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arXiv · 2412.11107

Quantum-Corrected Holographic Wilson Loop Expectation Values and Super-Yang-Mills Confinement

Xiao-Long Liu·Cong-Yuan Yue·Jun Nian·Wenni Zheng
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Abstract

Confinement is a well-known phenomenon in the infrared regime of (supersymmetric) Yang-Mills theory. While both experimental observations and numerical simulations have robustly confirmed its existence, the underlying physical mechanism remains elusive. Unraveling the theoretical origin of confinement continues to be a profound and longstanding challenge in both physics and mathematics. Motivated by recent advances in quantum Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity, we investigate the Wilson loop expectation values in the large-$N$ limit of $\mathscr{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at finite chemical potential, employing a holographic approach within the background of an extremal AdS$_5$ Reissner-Nordström black brane. Our results reveal that quantum gravitational fluctuations in the near-horizon region significantly modify the holographic Wilson loop expectation values. These values exhibit an area-law behavior, indicative of a confining quark-antiquark potential. Within this framework, our findings suggest that confinement in the super-Yang-Mills theory arises as a consequence of near-horizon quantum gravity fluctuations in the bulk extremal AdS$_5$ black brane geometry.

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Xiao-Long Liu, Cong-Yuan Yue, Jun Nian, Wenni Zheng. 2025-04-15. Quantum-Corrected Holographic Wilson Loop Expectation Values and Super-Yang-Mills Confinement. https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.11107

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