From gravity to thermal gauge theories the AdS CFT correspondence ; [edited version of the review talks given in the Fifth Aegean School on the Ads CFT Correspondence, held in Adamas on Milos Island, Greece, from 21st to 26th of September 2009

The AdS/CFT correspondence is a powerful tool in studying strongly coupled phenomena in gauge field theories, using results from a weakly coupled gravity background studied in the realm of string theory. AdS/CFT was first successfully applied to the study of phenomena such as the quark-gluon plasma produced in heavy ions collisions. Soon it was realized that its applicability can be extended, in a more phenomenological approach, to condensed matter systems and to systems described by fluid dynamics. The set of tutorial reviews in this volume is intended as an introduction to and survey of the principle of the AdS/CFT correspondence in its field/string theoretic formulation, its applicability to holographic QCD and to heavy ions collisions, and to give a first account of processes in fluid dynamics and condensed matter physics, which can be studied with the use of this principle. Written by leading researchers in the field and cast into the form of a high-level but approachable multi-author textbook, this volume will be of benefit to all postgraduate students, and newcomers from neighboring disciplines wishing to find a comprehensive guide for their future research. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction to Anti de Sitter Black Holes....Pages 3-26 Perturbations of Anti de Sitter Black Holes....Pages 27-56 Introduction to the AdS/CFT Correspondence....Pages 57-75 Front Matter....Pages - Improved Holographic QCD....Pages 79-146 The Dynamics of Quark-Gluon Plasma and AdS/CFT....Pages 147-181 Fluid Dynamics from Gravity....Pages 183-203 The Gauge-Gravity Duality and Heavy Ion Collisions....Pages 205-233 AdS/CFT on the Brane....Pages 235-270 Front Matter....Pages 271-271 Condensed Matter and AdS/CFT....Pages 273-311 Introduction to Holographic Superconductors....Pages 313-347 Flavor Superconductivity and Superfluidity....Pages 349-393 Holographic Torsion and the Prelude to Kalb–Ramond Superconductivity....Pages 395-422 Back Matter....Pages 423-425 Presents a set of tutorial reviews that is intended as an introduction to and survey of the principle of the AdS/CFT correspondence in its field/string theoretic formulation, its applicability to holographic QCD and to heavy ions collisions, and to give a first account of processes in fluid dynamics and condensed matter physics.