Warped \(AdS_3\)/Dipole-CFT Duality

Abstract

String theory contains solutions with \(SL(2, \mathbb{R})_R \times U(1)_L\)-invariant warped \(AdS_3\) \((WAdS_3)\) factors arising as continuous deformations of ordinary \(AdS_3\) factors. We propose that some of these are holographically dual to the IR limits of nonlocal dipole-deformed 2D D-brane gauge theories, referred to as “dipole CFTs”. Neither the bulk nor boundary theories are currently well-understood, and consequences of the proposed duality for both sides is investigated. The bulk entropy-area law suggests that dipole CFTs have (at large N) a high-energy density of states which does not depend on the deformation parameter. Putting the boundary theory on a spatial circle leads to closed timelike curves in the bulk, suggesting a relation of the latter to dipole-type nonlocality.