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We discuss in detail the 1+1-dimensional superconformal field theory dual to type II string theory on AdS₃ S³ T⁴, emphasizing the string theoretic aspects of this duality. For one unit of NS-NS 5-brane flux (Q₅=1), this string theory has been suggested to be dual to a grand-canonical ensemble of T^4N/SN free symmetric orbifold CFTs. We show how the string genus expansion emerges to all orders for the free orbifold grand-canonical correlation functions. We also discuss how the strong coupling limit of the NS-NS string theory arises (even at large N) in the free orbifold description, and argue why this limit does not have a weakly coupled R-R description. The dual CFT includes (for all values of Q₅) an extra T⁴ factor that is decoupled from perturbative string theory. We discuss the exactly marginal deformations that relate the different values of Q₅, including the precise J J deformations mixing this extra T⁴ with the symmetric orbifold.
Aharony et al. (Thu,) studied this question.