What is the smoking gun that validates ADS/CFT

In summary, while there is no concrete proof for the AdS/CFT duality, it is widely accepted as fact within the physics community. This is due to the lack of proof for many other dualities and ideas in physics, as well as the difficulty in making quantum field theory rigorous. Additionally, there are different versions of AdS/CFT, with the most well-known being the one proposed by Juan Maldacena. The accepted dualities are either perturbatively equivalent or have matching correlation functions. Despite the lack of experimental evidence, there have been interesting observations and connections made between AdS/CFT and condensed matter physics. However, the field theories used in these dualities are typically supersymmetric and conformal, making an exact
  • #1
jarod765
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To my understanding there is no proof of ADS/CFT but people seem to take it as absolute fact. What is the reason for this?
 
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  • #2
Like a lot of dualities and ideas in physics there is no proof for AdS/CFT and I don't see there being one for awhile. Its hard enough to make QFT rigorous by itself!

Also AdS/CFT is a little broad. There are a lot of dualities that go under AdS/CFT, the most famous one being what Juan Maldacena originally proposed using N=4 SYM. There are proposed dualities that aren't well understood (like AdS2/CFT1 duality). The ones that are accepted as true are generally ones that either have been proved to be equivalent perturbatively and/or ones where its been observed that all the correlation functions seem to match.

Experimentally there was some interesting work involving AdS/CFT with respect to perfect liquids and the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy and Subir Sachdev has been doing a lot of work connecting it to condensed matter physics. The problem there is that the field theories that are used in gauge gravity dualities are typically supersymmetric and conformal so an exact agreement isn't exactly likely.

There's also the fact that it can be incredibly useful so a lot theorists hope its right!
 

1. What is the ADS/CFT correspondence?

The ADS/CFT correspondence is a theoretical framework in theoretical physics that connects two seemingly unrelated concepts: Anti-de Sitter space (ADS) and conformal field theory (CFT). It proposes that there is a duality between a quantum field theory in a curved spacetime (ADS) and a conformal field theory on the boundary of that spacetime (CFT).

2. How does ADS/CFT relate to the smoking gun in theoretical physics?

ADS/CFT is considered a smoking gun in theoretical physics because it provides a bridge between two previously disconnected theories: gravity and quantum field theory. It allows for better understanding and potential solutions to long-standing problems in both fields, such as the black hole information paradox and the unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity.

3. What evidence supports the validity of ADS/CFT?

Some of the key evidence supporting the validity of ADS/CFT comes from the AdS/CFT duality itself, which has been rigorously tested and confirmed through various calculations and theoretical analyses. Additionally, there have been many successes in using the duality to solve problems in both ADS and CFT, providing further support for its validity.

4. Are there any limitations or challenges to the ADS/CFT correspondence?

While ADS/CFT has shown great promise in solving long-standing problems in theoretical physics, it is not a complete theory and has its limitations. One of the major challenges is the lack of a complete understanding of how the duality works, especially in cases where the two theories are not well-understood. Additionally, the duality has not been proven mathematically and is still an active area of research.

5. How does ADS/CFT impact our understanding of the universe?

ADS/CFT has had a significant impact on our understanding of the universe by providing a framework for reconciling the fundamental theories of gravity and quantum mechanics. It has also opened up new avenues for research and potential solutions to some of the most perplexing questions in theoretical physics. It has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the universe and lead to new discoveries in the future.

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