Operators with Large Quantum Numbers, Spinning Strings, and Giant Gravitons

We study the behaviour of spinning strings in the background of various distributions of smeared giant gravitons in supergravity. This gives insights into the behaviour of operators of high dimension, spin and R-charge. Using a new coordinate system recently presented in the literature, we find that it is particularly natural to prepare backgrounds in which the probe operators develop a variety of interesting new behaviours. Among these are the possession of orbital angular momentum as well as spin, the breakdown of logarithmic scaling of dimension with spin in the high spin regime, and novel splitting/fractionation processes.