Black Horizons and Integrability in String Theory

Abstract

This thesis is devoted to the study of geometric aspects of black holes and integrable structures in string theory. In the first part, symmetries of the horizon and its bulk extension will be investigated. We investigate the horizon conjecture beyond the supergravity approximation, by considering \alpha' corrections of heterotic supergravity in perturbation theory, and show that standard global techniques can no longer be applied. A sufficient condition to establish the horizon conjecture will be identified. As a consequence of our analysis, we find a no-go theorem for AdS2 backgrounds in heterotic theory. The bulk extension of a prescribed near-horizon geometry will then be considered in various theories. The horizon fields will be expanded at first order in the radial coordinate. The moduli space of radial deformations will be proved to be finite dimensional, by showing that the moduli must satisfy elliptic PDEs. In the second part, geometric aspects and spectral properties of integrable anti-de Sitter backgrounds will be discussed. We formulate a Bethe ansatz in AdS2 x S2 x T6 type IIB superstring, overcoming the problem of the lack of pseudo-vacuum state affecting this background. In AdS3 x S3 x T4 type IIB superstring, we show that the S-matrix is annihilated by the boost generator of the q-deformed Poincar\'e superalgebra, and interpret this condition as a parallel equation for the S-matrix with respect to a connection on a fibre bundle. This hints that the algebraic problem associated with the scattering process can be geometrically rewritten. This allows us to propose a Universal S-matrix.