Wavy Wilson Line and AdS/CFT

TL;DR

This paper studies small deviations from straight Wilson lines, called wavy lines, within the AdS/CFT framework, revealing universal behavior and coupling-dependent coefficients through perturbative and holographic methods.

Contribution

It demonstrates the universality of the wavy Wilson line functional form and computes the coupling-dependent coefficient using both weak and strong coupling techniques.

Findings

The functional form of wavy Wilson lines is universal at leading order.

The coefficient depends on the 't Hooft coupling and is computed in both regimes.

Supersymmetry simplifies the analysis and confirms the straight line satisfies the loop equation.

Abstract

Wilson loops which are small deviations from straight, infinite lines, called wavy lines, are considered in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence. A single wavy line and the connected correlation function of a straight and wavy line are considered. It is argued that, to leading order in ``waviness'', the functional form of the loop is universal and the coefficient, which is a function of the 't Hooft coupling, is found in weak coupling perturbation theory and the strong coupling limit using the AdS/CFT correspondence. Supersymmetric arguments are used to simplify the computation and to show that the straight line obeys the Migdal-Makeenko loop equation.