Probing Some N=1 AdS/CFT RG Flows

TL;DR

This paper investigates a ten-dimensional supergravity solution representing a supersymmetric RG flow from N=4 to N=1 SU(n) Yang-Mills theory, revealing a well-behaved probe potential and insights into the Coulomb branch.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the probe dynamics in a specific supergravity background, highlighting a key holographic feature applicable to geometry/gauge dualities.

Findings

The effective potential is smooth with no zeros or singularities.

Identification of a Coulomb branch segment where the potential vanishes.

Insights into the holographic correspondence of brane probe physics.

Abstract

We present the results of probing the ten dimensional type IIB supergravity solution corresponding to a renormalisation group flow of supersymmetric SU(n) Yang-Mills theory from pure gauge N=4 to N=1 with two massless adjoint flavours. The endpoint of the flow is an infrared fixed point theory, and because of this simplicity of the theory, the effective Lagrangian for the probe is very well-behaved, having no zeros or singularities in the tension, and a smooth potential, all of which we exhibit. Specialising to the locus of points where the potential vanishes, we also characterise a part of the Coulomb branch of the N=1 theory. The simplicity of the gauge theory physics allows us to isolate and emphasise a key holographic feature of brane probe physics which has wider applications in the study of geometry/gauge theory duals.