We discuss recent developments in the hydrodynamic description of strongly coupled conformal field theories using the AdS/CFT correspondence. In particular, we review aspects of the fluid-gravity correspondence which provides a map between a class of inhomogeneous, dynamical, black hole solutions in asymptotically AdS spacetimes and arbitrary fluid flows in the strongly interacting boundary field theory. We explain how the geometric duals to the fluid dynamics are constructed in a boundary derivative expansion and use the construction to extract the hydrodynamic transport coefficients. In addition we also describe the recent developments extending the correspondence to incorporate matter fields and to non-relativistic systems. Based on lectures given at the CERN Winter School on Supergravity, Strings and Gauge Theories, Geneva, Switzerland (February 2009).
These are pedagogical lecture notes on hydrodynamic fluctuations in normal relativistic fluids. The lectures discuss correlation functions of conserved densities in thermal equilibrium, interactions of the hydrodynamic modes, an effective action for viscous fluids, and the breakdown of the derivative expansion in hydrodynamics.
We give a short introduction, beginning with the Kerr geometry itself, to the basic results, motivation, open problems and future directions of the Kerr/CFT correspondence.
This is a paper compiled by students of the 2008 Summer School on Particles, Fields, and Strings held at the University of British Columbia on lectures given by Veronika Hubeny as understood and interpreted by the authors. We start with an introduction to the AdS/CFT duality. More specifically, we discuss the correspondence between relativistic, conformal hydrodynamics and Einstein's theory of gravity. Within our framework the Einstein equations are an effective description for the string theory in the bulk of AdS_5 spacetime and the hydrodynamic fluid equations represent the conformal field t…
These are lecture notes for a series of lectures given at the Les Houches Summer School on Integrability in Atomic and Condensed Matter Physics, 30 July to 24 August 2018. The same series of lectures has also been given at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, October 2019. I overview in a pedagogical fashion the main aspects of the theory of generalised hydrodynamics, a hydrodynamic theory for quantum and classical many-body integrable systems. Only very basic knowledge of hydrodynamics and integrable systems is assumed.
We present a detailed discussion of AdS_3 black holes and their connection to two-dimensional conformal field theories via the AdS/CFT correspondence. Our emphasis is on deriving refined versions of black hole partition functions, that include the effect of higher derivative terms in the spacetime action as well as non-perturbative effects. We include background material on gravity in AdS_3, in the context of holographic renormalization.
We review recent progress in developing effective field theories (EFTs) for non-equilibrium processes at finite temperature, including a new formulation of fluctuating hydrodynamics, and a new proof of the second law of thermodynamics. There are a number of new elements in formulating EFTs for such systems. Firstly, the nature of IR variables is very different from those of a system in equilibrium or near the vacuum. Secondly, while all static properties of an equilibrium system can in principle be extracted from the partition function, there appears no such quantity which can capture all non-…
We review in a pedagogical manner some of the efforts aiming to extend the gauge/gravity correspondence to non-conformal supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions. After giving a general overview, we discuss in detail two specific examples: fractional D-branes on orbifolds and D-branes wrapped on supersymmetric cycles of Calabi-Yau spaces. We explore in particular which gauge theory information can be extracted from the corresponding supergravity solutions, and what the remaining open problems are. We also briefly explain the connection between these and other approaches, such as fracti…
In these lectures I consider the Hitchin integrable systems and their relations with the self-duality equations and the twisted super-symmetric Yang-Mills theory in four dimension follow Hitchin and Kapustin-Witten. I define the Symplectic Hecke correspondence between different integrable systems. As an example I consider Elliptic Calogero-Moser system and integrable Euler-Arnold top on coadjoint orbits of the group GL(N,C) and explain the Symplectic Hecke correspondence for these systems.
This is an introductory review of the AdS/CFT correspondence and of the ideas that led to its formulation. We show how comparison of stacks of D3-branes with corresponding supergravity solutions leads to dualities between conformal large $N$ gauge theories in 4 dimensions and string backgrounds of the form $AdS_5\times X_5$ where $X_5$ is an Einstein manifold. The gauge invariant chiral operators of the field theory are in one-to-one correspondence with the supergravity modes, and their correlation functions at strong `t Hooft coupling are determined by the dependence of the supergravity actio…
These lectures cover aspects of solitons with focus on applications to the quantum dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories and string theory. The lectures consist of four sections, each dealing with a different soliton. We start with instantons and work down in co-dimension to monopoles, vortices and, eventually, domain walls. Emphasis is placed on the moduli space of solitons and, in particular, on the web of connections that links solitons of different types. The D-brane realization of the ADHM and Nahm construction for instantons and monopoles is reviewed, together with related constructi…
These lectures review recent developments in our understanding of the emergence of local bulk physics in AdS/CFT. The primary topics are sufficient conditions for a conformal field theory to have a semiclassical dual, bulk reconstruction, the quantum error correction interpretation of the correspondence, tensor network models of holography, and the quantum Ryu-Takayanagi formula.
In the first part of these lectures we will review the main aspects of large N QCD and the explicit results obtained from it. Then, after a review of the properties of N=4 super Yang-Mills, type IIB string theory and of AdS space, we briefly discuss the Maldacena conjecture. Finally in the last part of these lectures we will discuss the finite temperature case and we show how "hadronic" quantities as the string tension, the mass gap and the topological susceptibility can be computed in this approach.
In the spirit of the AdS/CFT correspondence, we investigate the hydrodynamics of the dual conformal field in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity. By considering the parameters of the boosted black brane in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity as functions of boundary coordinates, and then solving the corresponding correction terms, we calculate the first order stress-energy tensor of the dual conformal field. From this first order stress-energy tensor, we also obtain the shear viscosity and entropy density. And these results are consistent with those of some previous works from the effective coupling of gravitons.
These are notes based on a series of lectures given at the KITP workshop "Quantum Criticality and the AdS/CFT Correspondence" in July, 2009. The goal of the lectures was to introduce condensed matter physicists to the AdS/CFT correspondence. Discussion of string theory and of supersymmetry is avoided to the extent possible.
We introduce the gauge/gravity, or AdS/CFT, correspondence with an eye towards its application to strongly coupled systems. We provide an overview of the duality, including the AdS/CFT dictionary and holographic renormalization. We then discuss simple correlation functions in the context of renormalization group flow geometries, holographic thermodynamics and an application to the phase diagram of QCD, real-time correlators and the shear viscosity of strongly coupled field theories, holographic superconductors, and the application of holographic fermionic response to strange metals. These lect…
We compute holographically the dispersion relation for a hydrodynamic mode of fluctuation (the phonino) of the density of supersymmetry current in N = 4 SYM at strong coupling. The mode appears as a pole at low frequency and momentum in the correlator of supercurrents. It has a wave-like propagation, and we find its speed and coefficient of attenuation.
In these lecture notes from the 2002 Cargese summer school we review the progress that has been made towards finding a string theory for QCD (or for pure (super)Yang-Mills theory) following the discovery of the AdS/CFT correspondence. We start with a brief review of the AdS/CFT correspondence and a general discussion of its application to the construction of a string theory for QCD. We then discuss in detail two possible paths towards a QCD string theory, one which uses a mass deformation of the N=4 super Yang-Mills theory (the Polchinski-Strassler background) and the other using a compactific…
This is the write-up of a set of lectures on the comparison between Lattice Gauge Theories and AdS/CFT results for the non-perturbative behaviour of non-supersymmetric Yang Mills theories. These notes are intended for students which are assumed not to be experts in L.G.T. For this reason the first part is devoted to a pedagogical introduction to the Lattice regularization of QCD. In the second part we discuss some basic features of the AdS/CFT correspondence and compare the results obtained in the non-supersymmetric limit with those obtained on the Lattice. We discuss in particular the behavio…
This is a comment to hep-th/0703243. The paper determined the relaxation time tau_pi of the shear viscous stress for the N=4 SYM from AdS/CFT correspondence. The purpose of this comment is to point out that the value of tau_pi is 3 times larger than their result if one takes into account an additional term in the hydrodynamic equation.
The AdS/CFT correspondence provides quantum theories of gravity in which spacetime and gravitational physics emerge from ordinary non-gravitational quantum systems with many degrees of freedom. Recent work in this context has uncovered fascinating connections between quantum information theory and quantum gravity, suggesting that spacetime geometry is directly related to the entanglement structure of the underlying quantum mechanical degrees of freedom and that aspects of spacetime dynamics (gravitation) can be understood from basic quantum information theoretic constraints. In these notes, we…
We compute the correlation functions of R-charge currents and components of the stress-energy tensor in the strongly coupled large-N finite-temperature N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, following a recently formulated Minkowskian AdS/CFT prescription. We observe that in the long-distance, low-frequency limit, such correlators have the form dictated by hydrodynamics. We deduce from the calculations the R-charge diffusion constant and the shear viscosity. The value for the latter is in agreement with an earlier calculation based on the Kubo formula and absorption by black branes.
As a non-trivial check of the non-supersymmetric gauge/gravity duality, we use a near-extremal black brane background to compute the retarded Green's functions of the stress-energy tensor in N=4 super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory at finite temperature. For the long-distance, low-frequency modes of the diagonal components of the stress-energy tensor, hydrodynamics predicts the existence of a pole in the correlators corresponding to propagation of sound waves in the N=4 SYM plasma. The retarded Green's functions obtained from gravity do indeed exhibit this pole, with the correct values for the sound …
I review the AdS/hydrodynamics correspondence, which provides a 1-1 map between large wavelength features of AdS black branes and conformal fluid flows. In this thesis I consider boundaries between nonrelativistic flows, applying the usual boundary conditions for viscous fluids. I find that a naive application of the correspondence to these boundaries yields a surface layer in the gravity theory whose stress tensor is not equal to that given by the Israel matching conditions. In particular, while neither stress tensor satisfies the null energy condition and both have nonvanishing momentum, onl…
These lectures notes are based on courses given at National Taiwan University, National Chiao-Tung University, and National Tsing Hua University in the spring term of 2015. Although the course was offered primarily for graduate students, these lecture notes have been prepared for a more general audience. They are intended as an introduction to conformal field theories in various dimensions, with applications related to topics of particular interest: topics include the conformal bootstrap program, boundary conformal field theory, and applications related to the AdS/CFT correspondence. We assume…
Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we study the hydrodynamics with conserved current from the dual Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. After constructing the perturbative solution to the first order based on the boosted black brane solution in the bulk Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, we extract the stress tensor and conserved current of the dual conformal fluid on its boundary, and also find the effect of Gauss-Bonnet term on the dual conformal fluid. Our results show that the Gauss-Bonnet term can affect the parameters such as the shear viscosity $η$, entropy density $s$, thermal conductivity $κ$ and …
These lecture notes are intended to serve as an introduction to applied AdS/CFT with numerics for an audience of graduate students and others with little background in the subject. The presentation begins with a poor man's review of current status of quantum gravity, where AdS/CFT correspondence is believed to be the well formulated quantum gravity in the anti-de Sitter space. Then we present the basic ingredients in applied AdS/CFT and introduce the relevant numerics for solving differential equations into which the bulk dynamics collapses. To demonstrate how to apply AdS/CFT with numerics, w…
The contribution presents a summary of the Gauge/Gravity approach to the study of hydrodynamic flow of the quark-gluon plasma formed in heavy-ion collisions. Considering the ideal case of a supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory for which the AdS/CFT correspondence gives a precise form of the Gauge/Gravity duality, the properties of the strongly coupled expanding plasma are put in one-to-one correspondence with the metric of a 5-dimensional black hole moving away in the 5th dimension and its deformations consistent with the relevant Einstein equations. Several recently studied aspects of this framew…
In these lectures we describe the attempt to extract the expectation values of Wilson loops from the string/gauge correspondence. We start with the original calculation in $AdS_5$. It is then extended to the non-conformal background of $D_p$ in the near horizon limit. We discuss the computation at finite temperature. Supergravity models that admit confinement in 3d and 4d are described. A theorem that determines the classical values of loops associated with a generalized background is derived.In particular we determine sufficient conditions for confining behavior. We then apply the theorem to …
These lecture notes give an overview of recent results in geometric Langlands correspondence which may yield applications to quantum field theory. We start with a motivated introduction to the Langlands Program, including its geometric reformulation, addressed primarily to physicists. I tried to make it as self-contained as possible, requiring very little mathematical background. Next, we describe the connections between the Langlands Program and two-dimensional conformal field theory that have been found in the last few years. These connections give us important insights into the physical imp…
Using fluid/gravity correspondence, we determine the (linearized) stress energy tensor of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling with all orders in derivatives of fluid velocity included. We find that the dissipative effects are fully encoded in the shear term and a new one, which emerges starting from the third order. We derive, for the first time, closed linear holographic RG flow-type equations for (generalized) momenta-dependent viscosity functions. In the hydrodynamic regime, we obtain the stress tensor up to third order in derivative expansion analytically. We then nu…
This is a pedagogical introduction to the AdS/CFT correspondence, based on lectures delivered by the author at the third IDPASC school. Starting with the conceptual basis of the holographic dualities, the subject is developed emphasizing some concrete topics, which are discussed in detail. A very brief introduction to string theory is provided, containing the minimal ingredients to understand the origin of the AdS/CFT duality. Other topics covered are the holographic calculation of correlation functions, quark-antiquark potentials and transport coefficients.
We continue our construction of a hydrodynamical description of a holographic model with broken translation invariance. Using the fluid/gravity correspondence we derive the constitutive relations of the boundary theory in the presence of a magnetic field. This allows us to obtain novel results for the low-frequency magnetothermoelectric response coefficients. We discuss the DC limit of our hydrodynamics in detail, and show that our approach is equivalent to the `horizon-fluid' of Donos and Gauntlett.
In this talk we review analytical and numerical studies of hydrodynamic vortices in conformal fluids and their gravity duals. We present two conclusions. First, (3+1)-dimensional turbulence is within the range of validity of the AdS/hydrodynamics correspondence. Second, the local equilibrium of the fluid is equivalent to the ultralocality of the holographic correspondence, in the sense that the bulk data at a given point is determined, to any given precision, by the boundary data at a single point together with a fixed number of derivatives. With this criterion we see that the cores of hot and…
In these lecture notes we first assemble the basic ingredients of supersymmetric gauge theories (particularly N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory), supergravity, and superstring theory. Brane solutions are surveyed. The geometry and symmetries of anti-de Sitter space are discussed. The AdS/CFT correspondence of Maldacena and its application to correlation functions in the the conformal phase of N=4 SYM are explained in considerable detail. A pedagogical treatment of holographic RG flows is given including a review of the conformal anomaly in four-dimensional quantum field theory and its calculation fr…
In this paper, we investigate the fluid/gravity correspondence in spacetime with general non-rotating weakly isolated horizon. With the help of Petrov-like boundary condition and large mean curvature limit, we show that the dual hydrodynamical system is described by a generalized forced incompressible Navier-Stocks equation. Specially, for stationary black holes or those spacetime with some asymptotically stationary conditions, such a system reduces to a standard forced Navier-Stocks system.
In ref. \cite{1406.7222}, we reported a construction of all order linearized fluid dynamics with strongly coupled $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory as underlying microscopic description. The linearized fluid/gravity correspondence makes it possible to resum all order derivative terms in the fluid stress tensor. Dissipative effects are fully encoded by the shear term and a new one, emerging starting from third order in hydrodynamic derivative expansion. In this work, we provide all computational details omitted in \cite{1406.7222} and present additional results. We derive closed-form line…
This is an introductory lecture note aiming at providing an overview of the AdS-CFT correspondence at weak 't Hooft coupling at finite temperature. The first aim of this note is to describe the equivalence of three interesting thermodynamical phenomena in theoretical physics, namely, Hawking-Page transition to black hole geometry, deconfinement transition in gauge theories, and vortex condensation on string worldsheets. The Hawking-Page transition and the deconfinement transition in weakly coupled gauge theories are briefly reviewed. Emphasis is on the study of 't Hooft-Feynman diagrams in the…
We provide a brief but self-contained review of two-dimensional conformal field theory, from the basic principles to some of the simplest models. From the representations of the Virasoro algebra on the one hand, and the state-field correspondence on the other hand, we deduce Ward identities and Belavin--Polyakov--Zamolodchikov equations for correlation functions. We then explain the principles of the conformal bootstrap method, and introduce conformal blocks. This allows us to define and solve minimal models and Liouville theory. In particular, we study their three- and four-point functions, a…
I argue that the conventional field theoretic notion of vacuum state is not valid in quantum gravity. The arguments use gravitational effective field theory, as well as results from string theory, particularly the AdS/CFT correspondence. Different solutions of the same low energy gravitational field equations correspond to different quantum systems, rather than different states in the same system. I then introduce {\it holographic space-time} a quasi-local quantum mechanical construction based on the holographic principle. I argue that models of quantum gravity in asymptotically flat space-tim…
We study linear responses of D0-branes in the low frequency region by using gauge/gravity correspondence. The dynamics of the D0-branes is described by Matrix theory with finite temperature, which is dual to a near extremal D0-brane black hole solution. We analyze the tensor mode and vector modes of a stress tensor and a Ramond-Ramond 1-form current of Matrix theory. Then, we show that if a cutoff surface is close to a horizon of the D0-brane black hole, the linear responses take forms similar to the hydrodynamic stress tensor and current on S^8. By taking a Rindler limit, those linear respons…
These are introductory lectures on the correspondence between SU(N) gauge theories and Superstring Theory in anti-de Sitter geometries (AdS). The subject combines a number of different topics, including supersymmetric field theory, classical and quantum physics of black holes, string theory, string dualities, conformal field theories (CFT), and quantum field theory in anti-de Sitter spaces. We also discuss applications of this AdS/CFT correspondence to the large $N$ dynamics of pure QCD.
We provide a hydrodynamical description of a holographic theory with broken translation invariance. We use the fluid/gravity correspondence to systematically obtain both the constitutive relations for the currents and the Ward identity for momentum relaxation in a derivative expansion. Beyond leading order in the strength of momentum relaxation, our results differ from a model previously proposed by Hartnoll et al. As an application of these techniques we consider charge and heat transport in the boundary theory. We derive the low frequency thermoelectric transport coefficients of the holograp…
Gauge theory/string theory holographic correspondence for ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is well under control in the planar limit, and for large (infinitely large) 't Hooft coupling, $λ\to \infty$. Certain aspects of the correspondence can be extended including ${\cal O}(λ^{-3/2})$ corrections. There are no reliable first principle computations of the ${\cal N}=4$ plasma non-equilibrium properties beyond the stated order. We show extreme sensitivity of the non-hydrodynamic spectra of holographic ${\cal N}=4$ SYM plasma to ${\cal O}(λ^{-3})$ corrections, challenging any conclusi…
We review construction of the improved holographic models for QCD-like confining gauge theories and their applications to the physics of the Quark-gluon plasma. We also review recent progress in this area of research. The lecture notes start from the vacuum structure of these theories, then develop thermodynamic and hydrodynamic observables and end with more advanced topics such as the holographic QCD in the presence of external magnetic fields. This is a summary of the lectures presented at the 56th Cracow School of Theoretical Physics in Spring 2016 at Zakopane, Poland.
The emergence of flagpole and flag-dipole singular spinor fields is explored, in the context of fermionic sectors of fluid/gravity correspondence, arising from the duality between the gravitino, in supergravity, and the phonino, in supersymmetric hydrodynamics. Generalized black branes, whose particular case consists of the AdS--Schwarzschild black brane, are regarded. The correspondence between hydrodynamic transport coefficients, and the universal absorption cross sections of the generalized black branes, is extended to fermionic sectors, including supersound diffusion constants. A free para…
The AdS/hydrodynamics correspondence provides a 1-1 map between large wavelength features of AdS black branes and conformal fluid flows. In this note we consider boundaries between nonrelativistic flows, applying the usual boundary conditions for viscous fluids. We find that a naive application of the correspondence to these boundaries yields a surface layer in the gravity theory whose stress tensor is not equal to that given by the Israel matching conditions. In particular, while neither stress tensor satisfies the null energy condition and both have nonvanishing momentum, only Israel's tenso…
We briefly review recent developments of hydrodynamics, its gravitational description and relevance to relativistic heavy ion collisions. We discuss the basics of hydrodynamics, the fluid/gravity correspondence, triangle anomalies and chiral effects, turbulence and its universal structure.
We set up the construction of generic (d+2)-dimensional metrics corresponding to (d+1)-dimensional fluids, representing holographically the hydrodynamic regimes of the putative dual theories. We give general seed equilibrium metrics appropriate to generic bulk stress energy tensors and discuss the implications of conformal rescalings of the hypersurface on which the fluid is defined. We then show how to obtain the corresponding hydrodynamic metrics using a relativistic gradient expansion and discuss the integrability conditions of the resulting equations. The stress energy tensors of the resul…
We consider in the framework of the fluid/gravity correspondence the dynamics of hypersurfaces located in the holographic radial direction at r = r_0. We prove that these hypersurfaces evolve, to all orders in the derivative expansion and including all higher curvature corrections, according to the same hydrodynamics equations with identical transport coefficients. The analysis is carried out for normal fluids as well as for superfluids. Consequently, this proves the exactness of the bulk viscosity formula derived in arXiv:1103.1657 via the null horizon dynamics.
We consider the lower bound for the shear viscosity-to-entropy density ratio, obtained from the fluid/gravity correspondence, in order to constrain the post-Newtonian parameter of brane-world metrics. In particular, we analyse the Casadio-Fabbri-Mazzacurati (CFM) effective solutions for the gravity side of the correspondence and argue that including higher order terms in the hydrodynamic expansion can lead to a full agreement with the experimental bounds, for the Eddington-Robertson-Schiff post-Newtonian parameter in the CFM metrics. This lends further support to the physical relevance of the …
Experiments on high-energy heavy-ion collisions reveal the formation and some intriguing properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), a new phase of matter predicted by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the quantum field theory of strong interactions. The phenomenological success of relativistic hydrodynamic simulations with remarkably weak shear viscosity, modeling QGP as an almost perfect fluid, are in favor of the occurrence of a strongly-coupled QGP expanding and cooling during the reaction. A derivation of these features in QCD at strong coupling is still lacking and represents a very intricat…
