We reconsider a gravity dual of a 1/4 BPS Wilson loop. In the case of an expectation value of the Wilson loop, it is known that broken zero modes of a string world sheet in the gravity side play important roles in the limit $λ\to \infty$ with keeping the combination $λ\cos^2 θ_0$ finite. Here, $λ$ is the 't Hooft coupling constant and $θ_0$ is a parameter of the Wilson loop. In this paper, we reconsider a gravity dual of a correlation function between the Wilson loop and a 1/2 BPS local operator with R charge $J$. We take account of contributions coming from the same configurations of the above-mentioned broken zero modes. We find an agreement with the gauge theory side in the limit $J \ll \sqrt{λ\cos^2 θ_0} $.
In this paper, we investigate the 1/4 BPS Wilson-'t Hooft loops in $\mathcal{N}$=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We use the bulk D3-brane solutions with both electric and magnetic charges on its world-volume to describe some of 1/4 BPS Wilson-'t Hooft loops. The D3-brane supersymmetric solutions are derived form requiring $κ$-symmetry. We find the two consistent constraints for Killing spinors and calculate the conserved charges of straight 1/4 BPS Wilson-'t Hooft loops and expectation values of circular 1/4 BPS Wilson-'t Hooft loops separately.
We consider BPS Wilson loops in planar ABJM theory, wound multiple times around the great circle. We compute the expectation value of the 1/6-BPS and 1/2-BPS Wilson loops to three- and two-loop order in perturbation theory, respectively, dealing with the combinatorics of multiple winding via recursive relations. For the 1/6-BPS Wilson loop we perform the computation at generic framing and at framing 1 we find agreement with the localization result. For the 1/2-BPS Wilson loop we compute the expectation value at trivial framing and by comparison with the matrix model expression we extract the f…
We show that generic three-dimensional $\mathcal N=2$ quiver super Chern-Simons-matter theories admit Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Drukker-Trancanelli (DT) type Wilson loops. We investigate both Wilson loops along timelike infinite straight lines in Minkowski spacetime and circular Wilson loops in Euclidean space. In Aharnoy-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena theory, we find that generic BPS DT type Wilson loops preserve the same number of supersymmetries as Gaiotto-Yin type Wilson loops. There are several free parameters for generic BPS DT type Wilson loops in the construction, and supersymme…
As holographic description of BPS Wilson loops in ${\cal N}=3$ flavored ABJM theory with $N_f=k=1$, BPS M2-branes in $AdS_4\times N(1, 1)$ are studied in details. Two $1/3$-BPS membrane configurations are found. One of them is dual to the $1/3$-BPS Wilson loop of Gaiotto-Yin type. The regulated membrane action captures precisely the leading exponential behavior of the vacuum expectation values of $1/3$-BPS Wilson loops in the strong coupling limit, which was computed before using supersymmetric localization technique. Moreover, there is no BPS membrane with more supersymmetries in the backgrou…
We compute the expectation value of the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop in ABJM theory at two loops in perturbation theory. The result shows perfect agreement with the prediction from localization and the proposed framing factor.
We explore the low-energy dynamics of 1/2-BPS heavy particles coupled to the ABJM model via the Higgsing of M2-branes, with focus on physical understanding of the recently discovered 1/2-BPS Wilson loop operators. The low-energy theory of 1/2-BPS heavy particles turns out to have the U(N|N) supergauge symmetry, which explains the novel structure of the 1/2-BPS Wilson loop operator as a holonomy of a U(N|N) superconnection. We show that the supersymmetric transformation of the Wilson loop operator can be identified as a fermionic supergauge transformation, which leads to their invariance under …
We study the connected correlator of 1/2 BPS winding Wilson loops in $\mathcal{N}=4$ $U(N)$ super Yang-Mills theory, where those Wilson loops are on top of each other along the same circle. We find the exact finite $N$ expression of the connected correlator of such Wilson loops. We show that the $1/N$ expansion of this exact result is reproduced from the topological recursion of Gaussian matrix model. We also study the exact finite $N$ expression of the generating function of 1/2 BPS Wilson loops in the symmetric representation.
In this paper, we show that the localization of three-dimensional N = 2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory on the ellipsoid-like squashed sphere is related to a nontrivial knot structure called torus knot. More precisely, we can capture the three sphere as the nontrivial so-called Seifert fibrations by regarding 1/2 BPS Wilson loops as U(1) fibers. The topology of knotted 1/2 BPS Wilson loops is controlled by squashing parameters. We calculate the 1/2 BPS condition of the Wilson loop and find perfect agreement with known results. We also remark on the level shift and framing anomaly.
We show that the BPS configurations of uniform field strength can be interpreted as those for sheets of infinite number of BPS magnetic monopoles, and found that the number of normalizable zero modes per each magnetic monopole charge is four. We identify monopole sheets as the intersecting planes of D3 branes. Similar analysis on self-dual instanton configurations is worked out and the number of zero modes per each instanton number is found to match that of single isolated instanton.
We study instanton corrections to the vacuum expectation value (VEV) of 1/6 BPS Wilson loops in ABJM theory from the Fermi gas approach. We mainly consider Wilson loops in the fundamental representation and winding Wilson loops, but we also initiate the study of Wilson loops with two boundaries. We find that the membrane instanton corrections to the Wilson loop VEV are determined by the refined topological string in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit, and the pole cancellation mechanism between membrane instantons and worldsheet instantons works also in the Wilson loop VEVs as in the case of the p…
In this paper we construct and classify novel Drukker-Trancanelli (DT) type BPS Wilson loops along infinite straight lines and circles in $\mathcal N=2,3$ quiver superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories, Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) theory, and $\mathcal N=4$ orbifold ABJM theory. Generally we have four classes of Wilson loops, and all of them preserve the same supersymmetries as the BPS Gaiotto-Yin (GY) type Wilson loops. There are several free complex parameters in the DT type BPS Wilson loops, and for two classes of Wilson loops in ABJM theory and $\mathcal N=4$ orbifold ABJ…
The one-instanton contribution to a circular BPS Wilson loop in N=4 SU(2) Yang--Mills theory is evaluated in semiclassical approximation. This article amplifies part of a talk given by MBG at the Strings 2001 conference, Mumbai, India (January 5-10, 2001). The results are preliminary and a more complete exposition will be contained in a forthcoming paper.
We revisit the 't Hooft expansion of 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop in N=4 SYM studied by Drukker and Gross in hep-th/0010274. We find an interesting recursion relation which relates different number of holes on the worldsheet. We also argue that we can turn on the string coupling by applying a certain integral transformation to the planar result.
We consider the small deformation of the point-like Wilson loop in the 3-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=6$ superconformal Chern-Simons theory. By Taylor expansion of the point-like Wilson loop in powers of the loop variables, we obtain the BPS operators that correspond to the excited string states of the dual IIA string theory on the pp wave background. The BPS conditions of the Wilson loop constrain both the loop variables and the forms of the operators obtained in the Taylor expansion.
We construct new families of 1/4 BPS Wilson loops in circular quiver $\mathcal N=4$ superconformal Chern-Simons-matter (SCSM) theories in three dimensions. They are defined as the holonomy of superconnections that contain non-trivial couplings to scalar and fermions, and cannot be reduced to block-diagonal matrices. Consequently, the new operators cannot be written in terms of double-node Wilson loops, as the ones considered so far in the literature. For particular values of the couplings the superconnection becomes block-diagonal and we recover the known fermionic 1/4 and 1/2 BPS Wilson loops…
We study the holographic dual string configuration of 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loops in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory by using the global coordinate of AdS. The dual string worldsheet is given by the Poincare disk AdS_2 sitting at a constant global time slice of AdS_5. We also analyze the correlator of two concentric circular Wilson loops from the global AdS perspective and study the phase transition associated with the instability of annulus worldsheet connecting the two Wilson loops.
We investigate the 1/2-BPS Wilson-'t Hooft loops in ${\cal N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills theory. We use the bulk D-brane with both electric and magnetic charges to calculate the all genus contribution of the circular loops. The expectation value of Wilson-'t Hooft loops are in perfect agreement with the result through supersymmetric condition and duality transformation in the gauge theory.
We consider the kinematics of the locally BPS super-Wilson loop in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills with scalar coupling from a twistorial point of view. We find that the kinematics can be described either as supersymmetrized pure spinors or as a point in $G_{2\vert 2}(4\vert 4) \times G_{2\vert 2}(4\vert 4)$. In this description of the kinematics the scalar--scalar correlation function appearing in the one-loop evaluation of the super-Wilson loop can be neatly written as a sum of four super-determinants.
In $\mathcal N \geq 2$ superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories we construct the infinite family of Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Wilson loops featured by constant parametric couplings to scalar and fermion matter, including both line Wilson loops in Minkowski spacetime and circle Wilson loops in Euclidean space. We find that the connection of the most general BPS Wilson loop cannot be decomposed in terms of double-node connections. Moreover, if the quiver contains triangles, it cannot be interpreted as a supermatrix inside a superalgebra. However, for particular choices of the param…
We localize the four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills theory on a four-sphere to the two-dimensional constrained Hitchin/Higgs-Yang-Mills (cHYM) theory on a two-sphere S^2. We show that expectation values of certain 1/8 BPS supersymmetric Wilson loops on S^2 in the 4d N=4 SYM is captured by the 2d cHYM theory. We further argue that expectation values of Wilson loops in the cHYM theory agree with the prescription "two-dimensional bosonic Yang-Mills excluding instanton contributions". Hence, we support the recent conjecture by Drukker, Giombi, Ricci and Trancanelli on the 1/8 BPS Wilson loops on…
We study a family of circular BPS Wilson loops in N=6 super Chern-Simons-matter theories, generalizing the usual 1/2-BPS circle. The scalar and fermionic couplings depend on two deformation parameters and these operators can be considered as the ABJ(M) counterpart of the DGRT latitudes defined in N=4 SYM. We perform a complete two-loop analysis of their vacuum expectation value, discuss the framing dependence and propose a general relation with cohomologically equivalent bosonic operators. We make an all-loop proposal for computing the Bremsstrahlung function associated to the 1/2-BPS cusp in …
We initiate the study of $1/2$ BPS Wilson loops in $\mathcal{N}=4$ Chern-Simons-matter theories in three dimensions. We consider a circular or linear quiver with Chern-Simons levels $k$, $-k$ and $0$, and focus on loops preserving one of the two $SU(2)$ subgroups of the $R$-symmetry. In the cases with no vanishing Chern-Simons levels, we find a pair of Wilson loops for each pair of adjacent nodes on the quiver connected by a hypermultiplet (nodes connected by twisted hypermultiplets have Wilson loops preserving another set of supercharges). We expect this classical pairwise degeneracy to be li…
We find 1/6 BPS string configurations in AdS_4 x CP^3, which we identify as the duals of certain 1/6 BPS circular Wilson loops in N=6 super Chern-Simons-matter gauge theory. We use our results to verify -in the strong coupling limit- a proposal made in arXiv:1402.4128 for a relation between the expectation value of these Wilson loops and the Bremsstrahlung function from deforming 1/2 BPS Wilson lines with a cusp. We also derive an analogous relation between the expectation value of some particular 1/12 BPS Wilson loops and the Bremsstrahlung function from deforming 1/6 BPS Wilson lines with an…
We give evidence that spacelike BPS Wilson loops do not exist in Minkowski spacetime. We show that spacelike Wilson loops in Minkowski spacetime cannot preserve any supersymmetries, in $d = 4$ $\mathcal N = 4$ super Yang-Mills theory, $d = 3$ $\mathcal N = 2$ super Chern-Simons-matter theory, and $d = 3$ $\mathcal N = 6$ Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena theory. We not only show this using infinite straight lines and circles as examples, but also we give proofs for general curves. We attribute this to the conflicts of reality conditions of the spinors. However, spacelike Wilson loops do exist…
We use the string sigma model action in AdS_5 \times S^5 to reconstruct the open string solution ending on the Wilson loop in S^3\times R parametrized by a geometric angle in S^3 and an angle in flavor space. Under the interchange of the world sheet space and time coordinates and the T-duality transformation with the radial inversion, the static open string configuration associated with the BPS Wilson loop with two equal angle parameters becomes a long open spinning string configuration which is produced by taking the equal limit of two frequencies for the folded spinning closed string with tw…
The generating functions for the Wilson loops in the symmetric and antisymmetric representations of the gauge group $U(N)$ are expressed in terms of the connected correlators of multiply-wound Wilson loops, using ingredients from the representation theory of the symmetric group. This provides a proof of a recent observation by Okuyama. As a by-product, we present a new calculation of the connected 2-point correlator of multiply-wound Wilson loops at leading order in $1/N$.
We propose that, in N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory, correlation functions of certain 1/8 BPS Wilson loops and local operators inserted on a S^2 in space-time may be computed in terms of analogous observables in the "zero-instanton" sector of 2d Yang-Mills theory. The Wilson loops are mapped to the standard Wilson loops of the 2d theory, as recently conjectured, while the local operators are mapped to powers of the 2d field strength. We give several perturbative checks of the correspondence, and derive from 2d Yang-Mills a two-matrix model for the correlator of a local operator and a Wilson loop o…
We present a complete two-loop analysis of the quantum expectation value for circular BPS Wilson loops in ABJ(M) theories. We examine in details the 1/2 BPS case, that requires non-trivial fermionic couplings with the contour, finding perfect agreement with the exact matrix model answer at zero framing. The result is obtained through a careful application of DRED regularization scheme, combined with a judicious rearrangement of the relevant perturbative contributions that reduces the computation to simple integrals. We carefully analyze the contribution of fermions that is crucial for the cons…
In three dimensional ${\cal N}=4$ Chern-Simons-matter theories two independent fermionic Wilson loop operators can be defined, which preserve half of the supersymmetry charges and are cohomologically equivalent at classical level. We compute their three-loop expectation value in a convenient color sector and prove that the degeneracy is uplifted by quantum corrections. We expand the matrix model prediction in the same regime and by comparison we conclude that the quantum 1/2 BPS Wilson loop is the average of the two operators. We provide an all-loop argument to support this claim at any order.…
We propose a definition of the Wilson loop operator in the N=1 beta-deformed supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Although the operator is not BPS, it has a finite expectation value at least up to order (g^2 N)^2. This does not happen generally for a generic non-BPS Wilson loop whose expectation value is UV divergent. For this reason we call this a near-BPS Wilson loop and conjecture that its exact expectation value is finite. We derive the general form of the boundary condition satisfied by the dual string worldsheet and find that it is deformed. Finiteness of the expectation value of the Wilson…
We study the possible BPS Wilson loops in three-dimensional ${\cal N}=4$ Chern-Simons-matter theory which involve only the gauge field and bilinears of the scalars. Previously known examples are the analogues of the Gaiotto-Yin loops preserving four supercharges and "latitude" loops preserving two. We carry out a careful classification and find, in addition, loops preserving three supercharges, further inequivalent classes of loops preserving two supercharges and loops preserving a single supercharge. For each of the classes of loops, we present a representative example and analyse their full …
There is a longstanding puzzle concerned with the existence of Op~-planes with p>=6, which are orientifold p-planes of negative charge with stuck Dp-branes. We study the consistency of configurations with various orientifold planes and propose a resolution to this puzzle. It is argued that O6~-planes are possible in massive IIA theory with odd cosmological constant, while O7~-planes and O8~-planes are not allowed. Various relations between orientifold planes and non-BPS D-branes are also addressed.
We study at perturbative level the correlation functions of a general class of 1/8 BPS Wilson loops and chiral primaries in N = 4 Super Yang-Mills theory. The contours and the location of operator insertions share a sphere S^2 embedded into spacetime and the system preserves at least two supercharges. We perform explicit two-loop computations, for some particular but still rather general configuration, that confirm the elegant results expected from localization procedure. We find notably full consistency with the multi-matrix model averages, obtained from 2D Yang-Mills theory on the sphere, wh…
Recently it has been proposed that Wilson loops in high-dimensional representations in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (or multiply wrapped loops) are described by D-branes in AdS_5 x S^5, rather than by fundamental strings. Thus far explicit D3-brane solutions have been only found in the case of the half-BPS circle or line. Here we present D3-brane solutions describing some 1/4 BPS loops. In one case, where the loop is conjectured to be given by a Gaussian matrix model, the action of the brane correctly reproduces the expectation value of the Wilson loop including all 1/N corrections at …
In this paper we present a family of supersymmetric Wilson loops of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in Minkowski space. Our examples focus on curves restricted to hyperbolic submanifolds, H_3 and H_2, of space-time. Generically they preserve two supercharges, but in special cases more, including a case which has not been discussed before, of the hyperbolic line, conformal to the straight line and circle, which is half-BPS. We discuss some general properties of these Wilson loops and their string duals and study special examples in more detail. Generically the string duals propagate on a c…
We compute correlation functions of protected primaries on the $1/2$-BPS Wilson loop in ${\cal N}$ = 4 super Yang-Mills theory at weak coupling. We first perform direct perturbative computation at one loop in the planar limit and present explicit formulae for general two-, three- and four-point functions. The results for two- and three-point functions as well as four-point functions in special kinematics are in perfect agreement with the localization computation performed in arXiv:1802.05201. We then analyze the results in view of the integrability-based approach called "hexagonalization", whi…
We consider the supergravity backgrounds that correspond to supersymmetric Wilson line operators in the context of AdS/CFT correspondence. We study the gravitino and dilatino conditions of the IIB supergravity under the appropriate ansatz, and obtain some necessary conditions for a supergravity background that preserves the same symmetry as the supersymmetric Wilson lines. The supergravity solutions are characterized by continuous version of maya diagrams. This diagram is related to the eigenvalue distribution of the Gaussian matrix model. We also consider the similar backgrounds of the 11-dim…
The standard prescription for computing Wilson loops in the AdS/CFT correspondence in the large coupling regime and tree-level involves minimizing the string action. In many cases the action has more than one saddle point as in the simple example studied in this paper, where there are two 1/4 BPS string solutions, one a minimum and the other not. Like in the case of the regular circular loop the perturbative expansion seems to be captured by a free matrix model. This gives enough analytic control to extrapolate from weak to strong coupling and find both saddle points in the asymptotic expansio…
We study three-point functions of operators on the $1/2$ BPS Wilson loop in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. The operators we consider are "defect changing operators", which change the scalar coupled to the Wilson loop. We first perform the computation at two loops in general set-ups, and then study a special scaling limit called the ladders limit, in which the spectrum is known to be described by a quantum mechanics with the SL(2,$\mathbb{R}$) symmetry. In this limit, we resum the Feynman diagrams using the Schwinger-Dyson equation and determine the structure constants at all o…
We study correlation functions of local operator insertions on the 1/2-BPS Wilson line in ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. These correlation functions are constrained by the 1d superconformal symmetry preserved by the 1/2-BPS Wilson line and define a defect CFT$_1$ living on the line. At strong coupling, a set of elementary operator insertions with protected scaling dimensions correspond to fluctuations of the dual fundamental string in AdS$_5 \times S^5$ ending on the line at the boundary and can be thought of as light fields propagating on the AdS$_2$ worldsheet. We use AdS/CFT techniqu…
We compute the expectation value of the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop operator in ABJ(M) theory at two loops in perturbation theory. Our result turns out to be in exact agreement with the weak coupling limit of the prediction coming from localization, including finite N contributions associated to non-planar diagrams. It also confirms the identification of the correct framing factor that connects framing-zero and framing-one expressions, previously proposed. The evaluation of the 1/2 BPS operator is made technically difficult in comparison with other observables of ABJ(M) theory by the appearan…
We consider the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop in a generic N=2 SU(N) SYM theory with conformal matter content. We study its vacuum expectation value, both at finite $N$ and in the large-N limit, using the interacting matrix model provided by localization results. We single out some families of theories for which the Wilson loop vacuum expectation values approaches the N=4 result in the large-N limit, in agreement with the fact that they possess a simple holographic dual. At finite N and in the generic case, we explicitly compare the matrix model result with the field-theory perturbative expansi…
We prove that the half-BPS Wilson loop operator of N=4 SYM in a symmetric representation of the gauge group has a bulk gravitational description in terms of a single D3-brane in AdS_5xS^5, as argued in hep-th/0604007. We also show that a half-BPS Wilson loop operator in an arbitrary representation is described by the D3-brane configuration proposed in hep-th/0604007. This is demonstrated by explicitly integrating out the degrees of freedom on the D3-branes and showing that they insert a half-BPS Wilson loop operator into the N=4 SYM path integral in the desired representation.
We construct for the first time Drukker-Trancanelli (DT) type fermionic Bogomolnyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Wilson loops in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal $SU(N)\times SU(N)$ quiver theory and $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. The connections of these fermionic BPS Wilson loops have a supermatrix structure. We construct timelike BPS Wilson lines in Minkowski spacetime and circular BPS Wilson loops in Euclidean space. These Wilson loops involve dimensionful parameters. For generic values of parameters, they preserve one real (complex) supercharge in Lorentzian (Euclidean…
We introduce a new purely bosonic, $\frac{1}{6}$ BPS Wilson loop for ABJM theory on $S^3$ that couples scalar fields to a latitude at an angle $θ$ on $S^2\in\mathbb{C}P^3$. Through localization of this operator, we relate the expansion of the cusp anomalous dimension at small cusp angles to the logarithmic derivative of the ABJM Wilson loop. This defines, non-perturbatively in the 't Hooft coupling, the bremsstrahlung function $B(λ)$ describing in three dimensions the soft radiation of a $W$-boson undergoing a sudden change in trajectory. We compare our results for $B(λ)$ to the known weak/str…
We revisit the calculation of one-loop corrections to the partition functions of a string ending on a circular or straight line in type IIB string theory on $AdS_3\times S^3 \times T^4$ supported by a mixture of 3-form fluxes depending on a parameter $q$ (with $q=0$ being R-R and $q=1$ pure NS-NS cases). Correcting earlier results in the literature, we find that the partition function depends on $q$ only through rescaled tension $T= T_0/(1-q^2)$.
We study a holographic description for correlation function of 1/4 BPS Wilson loop operator and 1/2 BPS local operator carrying a large R-charge of order \sqrt λ. We construct a rotating string solution which is extended in S5 as well as in AdS5. The string solution preserves the 1/8 of the supersymmetry as expected from the gauge theory computation. By evaluating the string action including boundary terms we show that the string solution reproduces correlation function in large J \sim O(\sqrt λ) limit. In addition, we found the second solution for which the "size" of the string becomes larger…
Three dimensional supersymmetric field theories have large moduli spaces of circular Wilson loops preserving a fixed set of supercharges. We simplify previous constructions of such Wilson loops and amend and clarify their classification. For a generic quiver gauge theory we identify the moduli space as a quotient of $C^m$ for some $m$ by an appropriate symmetry group. These spaces are quiver varieties associated to a cover of the original quiver or a subquiver thereof. This moduli space is generically singular and at the singularities there are large degeneracies of operators which seem differ…
Recent progresses in the computation of quantum string corrections to holographic Wilson loops are extended to the case of strings in $AdS_{4}\times CP^{3}$. For this, the ratio of 1/2-BPS circular and 1/6-BPS latitude fermionic Wilson loops in ABJM is considered at strong coupling by studying the corresponding semiclassical string partition functions. Explicit evaluation of fluctuation determinants using phaseshifts and diffeomorphism invariant regulators leads to exact matching with the recent field theory proposal. Key to this computation is the choice of boundary conditions for massless fe…
We study the strong coupling behaviour of $1/4$-BPS circular Wilson loops (a family of "latitudes") in ${\cal N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills theory, computing the one-loop corrections to the relevant classical string solutions in AdS$_5\times$S$^5$. Supersymmetric localization provides an exact result that, in the large 't Hooft coupling limit, should be reproduced by the sigma-model approach. To avoid ambiguities due to the absolute normalization of the string partition function, we compare the $ratio$ between the generic latitude and the maximal 1/2-BPS circle: Any measure-related ambiguity should s…
Starting with some known localization (matrix model) representations for correlators involving 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop $\cal W$ in ${\cal N}=4$ SYM theory we work out their $1/N$ expansions in the limit of large 't Hooft coupling $λ$. Motivated by a possibility of eventual matching to higher genus corrections in dual string theory we follow arXiv:2007.08512 and express the result in terms of the string coupling $g_{\rm s} \sim g^2_{\rm YM} \sim λ/N$ and string tension $T\sim \sqrt λ$. Keeping only the leading in $1/T$ term at each order in $g_{\rm s} $ we observe that while the expansion …
We test the AdS/CFT correspondence by calculating Wilson loops in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory on R*S^3 in the planar limit. Our method is based on a novel large-N reduction, which reduces the problem to Monte Carlo calculations in the plane-wave matrix model or the BMN matrix model, which is a 1d gauge theory with 16 supercharges. By using the gauge-fixed momentumspace simulation, we obtain results respecting 16 supersymmetries. We report on the Monte Carlo results for the BPS circular Wilson loop, which reproduce the exact result up to strong coupling. As a future prospect, we calculate a t…
For three-dimensional ABJ(M) theories and $\mathcal N=4$ Chern-Simons-matter quiver theories, we construct two sets of 1/2 BPS Wilson loop operators by applying the Higgsing procedure along independent directions of the moduli space, and choosing different massive modes. For theories whose dual M-theory description is known, we also determine the corresponding spectrum of 1/2 BPS M2-brane solutions. We identify the supercharges in M-theory and field theory, as well as the supercharges preserved by M2-/anti-M2-branes and 1/2 BPS Wilson loops. In particular, in $\mathcal N=4$ orbifold ABJM theor…
We find new exact relations between the partition function and vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of 1/2 BPS Wilson loops in ABJ theory, which allow us to predict the large N expansions of the 1/2 BPS Wilson loops from known results of the partition function. These relations are interpreted as an open-closed duality where the closed string background is shifted by the insertion of Wilson loops due to a back-reaction. Using the connection between ABJ theory and the topological string on local P1 x P1, we explicitly write down non-trivial relations between open and closed string amplitudes.
