ABJM · Holography, branes and AdS/CFT

The proposed project is called Holography, branes and AdS/CFT. The holographic principle is an important tool to study quantum gravity. It is realized in string theory as the AdS/CFT correspondence. It suggests that any theory with gravity can be related to a theory in one dimension less. Recently, progress has been made on understanding one version of this duality, the AdS(4)/CFT(3) duality. In particular, the so-called ABJM model exhibits the field theory side of this duality. Previously, all studies were confined to the gravity side. In this project, we propose to continue studies of these dualities, in particular the AdS(4)/CFT(3) duality and the ABJM model. In particular, we want to study thermal properties and integrability issues. The researcher is Mikael Smedbäck, who has four years of international research experience in this field: two years at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in India, and two years at Princeton University. Smedbäck's research profile matches very well with the proposed host, Uppsala University. The Uppsala group will certainly benefit from attracting him to Uppsala. Furthermore, this project will significantly increase Smedbäck’s chances of obtaining a permanent position afterwards.