The S-matrix of the AdS5xS5 superstring

M. de Leeuw

Research output: ThesisDoctoral thesis 1 (Research UU / Graduation UU)

Abstract

According to the gauge-string duality conjecture, the spectrum of scaling dimensions of composite gauge invariant operators of the planar maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions should be equivalent to the energy spectrum of superstrings propagating in the AdS5 x S5 space-time, where AdS5 is the five-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space and S5 is the five-dimensional sphere. We study strings on AdS5 x S5. The corresponding world-sheet theory exhibits the remarkable property of being integrable, that is it has an infinite number of conservation laws. The asymptotic spectrum of the world-sheet theory contains both the fundamental particles and bound states of the latter. We explicitly derive the S-matrix that describes scattering of arbitrary bound states. The key feature that enables this derivation is the so-called Yangian symmetry. Subsequently, we study the universal algebraic properties of the found S-matrix. As in many integrable models, the S-matrix plays a key role in the determination of the energy spectrum. In this context, we employ the Bethe ansatz approach to compute the large volume energy spectrum of string bound states.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
Awarding Institution
  • Utrecht University
Supervisors/Advisors
  • de Wit, Bernard, Primary supervisor
  • Arutyunov, G.E., Co-supervisor
Award date29 Mar 2010
Print ISBNs978-90-393-5306-6
Publication statusPublished - 29 Mar 2010

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