Holographic particle detection - art. no. 044007

In anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, classical supergravity solutions are represe nted "holographically" by conformal held theory (CFT) states in which opera tors have expectation values. These 1-point functions are directly related to the asymptotic behavior of bulk fields. In some cases, distinct supergra vity solutions have identical asymptotic behavior; therefore, dual expectat ion values are insufficient to distinguish them. We argue that non-local ob jects in gauge theory can resolve the ambiguity, and explicitly show that c ollections of point particles in AdS(3) can be detected by studying kinks i n dual CFT Green functions. Three dimensional black holes can be formed by the collision of such particles. We show how black hole formation can be de tected in the holographic dual, and calculate CFT quantities that are sensi tive to the distribution of matter inside the event horizon.