Superstrings on AdS3 at k = 1

Abstract

Abstract We study superstring theory in three dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetime with NS-NS flux, focusing on the case where the radius of curvature is equal to the string length. This corresponds to the critical level k = 1 in the formulation as a Wess-Zumino-Witten model. Previously, it was argued that a transition takes place at this special radius, from a phase dominated by black holes at larger radius to one dominated by long strings at smaller radius. We argue that the infinite tower of modes that become massless at k = 1 is a signal of this transition. We propose a simple two-dimensional conformal field theory as the holographic dual to superstring theory at k = 1. As evidence for our conjecture, we demonstrate that our putative dual exactly reproduces the full spectrum of the long strings of the weakly coupled string theory, including states unprotected by supersymmetry.