Type-IIB string theory on ${\text{AdS}}_3\times S^3\times T^4$ with Ramond–Ramond flux as the near-horizon limit of the D1-D5 solution is expected to be dual to a (4, 4) supersymmetric 2D conformal field theory (CFT) parametrized by the integers $Q_1$, $Q_5$, and other moduli. It is related by T-duality to type-IIA string theory in the near-horizon limit of the D2-D4 solution, which admits an uplift to the 11D ${\text{AdS}}_3\times S^3\times T^5$ background which is the near-horizon limit of the M2-M5 solution. We point out that this relation allows one to use the quantum M2-brane description to probe “nonplanar” corrections in the dual 2D CFT, in close analogy with the Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) theory case (described by M-theory on ${\text{AdS}}_4\times S^7/{\mathbb{Z}}_k$). We consider an analog of a supersymmetric Wilson loop (line defect) expectation value represented by a type-IIA string partition function expanded around an ${\text{AdS}}_2\subset {\text{AdS}}_3$ minimal surface. Its M-theory analog is the M2-brane partition function expanded near ${\text{AdS}}_2\times S^1$. We compute the one-loop contribution $Z_1$ to the M2-brane partition function and find that in contrast to the ABJM case in arXiv:2303.15207 [where $Z_1=(2\sin \frac{2\pi }{k}{)}^{-1}=\frac{k}{4\pi }+\frac{\pi }{6k}+\cdots$ contains an infinite series of higher-genera string corrections, $k^{-1}\sim \frac{g_s}{\sqrt{\mathrm{T}}}$], here it is given solely by the leading string theory contribution $Z_1=\frac{\kappa }{\sqrt{2\pi }}$, where $\kappa \sim \sqrt{Q_5}$ plays a role analogous to $k$. We also discuss a generalization to the mixed-flux case which is straightforward from the 11D perspective.

Close

PrevNext

Reuse & PermissionsView figure in article

• 

• Gauge-gravity dualities
• M-theory
• String dualities