In this paper, we show that the chiral soliton lattice (ChSL) is, in a precise sense, a universal feature of the low-energy limit of QCD minimally coupled to Maxwell theory. Here, we disclose that not only can the ChSL be obtained from the gauged Skyrme model in $3+1$ dimensions, including the back-reaction of the Maxwell $U(1)$ gauge field, we also show that the ChSL remains unchanged if the sub-leading corrections to the Skyrme model in the 't Hooft large $N_c$ expansion are included. Taking into account the highly non-linear character of such corrections, this is quite a surprising result. By considering a suitable ansatz adapted to describe topological solitons at finite baryon density in a constant magnetic field, the generalized Skyrme model coupled to the Maxwell theory is reduced to the effective Lagrangian of the ChSL phase, describing a lattice of domain walls made of hadrons. One of the key points in this construction is the fact that even when the usual topological charge density vanishes, the presence of the Callan-Witten term in the topological charge density allows for a non-vanishing baryon number. In the present approach, the magnetic field can be external, as is usually assumed for the ChSL, or it can be self-consistently generated by the hadronic layers themselves. Finally, we show how our formulation allows us to study the coupling of the chiral soliton lattice with quark matter.

We explore various aspects of dynamical black holes defined by a future outer trapping horizon in $n(\ge 5)$-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. In the present paper, we assume that the spacetime has symmetries corresponding to the isometries of an $(n-2)$-dimensional maximally symmetric space and the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant is non-negative. Depending on the existence or absence of the general relativistic limit, solutions are classified into GR and non-GR branches, respectively. Assuming the null energy condition on matter fields, we show that a future outer trapping horizon in the GR branch possesses the same properties as that in general relativity. In contrast, that in the non-GR branch is shown to be non-spacelike with its area non-increasing into the future. We can recognize this peculiar behavior to arise from a fact that the null energy condition necessarily leads to the null convergence condition for radial null vectors in the GR branch, but not in the non-GR branch. The energy balance law yields the first law of a trapping horizon, from which we can read off the entropy of a trapping horizon reproducing Iyer-Wald's expression. The entropy of a future outer trapping horizon is shown to be non-decreasing in both branches along its generator.

Properties of $n(\ge 5)$-dimensional static wormhole solutions are investigated in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with or without a cosmological constant $\Lambda$. We assume that the spacetime has symmetries corresponding to the isometries of an $(n-2)$-dimensional maximally symmetric space with the sectional curvature $k=\pm 1, 0$. It is also assumed that the metric is at least $C^{2}$ and the $(n-2)$-dimensional maximally symmetric subspace is compact. Depending on the existence or absence of the general relativistic limit $\alpha \to 0$, solutions are classified into general relativistic (GR) and non-GR branches, respectively, where $\alpha$ is the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant. We show that a wormhole throat respecting the dominant energy condition coincides with a branch surface in the GR branch, otherwise the null energy condition is violated there. In the non-GR branch, it is shown that there is no wormhole solution for $k\alpha \ge 0$. For the matter field with zero tangential pressure, it is also shown in the non-GR branch with k\alpha<0 and $\Lambda \le 0$ that the dominant energy condition holds at the wormhole throat if the radius of the throat satisfies some inequality. In the vacuum case, a fine-tuning of the coupling constants is shown to be necessary and the radius of a wormhole throat is fixed. Explicit wormhole solutions respecting the energy conditions in the whole spacetime are obtained in the vacuum and dust cases with $k=-1$ and \alpha>0.

Three-dimensional Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant admits stationary black holes that are not necessarily spherically symmetric. We propose boundary conditions for the near horizon region of these black holes that lead to a surprisingly simple near horizon symmetry algebra consisting of two affine u(1) current algebras. The symmetry algebra is essentially equivalent to the Heisenberg algebra. The associated charges give a specific example of "soft hair" on the horizon, as defined by Hawking, Perry and Strominger. We show that soft hair does not contribute to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli black holes and "black flower" generalizations. From the near horizon perspective the conformal generators at asymptotic infinity appear as composite operators, which we interpret in the spirit of black hole complementarity. Another remarkable feature of our boundary conditions is that they are singled out by requiring that the whole spectrum is compatible with regularity at the horizon, regardless the value of the global charges like mass or angular momentum. Finally, we address black hole microstates and generalizations to cosmological horizons.

We explore the spacetime structure near non-extremal horizons in any spacetime dimension greater than two and discover a wealth of novel results: 1. Different boundary conditions are specified by a functional of the dynamical variables, describing inequivalent interactions at the horizon with a thermal bath. 2. The near horizon algebra of a set of boundary conditions, labeled by a parameter $s$, is given by the semi-direct sum of diffeomorphisms at the horizon with "spin-$s$ supertranslations". For $s=1$ we obtain the first explicit near horizon realization of the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs algebra. 3. For another choice, we find a non-linear extension of the Heisenberg algebra, generalizing recent results in three spacetime dimensions. This algebra allows to recover the aforementioned (linear) ones as composites. 4. These examples allow to equip not only black holes, but also cosmological horizons with soft hair. We also discuss implications of soft hair for black hole thermodynamics and entropy.

We discuss some aspects of soft hairy black holes and a new kind of "soft hairy cosmologies", including a detailed derivation of the metric formulation, results on flat space, and novel observations concerning the entropy. Remarkably, like in the case with negative cosmological constant, we find that the asymptotic symmetries for locally flat spacetimes with a horizon are governed by infinite copies of the Heisenberg algebra that generate soft hair descendants. It is also shown that the generators of the three-dimensional Bondi-Metzner-Sachs algebra arise from composite operators of the affine u(1) currents through a twisted Sugawara-like construction. We then discuss entropy macroscopically, thermodynamically and microscopically and discover that a microscopic formula derived recently for boundary conditions associated to the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy fits perfectly our results for entropy and ground state energy. We conclude with a comparison to related approaches.

We investigate the asymptotic symmetry algebra of (2+1)-dimensional higher spin, anti-de Sitter gravity. We use the formulation of the theory as a Chern-Simons gauge theory based on the higher spin algebra hs(1,1). Expanding the gauge connection around asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetime, we specify consistent boundary conditions on the higher spin gauge fields. We then study residual gauge transformation, the corresponding surface terms and their Poisson bracket algebra. We find that the asymptotic symmetry algebra is a nonlinearly deformed W(infinity) algebra with classical central charges. We discuss implications of our results to quantum gravity and to various situations in string theory.

A generalization of the Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions is introduced for pure gravity with negative cosmological constant in 3 dimensions. This leads to new degrees of freedom and to an enhancement of the symmetry algebra. Up to the zero modes, it consists of two copies of the semi-direct product of a Virasoro algebra with a U(1) current algebra. The associated surface charge algebra now contains three non-zero central charges: the two usual Brown-Henneaux central charges and one new quantity.

We analyze the Rarita--Schwinger (RS) massless theory in the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches. At the Lagrangian level, the standard gamma-trace gauge fixing constraint leaves a spin-1/2 and a spin-3/2 propagating Poincaré group helicities. At the Hamiltonian level, the result depends on whether the Dirac conjecture--that all first class constraints generate gauge symmetries--is assumed or not. In the affirmative case, a secondary first class constraint must be added to the total Hamiltonian and a corresponding gauge fixing condition must be imposed, completely removing the spin-1/2 sector. In the opposite case, the spin-1/2 field propagates and the Hamilton field equations match the Euler-Lagrange equations.

We construct new exact solutions of the Georgi-Glashow model in $3+1$ dimensions. These configurations are periodic in time but lead to a stationary energy density and no energy flux. Nevertheless, they possess a characteristic frequency which manifests itself through non-trivial resonances on test fields. This allows us to interpret them as non-Abelian self sustained coils. We show that for larger energies a transition to chaotic behavior takes place, which we characterize by Poincaré sections, Fourier spectra and exponential growth of the geodesic deviation in an effective Jacobi metric, the latter triggered by parametric resonances.

This is the content of a set of lectures given at the XIII Jorge Andre Swieca Summer School on Particles and Fields, held in Campos do Jordao, Brazil in January 2005. They intend to be a basic introduction to the topic of gauge/gravity duality in confining theories. We start by reviewing some key aspects of the low energy physics of non-Abelian gauge theories. Then, we present the basics of the AdS/CFT correspondence and its extension both to gauge theories in different spacetime dimensions with sixteen supercharges and to more realistic situations with less supersymmetry. We discuss the different options of interest: placing D-branes at singularities and wrapping D-branes in calibrated cycles of special holonomy manifolds. We finally present an outline of a number of non-perturbative phenomena in non-Abelian gauge theories as seen from supergravity.

We exploit the close relationship between the Carroll and fracton/dipole algebras, together with the method of coadjoint orbits, to define and classify classical Carroll and fracton particles. This approach establishes a Carroll/fracton correspondence and provides an answer to the question "What is a fracton?". Under this correspondence, carrollian energy and center-of-mass correspond to the fracton electric charge and dipole moment, respectively. Then immobile massive Carroll particles correspond to the fracton monopoles, whereas certain mobile Carroll particles ("centrons") correspond to fracton elementary dipoles. We uncover various new massless carrollian/neutral fractonic particles, provide an action in each case and relate them via a $GL(2,\mathbb{R})$ symmetry. We also comment on the limit from Poincar\'e particles, the relation to (electric and magnetic) Carroll field theories, contrast Carroll boosts with dipole transformations and highlight a generalisation to curved space ((A)dS Carroll).

Properties of $n(\ge 5)$-dimensional static wormhole solutions are investigated in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with or without a cosmological constant $\Lambda$. We assume that the spacetime has symmetries corresponding to the isometries of an $(n-2)$-dimensional maximally symmetric space with the sectional curvature $k=\pm 1, 0$. It is also assumed that the metric is at least $C^{2}$ and the $(n-2)$-dimensional maximally symmetric subspace is compact. Depending on the existence or absence of the general relativistic limit $\alpha \to 0$, solutions are classified into general relativistic (GR) and non-GR branches, respectively, where $\alpha$ is the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant. We show that a wormhole throat respecting the dominant energy condition coincides with a branch surface in the GR branch, otherwise the null energy condition is violated there. In the non-GR branch, it is shown that there is no wormhole solution for $k\alpha \ge 0$. For the matter field with zero tangential pressure, it is also shown in the non-GR branch with k\alpha<0 and $\Lambda \le 0$ that the dominant energy condition holds at the wormhole throat if the radius of the throat satisfies some inequality. In the vacuum case, a fine-tuning of the coupling constants is shown to be necessary and the radius of a wormhole throat is fixed. Explicit wormhole solutions respecting the energy conditions in the whole spacetime are obtained in the vacuum and dust cases with $k=-1$ and \alpha>0.

Different classes of exact solutions for the BHT massive gravity theory are constructed and analyzed. We focus in the special case of the purely quadratic Lagrangian, whose field equations are irreducibly of fourth order and are known to admit asymptotically locally flat black holes endowed with gravitational hair. The first class corresponds to a Kerr-Schild deformation of Minkowski spacetime along a covariantly constant null vector. As in the case of General Relativity, the field equations linearize so that the solution can be easily shown to be described by four arbitrary functions of a single null coordinate. These solutions can be regarded as a new sort of pp-waves. The second class is obtained from a deformation of the static asymptotically locally flat black hole, that goes along the spacelike (angular) Killing vector. Remarkably, although the deformation is not of Kerr-Schild type, the field equations also linearize, and hence the generic solution can be readily integrated. It is neither static nor spherically symmetric, being described by two integration constants and two arbitrary functions of the angular coordinate. In the static case it describes "black flowers" whose event horizons break the spherical symmetry. The generic time-dependent solution appears to describe a graviton that moves away from a black flower. Despite the asymptotic behaviour of these solutions at null infinity is relaxed with respect to the one for General Relativity, the asymptotic symmetries coincide. However, the algebra of the conserved charges corresponds to BMS$_{3}$, but devoid of central extensions. The "dynamical black flowers" are shown to possess a finite energy. The surface integrals that define the global charges also turn out to be useful in the description of the thermodynamics of solutions with event horizons.

We construct a two-dimensional action that is an extension of spherically symmetric Einstein-Lanczos-Lovelock gravity. The action contains arbitrary functions of the areal radius and the norm squared of its gradient, but the field equations are second order and obey Birkhoff's theorem. In complete analogy with spherically symmetric Einstein-Lanczos-Lovelock gravity, the field equations admit the generalized Misner-Sharp mass as the first integral that determines the form of the vacuum solution. The arbitrary functions in the action allow for vacuum solutions that describe a larger class of interesting nonsingular black-hole spacetimes than previously available.

We present a family of extensions of spherically symmetric Einstein-Lanczos-Lovelock gravity. The field equations are second order and obey a generalized Birkhoff's theorem. The Hamiltonian constraint can be written in terms of a generalized Misner-Sharp mass function that determines the form of the vacuum solution. The action can be designed to yield interesting non-singular black-hole spacetimes as the unique vacuum solutions, including the Hayward black hole as well as a completely new one. The new theories therefore provide a consistent starting point for studying the formation and evaporation of non-singular black holes as a possible resolution to the black hole information loss conundrum.

Here, we report pp waves configurations of three-dimensional gravity for which a scalar field nonminimally coupled to them acts as a source. In absence of self-interaction the solutions are gravitational plane waves with a profile fixed in terms of the scalar wave. In the self-interacting case, only power-law potentials parameterized by the nonminimal coupling constant are allowed by the field equations. In contrast with the free case the self-interacting scalar field does not behave like a wave since it depends only on the wave-front coordinate. We address the same problem when gravitation is governed by topologically massive gravity and the source is a free scalar field. From the pp waves derived in this case, we obtain at the zero topological mass limit, new pp wave solutions of conformal gravity for any arbitrary value of the nonminimal coupling parameter. Finally, we extend these solutions to the self-interacting case of conformal gravity.

Recently, dynamical edge modes (DEM) in Maxwell theory have been constructed using a specific local boundary condition on the horizon. We discuss how to enforce this boundary condition on an infinite parallel plate in the QED vacuum by introducing Lagrange multiplier fields into the action. We carefully introduce appropriate boundary ghosts to maintain BRST invariance. Explicit correspondence of this BRST extended theory with the original DEM formulation is discussed, both directly, and through the correspondence between edge modes and Wilson lines attached to the boundary surface. We then use functional methods to calculate the Casimir energy for the first time with DEM boundary conditions imposed on two infinite parallel plates, both in generalized Coulomb and linear covariant gauge. Depending on the gauge, different fields are contributing, but, after correctly implementing the BRST symmetry, we retrieve the exact same Casimir energy as for two perfectly conducting parallel plates.

The dual dynamics of Einstein gravity on AdS$_3$ supplemented with boundary conditions of KdV-type is identified. It corresponds to a two-dimensional field theory at the boundary, described by a novel action principle whose field equations are given by two copies of the "potential modified KdV equation". The asymptotic symmetries then transmute into the global Noether symmetries of the dual action, giving rise to an infinite set of commuting conserved charges, implying the integrability of the system. Noteworthy, the theory at the boundary is non-relativistic and possesses anisotropic scaling of Lifshitz type.