Quantum fluctuations of Wilson loops from string models

Abstract

We discuss the impact of quadratic quantum fluctuations on the Wilson loop extracted from classical string theory. We show that a large class of models, which includes the near horizon limit of D_p branes with 16 supersymmetries, admits a Lüscher type correction to the classical potential. We confirm that the quantum determinant associated with a BPS configuration of a single quark in the AdS_5 \times S^5 model is free from divergences. We find that for the Wilson loop in that model, unlike the situation in flat space-time, the fermionic determinant does not cancel the bosonic one. For string models that correspond to gauge theories in the confining phase, we show that the correction to the potential is of a Lüscher type and is attractive.