In this thesis we study the connection between conformal symmetry breaking and the the renormalization group. In the first chapter we review the main properties of conformal field theories (CFTs), Wilsonian RG and describe how renormalization induces a flow between different CFTs. The prominent role is given to the trace of energy-momentum tensor (TEMT) as a measure for conformal symmetry violation. Scaling properties of supersymmetric gauge theories are also reviewed . In the second chapter the quantum action principle is introduced as a scheme for renormalizing composite operators. The framework is then applied to derive conditions for UV finiteness of two-point correlators of composite operators with special emphasis on TEMT. We then proceed to discuss the application of the Feynman-Hellmann theorem to evaluate gluon condensates. In the third chapter the basic elements the Trace anomaly on curved space are examined. The finiteness results from Chapter 2 are given physical meaning in relation with the RG flow of the geometrical quantity ~ d (coefficient of □R in the anomaly). The last chapter is dedicated to the a-theorem. First we apply some of the results derived in Chapter 3 to extend the known perturbative calculation for the flow of the central charge βa for gauge theories with Banks-Zaks fixed point. In the last part we review the main ideas of the recent proof of the a-theorem by Komargodski and Schwimmer and apply their formalism to re-derive the known non-perturbative formula for ∆ βa of SUSY conformal window theories.

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Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit drei Aspekten der AdS/CFT-Korrespondenz, die alle einen Schritt über die klassische SUGRA-Näherung hinausgehen. Zuerst diskutieren wir den BMN Grenzfall der Korrespondenz und untersuchen insbesondere das Verhalten der quantenfeldtheoretischen Propagatoren. Dabei weisen wir nach, dass die Propagatoren im für den BMN Fall relevanten Hintergrund ebener Wellen semiklassisch (WKB) exakt beschrieben werden. Danach wird im Rahmen der AdS/CFT-Korrespondenz der Grenzfall verschwindender Kopplung der konformen Feldtheorie betrachtet. Zur technischen Vereinfachung geschieht dies für das Beispiel des O(N)-Vektormodells. Dabei wird die OPE der Vierpunktfunktionen so umgeschrieben, dass sie strukturelle Ähnlichkeit mit Witten-Diagrammen einer korrespondierenden Theorie von Strömen mit höherem Spin hat. Außerdem wird das O(N)- Vektormodell bei großem N am wechselwirkenden Infrarot-Fixpunkt untersucht. Im letzten Punkt wenden wir uns schließlich der ursprünglichen AdS/CFTDualität unter Mitnahme der nächstführenden Ordnung der 1/N-Entwicklung zu. Für die Deformationen der CFT durch relevante Doppelspur-Operatoren finden wir bei Zustandssummen und konformen Anomalien exakte Übereinstimmung zwischen direkter und AdS-seitiger indirekter Rechnung. Damit wird ein nicht trivialer Test der Korrespondenz über die SUGRA-Näherung hinaus erbracht. / This thesis deals with three corners of the AdS/CFT Correspondence that lie one step beyond the classical supergravity (SUGRA) approximation. We first explore the BMN limit of the duality and study, in particular, the behavior of field theoretic propagators in the corresponding Penrose limit. We unravel the semiclassical (WKB-) exactness of the propagators in the resulting plane wave background metric. Then, we address the limit of vanishing coupling of the conformal field theory (CFT) at large N. In the simplified scenario of Higher Spin/O(N) Vector Model duality, the conformal partial wave (CPW) expansion of scalar four-point functions are reorganized to make them suggestive of a bulk interpretation in term of a consistent truncated massless higher spin theory and their corresponding exchange Witten graphs. We also explore the connection to the interacting O(N) Vector Model at its infra-red fixed point, at leading large N. Finally, coming back to the gauge theory, we study the effect of a relevant double-trace deformations of the boundary CFT on the partition function and its dual bulk interpretation. We show how the one-loop computation in the Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space correctly reproduces the partition function and conformal anomaly of the boundary theory. In all, we get a clean test of the duality beyond the classical SUGRA approximation in the AdS bulk and at the corresponding next-to-leading 1/N order of the CFT at the conformal boundary.

La notion d’entropie d’intrication a eu un profond impact sur la physique théorique, particulièrement depuis ces dix dernières années. D’abord introduite afin expliquer l’entropie des trous noirs, son champ d’application s’est par la suite ouvert à une grande variété de domaines de recherche, de la matière condensée à la gravitation quantique, de l’information quantique à la théorie quantique des champs. Dans ce contexte scientifique effervescent, l’entropie d’intrication apparait comme un outil central et doit donc intensivement être étudiée. A l’origine de cette thèse se trouve le désir de mieux comprendre cette entropie. D’intéressants développements concernant les effets de bord sur l’entropie d’intrication ont vu le jour récemment. Nous proposons donc d’explorer comment le bord d’un espace affecte l’entropie, en particulier dans la situation où la surface d’intrication intersecte ce bord. Nous présentons des calculs explicites de l’entropie d’intrication en espace plat avec bords. Nous montrons que des termes induits par ces bords apparaissent dans l’entropie et nous soulignons le rôle prépondérant que jouent les conditions aux bords. Nous étudions ensuite la contribution de bord dans le terme logarithmique de l’entropie d’intrication en dimensions trois et quatre. Nous calculons en premier lieu ce terme en théorie des champs pour la théorie N = 4 de Yang-Mills, puis nous répétons ce calcul de manière holographique. Nous montrons que ces deux méthodes de calcul donnent le même résultat, si du côté théorie des champs les conditions aux bords préservent la moitié de la supersymétrie et que du côté gravité l’extension du bord dans le bulk est une surface minimale. / The entanglement entropy has had a tremendous and profound impact on theoretical physics, particularly since the last decade. First introduced in an attempt to explain black holes entropy, it has then found applications in a wide range of research areas, from condensed matter physics to quantum gravity, from quantum information to quantum field theory. In this exciting scientific context, the entanglement entropy has thus emerged as a useful and pivotal tool, and as such justifies the need to be intensively studied. At the heart of this thesis therefore lies the desire to better understand the entanglement entropy. Interesting developments during the recent years concern the boundary effects on the entanglement entropy. This dissertation proposes to explore the question of how the presence of spacetime boundaries affects the entropy, specifically in situations where the entangling surface intersects these boundaries. We present explicit calculations of entanglement entropy in flat spacetime with plane boundaries. We show that boundary induced terms appear in the entropy and we emphasize the prominent role of the boundary conditions. We then study the boundary contribution to the logarithmic term in the entanglement entropy in three and four dimensions. We perform the field theoretic computation of this boundary term for the free N = 4 super-gauge multiplet and then repeat the same calculation holographically. We show that these two calculations are in agreement provided that on the field theory side one chooses the boundary conditions which preserve half of the full supersymmetry and that on the gravity side the extension of the boundary in the bulk is minimal.