Related papers: New checks and subtleties for AdS/CFT and a-maximi…
We initiate a systematic study of four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) based on the analysis of their Coulomb branch geometries. Because these SCFTs are not uniquely characterized by their scale-invariant…
We consider AdS/CFT correspondence for time-dependent \II B backgrounds in this paper. The supergravity solutions we construct are supersymmetric pp-waves on AdS and may have null singularity in the bulk. The dual gauge theory is also…
Using the AdS/CFT, we establish a correspondence between the intricate thermal phases of R-charged AdS_{5} blackholes and the R-charge sector of the N=4 gauge theory, in the large N limit. Integrating out all fields in the gauge theory…
In this thesis I review various aspects of the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence, where AdS_4 supergravity arises from compactification of M-theory on a coset space G/H and preserves N<8 supersymmetries. One focal point of my review is that the…
We propose $AdS_2$/CFT$_1$ dualities between exactly solvable topological quantum mechanics theories with vector or matrix large $N$ limits (on the boundary) and weakly coupled gauge theories on a fixed $AdS_2$ background (in the bulk). The…
We revisit the study of singular points in the Coulomb branch of $\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD in four dimensions with gauge group $SU(N)$ and odd number of flavors. For certain choices of the mass parameters these vacua are not lifted by a mass…
It is a long-standing conjecture that any CFT with a large central charge and a large gap $\Delta_{\text{gap}}$ in the spectrum of higher-spin single-trace operators must be dual to a local effective field theory in AdS. We prove a sharp…
Making use of the exact solutions of the $N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories we construct new classes of superconformal field theories (SCFTs) by fine-tuning the moduli parameters and bringing the theories to critical points. In the case of…
In this thesis we give a pedagogical introduction to the construction of NS5-D6(-O6)-D8(-O8) brane setups in massive type IIA string theory and the six-dimensional $(1,0)$ SCFT's they engineer. After describing how to introduce the various…
The AdS/CFT correspondence relates dibaryons in superconformal gauge theories to holomorphic curves in Kaehler-Einstein surfaces. The degree of the holomorphic curves is proportional to the gauge theory conformal dimension of the dibaryons.…
As was shown earlier, one-loop correction in 10d supergravity on AdS_5 x S^5 corresponds to the contributions to the vacuum energy and boundary 4d conformal anomaly which are minus the values for one n=4 Maxwell supermultiplet, thus…
Supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric deformations of large $N=(4,4)$ SCFT with superconformal symmetry $D^1(2,1;\alpha)\times D^1(2,1;\alpha)$ are explored in the gravity dual described by a Chern-Simons $N=8$, $(SO(4)\times SO(4))\ltimes…
Multi-parametric families of AdS$_{4}$ vacua with various amounts of supersymmetry and residual gauge symmetry are found in the $\,[\textrm{SO}(1,1) \times \textrm{SO}(6)] \ltimes \mathbb{R}^{12}\,$ maximal supergravity that arises from the…
We construct the AdS description of the Higgs branch of the finite {\cal N}=2 Sp(N) gauge theory with one antisymmetric hypermultiplet and four fundamental hypermultiplets. Holography, combined with the non-renormalization of the metric on…
We study $\mathrm{AdS}_3\times S^3/\mathbb{Z}_k\times {\tilde S}^3/\mathbb{Z}_{k'}$ solutions to M-theory preserving $\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ supersymmetries, arising as near-horizon limits of M2-M5 brane intersections ending on M5'-branes, with…
We review extensions of the AdS/CFT correspondence to gauge/ gravity dualities with N=1 supersymmetry. In particular, we describe the gauge/gravity dualities that emerge from placing D3-branes at the apex of the conifold. We consider first…
This is a brief introductory review of the AdS/CFT correspondence and of the ideas that led to its formulation. Emphasis is placed on dualities between conformal large $N$ gauge theories in 4 dimensions and string backgrounds of the form…
Coincident M2 branes at a conical singularity are related to M theory on AdS_4 x X_7 for an appropriate 7 dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold X_7. For X_7=Q^{1,1,1}=(SU(2) x SU(2) x SU(2))/(U(1) x U(1)) which was found sometime ago, the…
We construct a new AdS_4 background in Type IIB supergravity by means of a non-Abelian T-duality transformation on the Type IIA dual of ABJM. The analysis of probe and particle-like branes suggests a dual CFT in which each of the gauge…
Coincident D3-branes placed at a conical singularity are related to string theory on $AdS_5\times X_5$, for a suitable five-dimensional Einstein manifold $X_5$. For the example of the conifold, which leads to $X_5=T^{1,1}=(SU(2)\times…