Bulk spectral functions in single and multi-scalar gravity duals

Abstract

We examine two point correlation functions involving the trace of the energy momentum tensor in five dimensional gravity dual theories supported by one or more scalar fields. A prescription for determining bulk channel spectral functions is developed. This prescription generalizes previous work which centered on one scalar field. As an application of these techniques, we investigate the bulk spectral function and corresponding sum rule in the Chamblin-Reall background. We show that, when expressed in terms of the beta function, the sum rule for the Chamblin-Reall background can be written in a form similar to the sum rule in Yang-Mills theory.

10 pages + appendices, 2 figures. v2: typos fixed and some text modified in Sec. V; conclusions unchanged. v3: Minor modifications, matches published version