Multiscale confining dynamics from holographic RG flows

We consider renormalization group flows between conformal field theories in five (six) dimensions with a string (M-theory) dual. By compactifying on a circle (torus) with appropriate boundary conditions, we obtain continuous families of confining four-dimensional theories parametrized by the ratio Lambda(flow)/Lambda(QCD), with Lambda(flow) the scale at which the flow between fixed points takes place and Lambda(QCD) the confinement scale. We construct the dual geometries explicitly and compute the spectrum of scalar bound states (glueballs). We find a 'universal' subset of states common to all the models. We comment on the modifications of these models, and the corresponding fine-tuning, required for a parametrically light 'dilaton' state to be present. We also comment on some aspects of these theories as probed by extended objects such as strings and branes.