String theory methods for defect CFTs

TL;DR

This paper explores string theory techniques to analyze strongly coupled defect conformal field theories via holography, focusing on integrability conditions and correlation function computations in probe-brane systems.

Contribution

It identifies integrable boundary conditions for probe-brane duals and develops methods to compute defect correlation functions holographically.

Findings

Boundary conditions preserving integrability are characterized.

Holographic methods for computing defect correlation functions are outlined.

Framework for analyzing strongly coupled defect CFTs using string theory is established.

Abstract

We discuss string theory methods for the study of strongly coupled holographic defect conformal field theories (CFTs) which are dual to probe-brane systems. First, we examine whether the string theory duals of such defect CFTs are classically integrable. This amounts to identifying all string boundary conditions on probe branes which preserve the integrability of the underlying Green-Schwarz sigma model. Second, we compute holographic defect correlation functions with semiclassical strings. After reviewing the computation of three and higher-point functions in strongly coupled AdS/CFT, and one-point functions in its probe-brane descendants, we outline the computation of two and higher-point correlation functions in strongly coupled defect CFTs.