# N = 2* Phase Transitions and Holography

## TL;DR

This paper explores the connection between supergravity probe analysis and large-N solutions in N=2* super-Yang-Mills theory, revealing that quantum phase transitions appear perturbatively at strong coupling.

## Contribution

It introduces a supergravity-inspired formalism to solve the localization matrix model at strong coupling, linking phase transitions to perturbative phenomena.

## Key findings

- Quantum phase transitions are visible at third order in strong-coupling expansion.
- The formalism systematically solves the matrix model at strong coupling.
- Phase transitions are perturbative on the string worldsheet.

## Abstract

We clarify the relationship between probe analysis of the supergravity dual and the large-N solution of the localization matrix model for the planar N = 2* super-Yang-Mills theory. A formalism inspired by supergravity allows us to systematically solve the matrix model at strong coupling. Quite surprisingly, we find that quantum phase transitions, known to occur in the N = 2* theory, start to be visible at the third order of the strong-coupling expansion and thus constitute a perturbative phenomenon on the string worldsheet.