Supergravity duals of supersymmetric four dimensional gauge theories

Abstract

This article contains an overview of some recent attempts at understanding supergravity and string duals of four dimensional gauge theories using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We discuss the general philosophy underlying the various ways to realize Super Yang-Mills theories in terms of systems of branes. We then review some of the existing duals for N=2 and N=1 theories. We also discuss differences and similarities with realistic theories.

85 pages, 1 figure; review article published in Rivista del Nuovo Cimento; v2 references added