Abstract:
In this thesis we introduce novel technology pertaining to the calculation of
certain classes of correlation functions in the half BPS, near BPS and multimatrix
sectors (particularly the SU(2) sector) of N = 4 Super Yang-Mills
(SYM) theory using the Schur polynomial and restricted Schur polynomial
bases. This technology allows the detailed exploration of a host of physical
questions within the AdS/CFT correspondence. We rst treat multi-point
correlators of restricted Schur polynomials which constitute a particularly
convenient basis for the SU(2) and general multi-matrix sectors of N = 4
SYM. We introduce a product rule for the restricted Schur polynomials,
which, together with the two point correlator result of arXiv:0801.2061 allows
us to compute exact multi-point correlators, in the free eld theory limit.
This facilitates the exploration of physical questions such as elucidating the
appropriate degrees of freedom for a perturbative description of quantum
gravity in the sectors under consideration.
We then treat the calculation of correlators of operators in the presence of
large background operators with a R-charge of O(N2) that are dual to asymptotically
AdS5 S5 backgrounds. Evaluating these correlators is a hard problem
in general since the planar approximation fails. In this thesis we develop
general techniques, known as the \cutting rules", that allow the computation
of such correlators. Specializing to the LLM annulus geometry allows a
number of concrete results to be derived. We then study the perturbation
theory of these correlators and identify new perturbative expansion parameters
replacing 1=N. Motivated by these results we explore new BMN-type
sectors.
Finally, we treat the problem of computing the anomalous dimensions of a
class of (nearly) half BPS operators with a large R-charge. This problem is
reduced to the problem of diagonalizing a Cuntz oscillator chain. Non-planar
corrections must be summed to correctly construct the Cuntz oscillator dynamics.
We explore whether these non-planar corrections that account for
backreaction from the heavy operator rather than quantum corrections in the
dual gravitational theory also spoil integrability as is generally the case with
quantum corrections. We nd a limit in which our Cuntz chain continues to
admit extra conserved charges suggesting that integrability might survive.
