Null Zig-Zag Wilson Loops in N=4 SYM

May, 2009
13 pages
Published in:
  • Mod.Phys.Lett.A 25 (2010) 627-639
e-Print:
Report number:
  • HU-EP-09-19

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Abstract: (arXiv)
In planar N=4{\cal N}=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory we have studied supersymmetric Wilson loops composed of a large number of light-like segments, i.e., null zig-zags. These contours oscillate around smooth underlying spacelike paths. At one-loop in perturbation theory we have compared the finite part of the expectation value of null zig-zags to the finite part of the expectation value of non-scalar-coupled Wilson loops whose contours are the underlying smooth spacelike paths. In arXiv:0710.1060 [hep-th] it was argued that these quantities are equal for the case of a rectangular Wilson loop. Here we present a modest extension of this result to zig-zags of circular shape and zig-zags following non-parallel, disconnected line segments and show analytically that the one-loop finite part is indeed that given by the smooth spacelike Wilson loop without coupling to scalars which the zig-zag contour approximates. We make some comments regarding the generalization to arbitrary shapes.
Note:
  • 13 pages, 6 figures
  • Wilson loop
  • AdS/CFT
  • Wilson loop
  • gauge field theory: Yang-Mills
  • perturbation theory: higher-order
  • field theory: planar
  • supersymmetry: 4