Topological defects and tensionless holography

TL;DR

This paper explores topological defect lines in symmetric-product orbifolds, constructs holographic duals for tensionless strings with defects, and finds a precise spectrum match between bulk and boundary theories.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of defect lines in symmetric-product orbifolds and constructs holographic duals for tensionless strings with defects, revealing spectrum correspondences.

Findings

Spectrum of bulk closed-string operators matches boundary disorder fields.

Constructed holographic backgrounds for tensionless strings with defects.

Identified defect-preserving symmetries in symmetric-product orbifolds.

Abstract

We study topological defect lines in the symmetric-product orbifolds $\mathrm{Sym}^N(X)$ for a generic seed CFT $X$. We focus on the defects which preserve the maximum of the $S_N$ symmetry. When $X$ is taken to describe the free theory of four fermions and four bosons on a $\mathbb{T}^4$, we construct holographically dual backgrounds describing propagation of tensionless closed strings in the presence of spacetime defects wrapping the conformal boundary. We find a precise match between the spectra of local on-shell closed-string vertex operators in the bulk and the spectra of non-local disorder fields in the spacetime theory.