. The theory…

The Green-Schwarz action for an open superstring with additional boundary fermions, representing Chan-Paton factors, is studied at the classical level. The boundary geometry is described by a bundle, with fermionic fibres, over the super…

We conjecture the existence of two new non-gravitational six-dimensional string theories, defined as the decoupling limit of NS5-branes in the background of near-critical electrical two- and three-form RR fields. These theories are…

We investigate the holographic correspondence between (p+1)-dimensional ($0\le p\le 4$) SYM theories with 16 supercharges and superstring theories on the near-horizon limit of Dp-brane backgrounds. Following an approach based on the…

We study large-N double-scaling limits of U(N) gauge theories in four dimensions. We focus on theories in a partially confining phase where an abelian subgroup $\hat{G}$ of the gauge group remains unconfined. Double-scaling is defined near…

Using the off-shell formulation for ${\cal N}=2$ conformal supergravity in four dimensions, we describe superconformal higher-spin multiplets of conserved currents in a curved background and present their associated unconstrained gauge…

We propose a mechanism in which, using an eightbrane, a sixbrane ends on a NS brane in type IIA superstring theory. We use this mechanism to construct N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions with chiral matter localized in…

We present the {\it canonical} set of superspace constraints for self-dual supergravity, a ``self-dual'' tensor multiplet and a self-dual Yang-Mills multiplet with $~N=1~$ supersymmetry in the space-time with signature $(+,+,-,-)$. For this…

Instantons, monopoles and vortices have become paradigms of topological structures in field theory and quantum mechanics, with important applications in particle physics, astrophysics, condensed matter physics and mathematics. We have…

We argue for the existence of bounds on the tensions of $p$-branes in de Sitter space in terms of the Hubble rate and the strength of a class of Chern-Simons-like couplings. The world-volume couplings involve Abelian 1-form gauge fields in…