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1. Bootstrapping M-theory orbifolds

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2024)001  

   Chester, Shai M; Pufu, Silviu S; Wang, Yifan; Yin, Xi (June 2024, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> We analyze correlation functions of SU(k) × SU(2)_Fflavor currents in a family of three-dimensional$$ \mathcal{N} $$ $N$= 4 superconformal field theories, combining analytic bootstrap methods with input from supersymmetric localization. Via holographic duality, we extract gluon and graviton scattering amplitudes of M-theory on AdS₄×S⁷/ℤ_kwhich contains a ℂ²/ℤ_korbifold singularity. From these results, we derive aspects of the effective description of M-theory on the orbifold singularity beyond its leading low energy limit. We also determine a threshold correction to the holographic correlator from the combined contribution of two-loop gluon and tree-level bulk graviton exchange. 

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2. On supergravity and noncritical strings

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2025)117  

   Dei, Andrea; Ferrero, Pietro; Rastelli, Leonardo (January 2025, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> Motivated by the long-term goal of finding holographic descriptions for$$ \mathcal{N} $$ $N$= 1 and$$ \mathcal{N} $$ $N$= 2 super QCD, we revisit the subject of “noncritical” superstring theory. Focusing on string models with 6d super Poincaré invariance, we provide a careful worldsheet derivation of the leading-order effective theories for the lowest modes. We identify them asseven-dimensional,maximally supersymmetricgauged supergravities: the SO(4) theory for noncritical IIA and the ISO(4) theory for noncritical IIB. The same theories also arise as consistent truncations onS³of the 10d IIB and IIA supergravities, respectively, where the chirality flip is as expected from T-duality. These effective supergravities should be interpreted in the following sense. The noncritical string can be viewed as a special case of a discrete series of backgrounds labelled by an integerk(which counts the number of NS5 branes in a certain duality frame); the “noncritical” value isk= 2, while fork→ ∞ one recovers a weakly-curved 10d target space. The effective supergravities described here give an accurate description of the interactions among the lowest modes fork→ ∞, with higher derivative corrections suppressed by powers of 1/k. We discuss BPS solutions of the 7d gauged supergravities and their uplift to 10d solutions. In particular, we find a novel class of solutions with RR flux, parametrized by a function of three variables that solves an elegant PDE. While we cannot solve the PDE in closed form except in trivial cases, we confirm that our solutions correspond to a 10d IIA Hanany-Witten setup with continuous distributions of both “color” D4 branes and “flavor” D6 branes. 

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3. Tensionless AdS3/CFT2 and single trace $$ T\overline{T} $$

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP11(2024)145  

   Dei, Andrea; Knighton, Bob; Naderi, Kiarash; Sethi, Savdeep (November 2024, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   One of the few cases of AdS/CFT where both sides of the duality are under good control relates tensionlessk= 1 strings on AdS₃to a two-dimensional symmetric product CFT. Building on prior observations, we propose an exact duality between string theory on a spacetime which is not asymptotically AdS and a non-conformal field theory. The bulk theory is constructed as a marginal deformation of thek= 1 AdS₃string while the spacetime dual is a single trace$$ T\overline{T} $$ $T\overline{T}$-deformed symmetric orbifold theory. As evidence for the duality, we match the one-loop bulk and boundary torus partition functions. This correspondence provides a framework to both learn about quantum gravity beyond AdS and understand how to define physical observables in$$ T\overline{T} $$ $T\overline{T}$-deformed field theories. 

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4. T-duality and flavor symmetries in Little String Theories

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP08(2024)061  

   Ahmed, Hamza; Oehlmann, Paul-Konstantin; Ruehle, Fabian (August 2024, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> We explore the T-duality web of 6D Heterotic Little String Theories, focusing on flavor algebra reducing deformations. A careful analysis of the full flavor algebra, including Abelian factors, shows that the flavor rank is preserved under T-duality. This suggests a new T-duality invariant in addition to the Coulomb branch dimension and the two-group structure constants. We also engineer Little String Theories with non-simply laced flavor algebras, whose appearance we attribute to certain discrete 3-form fluxes in M-theory. Geometrically, these theories are engineered in F-theory with non-Kähler favorable K3 fibers. This geometric origin leads us to propose that freezing fluxes are preserved across T-duality. Along the way, we discuss various exotic models, including two inequivalent Spin(32)/ℤ₂models that are dual to the same E₈× E₈theory, and a family of self-T-dual models. 

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5. Instanton contributions to the ABJM free energy from quantum M2 branes

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2023)029  

   Beccaria, M; Giombi, S; Tseytlin, A A (October 2023, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> We present a quantum M2 brane computation of the instanton prefactor in the leading non-perturbative contribution to the ABJM 3-sphere free energy at largeNand fixed levelk. Using supersymmetric localization, such instanton contribution was found earlier to take the form$$ {F}^{inst}\left(N,k\right)=-{\left({\sin}^2\frac{2\pi }{k}\right)}^{-1}\exp \left(-2\pi \sqrt{\frac{2N}{k}}\right)+.\dots $$ $F^{\text{inst}}\left(N,k\right)=-{\left({sin}^2\frac{2\pi }{k}\right)}^{-1}exp\left(-2\pi \sqrt{\frac{2N}{k}}\right)+.\dots$The exponent comes from the action of an M2 brane instanton wrapped onS³/ℤ_k, which represents the M-theory uplift of the ℂP¹instanton in type IIA string theory on AdS₄× ℂP³. The IIA string computation of the leading largekterm in the instanton prefactor was recently performed in arXiv:2304.12340. Here we find that the exact value of the prefactor$$ {\left({\sin}^2\frac{2\pi }{k}\right)}^{-1} $$ ${\left({sin}^2\frac{2\pi }{k}\right)}^{-1}$is reproduced by the 1-loop term in the M2 brane partition function expanded near theS³/ℤ_kinstanton configuration. As in the Wilson loop example in arXiv:2303.15207, the quantum M2 brane computation is well defined and produces a finite result in exact agreement with localization. 

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