Backtracking AdS flux vacua

Journal article

We introduce an algorithm (dubbed “flux backtracking”) to reverse-engineer the brane picture from an AdS flux vacuum. Given an AdS flux vacuum as input, the algorithm outputs a singularity in 10 or 11 dimensions. This singularity has the property that when probed with the appropriate stack of branes (and after taking the near-horizon limit), one recovers the initial AdS vacuum. After testing the procedure on a number of known AdS/CFT pairs, we apply it to AdS flux vacua without known holographic dual, notably the scale-separated DGKT solution. In this case, flux backtracking produces a certain strongly coupled singularity in massive IIA; we conjecture that the worldvolume CFT of D4-branes probing this singularity should be the holographic CFT dual to DGKT (if it exists). Applying the procedure to the DGKT-related scale-separated AdS4 solutions without Romans mass, we find instead a conical and weakly coupled singularity. We also comment on the results and limitations of applying the procedure to KKLT.

Authors: Apers, F; Montero, M; Valenzuela, I

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Volume: 2026
• Issue: 3
• Article number: 161
• Publication date: 2026-03-17
• Acceptance date: 2026-01-12
• DOI: 10.1007/jhep03(2026)161
• EISSN: 1029-8479
• ISSN: 1126-6708
• Language: English
• Keywords: Flux Compactifications; AdS-CFT Correspondence