Gauge/gravity duality, which generalises the original AdS/CFT correspondence, is one of the most innovative areas of current research in theoretical physics. It provides a framework for obtaining new insights into strongly coupled quantum field theories using weakly coupled gravitational techniques and has also lead to new insights into string theory and to black hole physics.

A major goal of WG1 will be to model strongly coupled systems motivated by real world systems. One direction is to further study the phase diagram and properties of QCD-like theories at finite density. Another will be to apply holographic techniques with a view to making contact with condensed matter systems. Quantum critical points, including non-relativistic systems with exotic scaling, and novel non-Fermi liquids will be studied. WG1 will also use holographic techniques to model non-equilibrium processes, including quantum quenches, which are relevant both to condensed matter as well as heavy-ion data from RHIC and LHC accelerators.

The most well understood example of AdS/CFT is provided by maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four spacetime dimensions. In recent years it has been appreciated that this theory possesses profound integrability structures, allowing one to compute various physical observables exactly. Further studying these structures and generalising them to other theories with less supersymmetry and in different spacetime dimensions will be another goal of WG1. We will also work on understanding better the correspondence between gravitational theories containing light higher spin fields and their dual field theories.