Abstract
In this thesis we study integrable systems known as spin chains and their applications to the study of the AdS/CFT duality, and in particular to N “ 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) in four dimensions.First, we introduce the necessary tools for the study of integrable periodic spin chains, which are based on algebraic and functional relations. From these tools, we derive in detail a technique that can be used to compute all the observables in these spin chains, known as Functional Separation of Variables. Then, we generalise our methods and results to a class of integrable spin chains with more general boundary conditions, known as open integrable spin chains.
In the second part, we study a cusped Maldacena-Wilson line in N “ 4 SYM with insertions of scalar fields at the cusp, in a simplifying limit called the ladders limit. We derive a rigorous duality between this observable and an open integrable spin chain, the open Fishchain. We solve the Baxter TQ relation for the spin chain to obtain the exact spectrum of scaling dimensions of this observable involving cusped Maldacena-Wilson line.
The open Fishchain and the application of Functional Separation of Variables to it form a very promising road for the study of the three-point functions of non-local operators in N “ 4 SYM via integrability.
| Date of Award | 1 Jan 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Nikolay Gromov (Supervisor) |