Thermal Giant Graviton Expansion

Abstract

We construct giant graviton expansions of the thermal and $(-1{)}^F$-graded partition functions of $\mathcal{N}=4$ and $\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang-Mills theories at zero 't Hooft coupling. These observables are generically non-BPS and do not admit a direct bulk interpretation in a supergravity regime. Instead, we exploit the corresponding self-dual theories, which arise as chiral zero-coupling limits and admit twistor string holographic duals. We apply a quiver generalization of Murthy's expansion motivated by twistor strings. Notably, we obtain expansions at both finite and infinite $N$. We reproduce the terms in these expansions from bulk closed string and D-brane sectors, identifying the nonperturbative corrections with D-instanton/anti-D-instanton pairs. At infinite $N$, resumming the D-instanton sectors reproduces the Hagedorn temperatures of the free gauge theories, providing a microscopic bulk origin for their Hagedorn singularities.

arXiv comment108 pages