Comprehensive overview of codimension-2 defect CFTs and their holographic representations, suggesting new insights.
We provide a comprehensive overview of the recent developments of codimension-2 defect systems, in the context of AdS/CFT duality. The holographic description of the conformal defects is in terms of probe branes, while in the field theory picture the defect is realised through singular field configurations of a 2-dimensional surface embedded in 𝒩 = 4 SYM theory. Starting from the well-established classification of 1/2-BPS supersymmetric defects, we examine their realisation through probe branes and bubbling supergravity geometries. Special emphasis is placed on defect CFT's involving non-supersymmetric D3/D5 configurations and their holographic interpolations. We discuss the calculation of important physical observables, such as one-point functions of the stress-energy tensor and chiral primary operators, across both weak and strong coupling regimes. The agreement of the results in the two regimes exhibits the full power of the holographic principle. This is a proceedings contribution to the Athens Workshop in Theoretical Physics: 10th Anniversary, held at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens on December 17-19 2025.
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Georgiou et al. (2026) studied this question.
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