Fundamental matter, meson spectroscopy and non-critical string/gauge duality

TL;DR

This paper explores how to incorporate fundamental quarks into non-critical string/gauge duality models, analyzing meson spectra and gauge dynamics through probe branes and backreacted gravity backgrounds in confining theories.

Contribution

It introduces two methods for including fundamental quarks in non-critical holographic models and analyzes their effects on meson spectra and gauge properties.

Findings

Meson spectra depend on constituent quark mass.

Derived flavored AdS black hole solutions.

Analyzed gauge dynamics in flavored backgrounds.

Abstract

We discuss the incorporation of quarks in the fundamental representation of the color group into the non-critical string/gauge duality. We focus on confining theories and address this question using two different approaches: (i) by introducing flavor probe branes and (ii) by deriving backreacted flavored near extremal gravity backgrounds. In the former approach we analyze the near extremal AdS_6 model with D4 and anti-D4 probe flavor branes included. We study the meson spectrum and discuss the role played by the constituent quark mass, related to the integration constant that defines the embedding. As for the second approach we derive a class of flavored AdS_{n+1} x S^k black hole solutions. In particular we write down the flavored AdS_6 and AdS_5 black holes and the near extremal AdS_5 x S^1 backgrounds. We analyze several gauge dynamical properties associated with these models.