N=2 Moduli of AdS4 vacua: A fine-print study

TL;DR

This paper investigates the moduli spaces of N=4 supersymmetric AdS4 vacua in string theory by integrating multiple approaches, revealing the origin of moduli and testing holographic duality, while highlighting supergravity limitations.

Contribution

It combines string solutions, gauge theories, supergravity, and algebra representations to identify moduli origins and match operators with string states, advancing understanding of AdS4 vacua.

Findings

Identification of moduli with open strings on 5-branes

Matching of chiral ring operators with string states

Evidence supporting holographic duality

Abstract

We analyze the moduli spaces near N=4 supersymmetric AdS4 vacua of string theory by combining and comparing various approaches: (a) the known exact solutions of Type IIB string theory with localized 5-brane sourcees, (b) the holographically dual 3d quiver gauge theories; (c) gauged supergravity, and (d) the representations of the superconformal algebra Osp(4|4). Short multiplets containing the marginal N=2 deformations transform in the (2;0), (0;2) or (1;1) representations of the R-symmetry group SU(2)_H x SU(2)_C. The first two are classified by the chiral rings of the Higgs and Coulomb branches, while the latter contain mixed-branch operators. We identify the origin of these moduli in string theory, matching in particular the operators of the chiral rings with open strings on the magnetized 5-brane sources. Our results provide new evidence for the underlying holographic duality. The existence of a large number of bound-state moduli highlights the limitations of effective supergravity.