Large-N limits of 2d CFTs, Quivers and AdS_3 duals

TL;DR

This paper investigates the large-N behavior of 2d conformal field theories, especially WZW models, revealing a duality between strong and weak coupling regimes and exploring their AdS3 holographic duals with novel ground states.

Contribution

It introduces a duality between strong and weak coupling in large-N 2d CFTs and analyzes their spectra, correlators, and holographic duals with new ground state solutions.

Findings

Duality between free fermion and bosonic descriptions at different couplings

Identification of ground states with large degeneracy dominating entropy

Quantitative checks supporting the AdS3 duality

Abstract

We explore the large-N limits of 2d CFTs, focusing mostly on WZW models and their cosets. The $SU(N)_k$ theory is parametrized in this limit by a 't Hooft-like coupling. We show a duality between strong coupling, where the theory is described by almost free fermions, and weak coupling where the theory is described by bosonic fields by an analysis of spectra and correlators. The AdS$_3$ dual is described, and several quantitative checks are performed. Besides the more standard states that should correspond to bulk black holes we find ground states with large degeneracy that can dominate the standard Cardy entropy at weak coupling and are expected to correspond to regular horizonless semiclassical bulk solutions.