Operator mixing for string states in the D1-D5 CFT near the orbifold point

TL;DR

This paper develops a method to compute how string states in the D1-D5 conformal field theory mix and acquire anomalous dimensions when deforming away from the orbifold point, revealing operator mixing effects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel conformal perturbation theory approach to analyze operator mixing and anomalous dimensions in the D1-D5 SCFT near the orbifold point.

Findings

Operator mixing occurs at first order in the deformation parameter.

Some string states' anomalous dimensions decrease, others increase when moving away from the orbifold point.

Method successfully identifies mixing coefficients for low-lying string states.

Abstract

In the context of the fuzzball programme, we investigate deforming the microscopic string description of the D1-D5 system on T^4xS^1 away from the orbifold point. Using conformal perturbation theory and a generalization of Lunin-Mathur symmetric orbifold technology for computing twist-nontwist correlators developed in a companion work, we initiate a program to compute the anomalous dimensions of low-lying string states in the D1-D5 superconformal field theory. Our method entails finding four-point functions involving a string operator O of interest and the deformation operator, taking coincidence limits to identify which other operators mix with O, subtracting the identified conformal family to isolate other contributions to the four-point function, finding the mixing coefficients, and iterating. For the lowest-lying string modes, this procedure should truncate in a finite number of steps. We check our method by showing how the operator dual to the dilaton does not participate in mixing that would change its conformal dimension, as expected. Next we complete the first stage of the iteration procedure for a low-lying string state of the form \partial X \partial X \bar\partial X \bar\partial X and find its mixing coefficient. Our main qualitative result is evidence of operator mixing at first order in the deformation parameter, which means that the string state acquires an anomalous dimension. After diagonalization this will mean that anomalous dimensions of some string states in the D1-D5 SCFT must decrease away from the orbifold point while others increase.