In this paper, we describe in detail a scheme for the construction of highly accurate numerical solutions to Einstein's field equations in five and six spacetime dimensions corresponding to non-uniform black strings. The scheme consists of a sophistically adapted multi-domain pseudo-spectral method which incorporates a detailed understanding of the solution's behavior at the domain boundaries and at critical points. In particular, the five-dimensional case is exceedingly demanding as logarithmic terms appear which need to be treated with special care. The scheme resolves these issues and permits the investigation of unprecedentedly strong deformations of the black string horizon. As a consequence, we are able to study in detail the critical regime in phase diagrams displaying characteristic thermodynamic quantities such as mass and entropy. Our results show typical spiral curves in such diagrams which provides a strong support of previous numerical works.

We numerically construct static localized black holes in five and six spacetime dimensions which are solutions to Einstein's vacuum field equations with one compact periodic dimension. In particular, we investigate the critical regime in which the poles of the localized black hole are about to merge. A well adapted multi-domain pseudo-spectral scheme provides us with accurate results and enables us to investigate the phase diagram of those localized solutions within the critical regime, which goes far beyond previous results. We find that in this regime the phase diagram possesses a spiral structure adapting to the one recently found for non-uniform black strings. When approaching the common endpoint of both phases, the behavior of physical quantities is described by complex critical exponents giving rise to a discrete scaling symmetry. The numerically obtained values of the critical exponents agree remarkably well with those derived from the double-cone metric.

We construct numerically static non-uniform black string solutions in six dimensions by using pseudo-spectral methods. An appropriately designed adaptation of the methods in regard of the specific behaviour of the field quantities in the vicinity of our numerical boundaries provides us with extremely accurate results, that allows us to get solutions with an unprecedented deformation of the black string horizon. Consequently, we are able to investigate in detail a critical regime within a suitable parameter diagram. In particular, we observe a clearly pronounced maximum in the mass curve, which is in accordance with the results of Kleihaus, Kunz and Radu from 2006. Interestingly, by looking at extremely distorted black strings, we find two further turning points of the mass, resulting in a spiral curve in the black string's phase diagram.

We numerically construct static localized black holes in ten spacetime dimensions with one compact periodic dimension. In particular, we investigate the critical regime in which the poles of the localized black hole are about to merge. When approaching the critical region, the behavior of physical quantities is described by a single real valued exponent giving rise to a logarithmic scaling of the thermodynamic quantities, in agreement with the theoretical prediction derived from the double-cone metric. As a peculiarity, the localized black hole solution in ten dimensions can be related to the spatially deconfined phase of two dimensional N = (8, 8) super Yang-Mills theory (SYM) on a spatial circle. We use the localized black hole solutions to determine the SYM phase diagram. In particular, we compute the location of the first order phase confinement/deconfinement transition and the related latent heat to unprecedented accuracy.

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