Non-perturbative Effects in AdS5 * S5 String Theory and d=4 SUSY Yang-Mills

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 fl...

We examine certain n-point functions G_n in {\cal N}=4 supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory at the conformal point. In the large-N limit, we are able to sum all leading-order multi-instanton contributions exactly. We find compelling evidence for Maldacena's conjecture: (1) The large-N k-instanton collective coordinate space has the geometry of AdS_5 x S^5. (2) In exact agreement with type IIB superstring calculations, at the k-instanton level, $G_n = \sqrt{N} g^8 k^{n-7/2} e^{-8...

We present a self-contained study of ADHM multi-instantons in SU(N) gauge theory, especially the novel interplay with supersymmetry and the large-N limit. We give both field- and string-theoretic derivations of the N=4 supersymmetric multi-instanton action and collective coordinate integration measure. As a central application, we focus on certain n-point functions G_n, n=16, 8 or 4, in N=4 SU(N) gauge theory at the conformal point (as well as on related higher-partial-wave c...

According to the AdS/CFT correspondence, the maximally supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in 4 dimensions is dual to the type IIB string theory compactified on AdS_5 x S^5. Most of the tests performed so far are confined to the leading order at large N or equivalently string tree-level. To probe the correspondence beyond this leading order and obtain 1/N^2 corrections is difficult since string one-loop computations on an AdS_5 x S^5 background generally are beyond feasibi...

The series of perturbative fluctuations around a multi-instanton contribution to a specific class of correlation functions of supercurrents in $\cal N=4$ supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory is examined in the light of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Subject to certain plausible assumptions, we argue that a given term in the 1/N expansion in such a background receives only a finite number of perturbative corrections in the 't Hooft limit. Such instanton non-renormalisation theo...

The AdS/CFT correspondence provides a rich testing ground for many important topics in theoretical physics. The earliest and most striking example of the correspondence is the conjectured duality between the energy spectrum of type IIB superstring theory on AdS_5 x S^5 and the operator anomalous dimensions of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. While there is a substantial amount of evidence in support of this conjecture, direct tests have been elusive. T...

We propose and study a holographic dual of the type IIB superstring theory of AdS_5 x S^5 in terms of the N=4 superconformal Yang-Mills theory on dS_4. We use the bulk to boundary formalism to evaluate the boundary correlation functions and verify that it agrees with the expected result in dS conformal field theory. The gauge theory is expected to be UV finite and enjoy exact SL(2,Z) strong-weak duality. As the string theory Green-Schwarz sigma model carries an infinite numbe...

Some kinematical speculations on the infinite curvature limit of the conjectured duality of Maldacena between ten-dimensional strings living in $AdS_5\times S_5$ and a ordinary four-dimensional quantum field theory, namely ${\cal{N}}=4$ super Yang-Mills with gauge group SU(N) are given.

We test the conjectured relationship between N=4 super Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions and IIB supergravity compactified on $AdS_5\times S_5$ by computing the two- and three-point functions of R-symmetry currents. We observe that the integral expressions describing the general three-point correlator on the supergravity side have a structure similar to one-loop triangle diagrams in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. This allows us to compare the expressions on both sides of the...

We analyse a one parameter family of supersymmetric solutions of type IIB supergravity that includes AdS_5 x S^5. For small values of the parameter the solutions are causally well-behaved, but beyond a critical value closed timelike curves (CTC's) appear. The solutions are holographically dual to N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a non-conformally flat background with non-vanishing R-currents. We compute the holographic energy-momentum tensor for the spacetime and show ...