## 28/06/2013, Friday, 11:30–12:30

Oscar Varela, University of Utrecht
Electric/magnetic duality in $$\operatorname{AdS}_4/\operatorname{CFT}_3$$

The field theory defined on a stack of $$N$$ M2-branes is thought to correspond to that first introduced by BLG/ABJM. At large $$N$$, an important sector of this theory can be described, holographically, by the $$SO(8)$$-gauged maximal supergravity in four dimensions of de Wit and Nicolai. Since its inception, the latter has been tacitly assumed to be unique. Recently, however, a one-parameter family of $$SO(8)$$ gaugings of maximal supergravity has been discovered, the de Wit-Nicolai theory being just a member in this class. I will explain how this overlooked family of $$SO(8)$$-gauged supergravities is deeply related to electric/magnetic duality in four dimensions. I will then discuss some predictions that can be made about the possible family of holographic dual field theories, focusing on the structure of conformal phases and the RG flows between them.