Related papers: The conformal anomaly of k-strings

We review certain properties of confinement with added focus on the ones we study with holography. Then we discuss observables whose unique behavior can indicate the presence of confinement. Using mainly the Wilson loop in the gauge/gravity…

We report some recent results obtained for large N gauge theories which support the idea of volume reduction. Results for the string tension of the Twisted Eguchi-Kawai model match with those obtained from extrapolation from finite N.…

This is an introduction to two-dimensional conformal field theory and its applications in string theory. Modern concepts of conformal field theory are explained, and it is outlined how they are used in recent studies of D-branes in the…

Chiral cosmic strings are naturally produced at the end of D-term inflation and they may have interesting cosmological consequences. As was first proved by Carter and Peter, the equations of motion for chiral cosmic strings in Minkowski…

We discuss the k dependence of the k-string tension sigma_k in SU(N) supersymmetric gluodynamics. As well known, at large N the k-string consists, to leading order, of k noninteracting fundamental strings, so that sigma_k=k sigma_1. We…

In a recent companion paper, we observed that the rules of ordinary thermodynamics generally fail to respect thermal duality, a symmetry of string theory under which the physics at temperature T is related to the physics at the inverse…

Sources in higher representations of SU(N) gauge theory at T=0 couple with apparently stable strings with tensions depending on the specific representation rather than on its N-ality. Similarly at the deconfining temperature these sources…

We investigate whether the symmetry transformations of a bosonic string are connected by T-duality. We start with a standard closed string theory. We continue with a modified open string theory, modified to preserve the symmetry…

K strings in Yang-Mills theory can be considered as bound states of k elementary confining strings carrying one unit of colour flux. Current estimates of k-string tension sigma_k are very sensitive to the leading corrections due to quantum…

In supersymmetric theories, topological defects can have nontrivial behaviors determined purely by whether or not supersymmetry is restored in the defect core. A well-known example of this is that some supersymmetric cosmic strings are…

We study some features of the confining string connecting a quark-anti-quark pair in Yang-Mills theory. Monte Carlo investigations of the flux tube between two static quarks in the fundamental representation show that its thickness…

The leading term for the energy of a bound state of k-quarks and k-antiquarks is proportional to its separation L. These k-string configurations have a Luscher term associated with their quantum fluctuations which is typically a 1/L…

We consider non-relativistic conformal quantum mechanical theories that arise by doing discrete light cone quantization of field theories. If the field theory has a gravity dual, then the conformal quantum mechanical theory can have a…

We explore 6d (1,0) superconformal field theories with SU(3) and SU(2) gauge symmetries which cascade after Higgsing to the E-string theory on a single M5 near an $E_8$ wall. Specifically, we study the 2d $\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ gauge theories…

In earlier papers we established quark confinement analytically in anisotropic $(2+1)$-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with two gauge coupling constants. Here we point out a few features of the confining phase. These are: 1) the string…

We study the spectrum of the confining strings in four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theories. We compute, for the SU(4) and SU(6) gauge theories formulated on a lattice, the string tensions sigma_k related to sources with Z_N charge k, using…

Based upon the formalism of conformal field theory with a boundary, we give a description of the boundary effect on fully developed two dimensional turbulence. Exact one and two point velocity correlation functions and energy power spectrum…

We discuss two classes of exact (in $\a'$) string solutions described by conformal sigma models. They can be viewed as two possibilities of constructing a conformal model out of the non-conformal one based on the metric of a $D$-dimensional…

We discuss some recent phenomenological models for strong interactions based on the idea of gauge/string duality. A very good estimate for hadronic masses can be found by placing an infrared cut off in AdS space. Considering static strings…

We present results of a detailed investigation of the temperature dependence of the spatial string tension in SU(2) gauge theory. We show, for the first time, that the spatial string tension is scaling on the lattice and thus is…