R-current correlators in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory from anti-de Sitter supergravity

We test the conjectured relationship between N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions and IIB supergravity compactified on AdS(5) x S-5 by computing the two- and three-point functions of R-symmetry currents. We observe that the integral expressions describing the general three-point correlator on the supergravity side have a structure similar to one-loop triangle diagrams in N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory. This allows us to compare the expressions on both sides of the AdS/CFT correspondence without the technical complications of the loop integrations. We confirm that the two- and three-point correspondence arises at only one-loop in the N = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Higher-point functions as well as further three-point functions may be analyzed similarly. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.