Spatially modulated and supersymmetric mass deformations of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM

Abstract

We study mass deformations of $\mathcal{N}=4$, $d=4$ SYM theory that are spatially modulated in one spatial dimension and preserve some residual supersymmetry. We focus on generalisations of $\mathcal{N}=1^*$ theories and show that it is also possible, for suitably chosen supersymmetric masses, to preserve $d=3$ conformal symmetry associated with a co-dimension one interface. Holographic solutions can be constructed using $D=5$ theories of gravity that arise from consistent truncations of $SO(6)$ gauged supergravity and hence type IIB supergravity. For the mass deformations that preserve $d=3$ superconformal symmetry we construct a rich set of Janus solutions of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory which have the same coupling constant on either side of the interface. Limiting classes of these solutions give rise to RG interface solutions with $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM on one side of the interface and the Leigh-Strassler (LS) SCFT on the other, and also to a Janus solution for the LS theory. Another limiting solution is a new supersymmetric $AdS_4\times S^1\times S^5$ solution of type IIB supergravity.