String world-sheet models relevant in the gauge/gravity (AdS/CFT) correspondence will be studied with lattice field theory methods. Effectively, these are two-dimensional field theories with non-trivial interactions which are expected to deliver – via holography – strong coupling information on the behaviour of several important observables in the dual gauge theory. The aim is to make progress in current setups (addressing issues in the continuum limit, extending lattice perturbation theory to higher orders, examining algorithmic improvements) and start investigating strings embedded in non-exact backgrounds. The latter are used for an holographic approach to the thermodynamics of strongly-coupled gauge theories and their confinement/deconfinement phase transition.
Supervisor: Valentina Forini (Humbolt University, Berlin)