F-theory and AdS_3/CFT_2

TL;DR

This work constructs and analyzes AdS$_3$ solutions in F-theory, exploiting a varying axio-dilaton to holographically realize 2d $ ext{N}=(0,4)$ SCFTs arising from D3-branes wrapped on curves in elliptically fibered CY3 bases. Through a detailed G-structure analysis, the authors obtain AdS$_3 imes S^3/Z_M imes B$ geometries with holomorphic $ au$, and they compute holographic central charges that consistently match anomaly inflow results from both D7-brane and M5-brane pictures, as well as the M-theory dual AdS$_3 imes S^2 imes Y_3$. The paper provides explicit leading and subleading central charges for various M and N configurations, analyzes the role of ampleness of divisors, and establishes nontrivial crosschecks via 11d/7-brane/Chern–Simons terms, reinforcing the AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence in a nontrivial F-theory setting. Overall, the results illuminate how nontrivial tau profiles in F-theory yield controlled holographic duals and outline several directions for extending the framework to broader 2d and higher-dimensional holographic correspondences.

Abstract

We construct supersymmetric AdS_3 solutions in F-theory, that is Type IIB supergravity with varying axio-dilaton, which are holographically dual to 2d N=(0,4) superconformal field theories with small superconformal algebra. In F-theory these arise from D3-branes wrapped on curves in the base of an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefold Y_3 and correspond to strings in the 6d N=(1,0) theory obtained from F-theory on Y_3. The non-trivial fibration over the wrapped curves implies a varying coupling of the N=4 Super-Yang-Mills theory on the D3-branes. We compute the holographic central charges and show that these agree with the field theory and with the anomalies of self-dual strings in 6d. We complement our analysis with a discussion of the dual M-theory solutions and a comparison of the central charges.