Branes in AdS and pp-wave spacetimes

We derive a new class of supersymmetric D3/D7 brane configurations, which allow to holographically describe N=4 SYM coupled to massive N=2 flavor degrees of freedom on spaces of constant curvature. We systematically solve the $\kappa$-symmetry condition for D7-brane embeddings into AdS$_4$-sliced AdS$_5\times$S$^5$, and find supersymmetric embeddings in a simple closed form. Up to a critical mass, these embeddings come in surprisingly diverse families, and we present a first ...

AdS_3 solutions dual to N = (0,2) SCFTs arise when D3-branes wrap Kahler two-cycles in manifolds with SU(4) holonomy. Here we review known AdS_3 solutions and identify the corresponding three-dimensional gauged supergravities, solutions of which uplift to type IIB supergravity. In particular, we discuss gauged supergravities dual to twisted compactifications on Riemann surfaces of both N=4 SYM and N =1 SCFTs with Sasaki-Einstein duals. We check in each case that c-extremizati...

We parameterize all classical probe brane configurations that preserve 4 supersymmetries in (a) the extremal D1-D5 geometry, (b) the extremal D1-D5-P geometry, (c) the smooth D1-D5 solutions proposed by Lunin and Mathur and (d) global $AdS_3 \times S_3 \times T^4/K3$. These configurations consist of D1 branes, D5 branes and bound states of D5 and D1 branes with the property that a particular Killing vector is tangent to the brane worldvolume at each point. We show that the su...

We construct the holographic dual for $\mathcal N=4$ SYM on $\rm S^4$ and $\rm AdS_4$ coupled to massive $\mathcal N=2$ supersymmetric quenched flavor fields on a codimension-1 defect, which is $\rm S^3$ and $\rm AdS_3$, respectively. The holographic description is in terms of a D3/probe D5 brane system. We set up and reduce the BPS equations for D5-brane embeddings with arbitrary supersymmetric deformations and partly solve them at the non-linear level. The remaining equatio...

We develop both the gravity and field theory sides of the Karch-Randall conjecture that the near-horizon description of a certain D5-D3 brane configuration in string theory, realized as AdS_5 x S^5 bisected by an AdS_4 x S^2 "brane", is dual to N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory in R^4 coupled to an R^3 defect. We propose a complete Lagrangian for the field theory dual, a novel "defect superconformal field theory" wherein a subset of the fields of N=4 SYM interacts with a d=3 SU(N) ...

We study $\mathrm{AdS}_3\times S^3/\mathbb{Z}_k\times {\tilde S}^3/\mathbb{Z}_{k'}$ solutions to M-theory preserving $\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ supersymmetries, arising as near-horizon limits of M2-M5 brane intersections ending on M5'-branes, with both types of five-branes placed on A-type singularities. Solutions in this class asymptote locally to $\mathrm{AdS}_7/\mathbb{Z}_k\times {\tilde S}^3/\mathbb{Z}_{k'}$, and can thus be interpreted as holographic duals to surface defect CFT...

We study classes of D-branes embedded in various AdS^m x S^n x S^p x T^q backgrounds, which nontrivially mix the target-space submanifolds. Mixing is achieved either via diagonal geometric embedding or through a mixed worldvolume flux which has one index in the sphere and one index in the AdS part. Branes of the former type wrap calibrated cycles in the target space, while those of the latter type wrap non-supersymmetric target space cycles which are stabilised only after the...

We derive a complete geometrical characterisation of a large class of $AdS_3$, $AdS_4$ and $AdS_5$ supersymmetric spacetimes in eleven-dimensional supergravity using G-structures. These are obtained as special cases of a class of supersymmetric $\mathbb{R}^{1,1}$, $\mathbb{R}^{1,2}$ and $\mathbb{R}^{1,3}$ geometries, naturally associated to M5-branes wrapping calibrated cycles in manifolds with $G_2$, SU(3) or SU(2) holonomy. Specifically, the latter class is defined by requi...

We describe embeddings of a single D3-brane in generic IIB supergravity backgrounds when both electric and magnetic fields are turned on. As a particular application, we describe a dyonic D3-brane in AdS_5 x S^1, dual to 1/4 BPS states of N=4$ SYM.

We present classical solutions for a D5 and NS5-branes in a pp-wave background. The worldvolume coordinates for these branes lie along a six dimensional pp-wave configuration obtained from $AdS_3 \times S_3$ in a Penrose limit. One in addition has nontrivial R-R 3-form field strength as well as a dilaton background. Classical solutions for Dp-branes (p> 5), as well as their bound states, are then generated in both IIA and IIB string theories by using T-duality symmetries. We ...