Introduction to the AdS/CFT correspondence

Abstract

String theory is a theory of quantum gravity, but also a unified theory of all interactions. It is a theory that usually requires a lot of background information. But there one can understand the basics by simplifying the quantum field theory and general relativity background to almost nothing. Within string theory, a duality called AdS/CFT correspondence was proposed between string theory in certain gravitational backgrounds (sometimes only in its low energy, field theory kind) and field theories with conformal invariance (an extension of scale invariance). We intend to understand the basics of the AdS/CFT correspondence at the undergraduate level, using the minimum of background information.