Large N conformal field theory from gauge/gravity duality

Abstract

In this dissertation we exploit the Ads slash CFT correspondence to describe a system of strings suspended between giant gravitons. The strings can be in an excited state. The excitations of the strings can be given a particle-like description and are known as magnons. The proposed gauge invariant operators used to construct a complete description of this system belong to the su(2) sector of the N = 4 SYM. Using an open spin chain description of the suspended strings, the states of the system we consider enjoy an SU 2j2)2 symmetry. By making use of this symmetry, we compute the all loop anomalous dimensions of these operators. The spectrum of the dilatation operator in the su(2) sector of the theory is reproduced in the dual gravity description. In the dual theory, the energies of the magnons are computed using strings in a background LLM geometry and the results are in complete agreement with the anomalous dimensions of the operators we have considered. Using the symmetries enjoyed by our system we achieve a complete determination - up to an overall phase - of the reection/scattering matrix between a boundary magnon and a bulk magnon. Thus, although the open boundary conditions of the spin chain spoil integrability. The two-loop subleading correction to the dilatation operator is also explored. This subleading term corresponds to a correction of the magnon energies. The computation of this subleading term requires consideration of the giant's backreaction on their excitations. We nd that this backreaction implies a nontrivial mixing of the dual operators and this mixing is characterized completely.