Comments on s-rule violating configurations in field theory

Abstract

We explicitly construct a configuration of ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetry Yang-Mills theory with gauge group $U(N)$ on an interval on length $L$ with a D5-like boundary condition on one end and an NS5-like boundary condition on the other. For $N>1$, such a configuration violates the $s$-rule and is non-supersymmetric. We compute the energy relative to the BPS bound of these configurations and find that it is proportional to $N(N^2-1) g_{YM4}^{-2} L^{-3}$.