We explore further our recent generalization of the $\mathcal{N}=4$ superconformal Chern-Simons theories of Gaiotto and Witten. We find and construct explicitly theories of enhanced $\mathcal{N}=5$ or 6 supersymmetry, especially $\mathcal{N}=5$, $Sp(2M)\times O(N)$ and $\mathcal{N}=6$, $Sp(2M)\times O(2)$ theories. The $U(M)\times U(N)$ theory coincides with the $\mathcal{N}=6$ theory of Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena (ABJM). We argue that the $\mathcal{N}=5$ theory with $Sp(2N)\times O(2N)$ gauge group can be understood as an orientifolding of the ABJM model with $U(2N)\times U(2N)$ gauge group. We briefly discuss the Type IIB brane construction of the $\mathcal{N}=5$ theory and the geometry of the M-theory orbifold.
We construct Z_M, M= 2, 3, 4, 6 orbifold models of the N=2 superconformal field theories with central charge c=3. Then we check the description of the Z_3, Z_4 and Z_6 orbifolds by the N=2 superconformal Landau-Ginzburg models with c=3, by comparing the spectrum of chiral fields, in particular the Witten index Tr(-1)^F.
Superconformal tensor calculus on an orbifold S^1/Z_2 is given in five-dimensional (5D) spacetime. The four-dimensional superconformal Weyl multiplet and various matter multiplets are induced on the boundary planes from the 5D supermultiplets in the bulk. We identify those induced 4D supermultiplets and clarify a general method for coupling the bulk fields to the matter fields on the boundaries in a superconformal invariant manner.
We calculate the superconformal indices of recently discovered three-dimensional N=4,5 Chern-Simons-matter theories and compare them with the corresponding indices of supergravity on AdS4 times orbifolds of S7. We find perfect agreement in the large N and large k limit, provided that the twisted sector contributions at the fixed loci of the orbifolds are properly taken into account. We also discuss the index for the so-called "dual ABJM" proposal.
We propose an off-shell construction of three-dimensional N = 3 and N = 4 superconformal Abelian Chern-Simons theories in the projective superspace formalism. We also construct coupling terms among the gauge fields and matter hypermultiplets.
We explore the possibilities for constructing Lagrangian descriptions of three-dimensional superconformal classical gauge theories that contain a Chern-Simons term, but no kinetic term, for the gauge fields. Classes of such theories with N = 1 and N = 2 supersymmetry are found. However, interacting theories of this type with N = 8 supersymmetry do not exist.
We demonstrate that the general D=3, N=5 Chern-Simons matter theory possesses a full OSp(5|4) superconformal symmetry, and construct the corresponding superconformal currents. The closure of the superconformal algebra is verified in detail. We also show that the conserved OSp(6|4) superconformal currents in the general N=6 theory can be obtained as special cases of the OSp(5|4) currents by enhancing the R-symmetry of the N=5 theory from USp(4) to SU(4).
We discuss higher-order corrections to superconformal invariance for a class of N=2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons theories including the ABJM model. We argue that corrections are inevitable for general theories in this class; but that it is probable that any corrections are of a particular "maximally transcendental" form.
We prove explicitly that the general D=3, N=4 Chern-Simons-matter (CSM) theory has a complete OSp(4|4) superconformal symmetry, and construct the corresponding conserved currents. We re-derive the OSp(5|4) superconformal currents in the general N=5 theory as special cases of the OSp(4|4) currents by enhancing the supersymmetry from N=4 to N=5. The closure of the full OSp(4|4) superconformal algebra is verified explicitly.
Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena have recently proposed a dual gravitational description for a family of superconformal Chern Simons theories in three spacetime dimensions. In this note we perform the one loop computation that determines the field theory superconformal index of this theory and compare with the index computed over the Fock space of dual supersymmetric gravitons. In the appropriate limit (large $N$ and large $k$) we find a perfect match.
We demonstrate that the four and six-point tree-level amplitudes of N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory (ABJM) enjoy OSp(6|4) dual superconformal symmetry if one enlarges the dual superspace to include three additional Grassmann-even coordinates which correspond to an abelian isometry of CP3. The inclusion of these coordinates enables us to match the nontrivial dual superconformal generators with level-one Yangian generators when acting on on-shell amplitudes. We also discuss some implications of dual conformal symmetry for loop-level amplitudes.
By coupling {\cal N}=8 superconformal matter to {\cal N}=8 superconformal Chern-Simons gravity in three dimensions we obtain theories with novel terms in the scalar potential leading to AdS_3 solutions and superconformal symmetry breaking. If we start from the theory derived by Bagger, Lambert and Gustavsson, our coupled theory either inherits the SO(4) gauge group or reduces it to SO(3). If the construction is instead based on a free matter theory we find that the gravitational topological gauging also requires the introduction of a Chern-Simons gauge sector resulting in a consistent theory f…
Constraints of the osp(6|4) symmetry on tree-level scattering amplitudes in N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory are derived. Supplemented by Feynman diagram calculations, solutions to these constraints, namely the four- and six-point superamplitudes, are presented and shown to be invariant under Yangian symmetry. This introduces integrability into the amplitude sector of the theory.
In this work we study some properties of the three dimensional $U(N)$ SUSY Chern-Simons coupled to a scalar field in the fundamental representation in the large $N$ limit. For large $N$ we show that the theory has two phases, one which is conformally invariant, and other where the superconformal symmetry is broken and masses for the matter fields are generated.
We calculate the superconformal index for N=6 Chern-Simons-matter theory with gauge group U(N) X U(N) at arbitrary allowed value of the Chern-Simons level k. The calculation is based on localization of the path integral for the index. Our index counts supersymmetric gauge invariant operators containing inclusions of magnetic monopole operators, where latter operators create magnetic fluxes on 2-sphere. Through analytic and numerical calculations in various sectors, we show that our result perfectly agrees with the index over supersymmetric gravitons in AdS_4 X S^7/Z_k in the large N limit. Mon…
In this note we study spin chain operators in the N=6 Chern-Simons-matter theory recently proposed by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena to be dual to type IIA string theory in AdS4xCP3. We study the two-loop dilatation operator in the gauge theory, and compare to the Penrose limit on the string theory side.
We construct a solution of eleven dimensional supergravity corresponding to a stack of M2 branes localized at the center of a particular eight dimensional hyper-Kaehler manifold constructed by Gauntlett, Gibbons, Papadopoulos, and Townsend, generalizing the earlier construction of Cherkis and Hashimoto. In the decoupling limit, this solution is dual to a Chern-Simons/Yang-Mills/Matter theory in 2+1 dimensions with N=3 supersymmetry, which flows in the infra red to a superconformal Chern-Simons/Matter system preserving N=6,8 supersymmetry, constructed recently by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis, and…
3d Chern-Simons gauge theory has a strong connection with 2d CFT and link invariants in knot theory. We impose some constraints on the $D(2|1;α)$ CS theory in the similar context of the hamiltonian reduction of 2d superconformal algebras. There Hilbert states in $D(2|1;α)$ CS theory are partly identified with characters of the large N=4 SCFT by their transformation properties.
We compute superconformal indices for $\mathcal{N} = 3$ $\hat{ADE}$ Chern-Simons quiver gauge theories with a product gauge group $\prod_i U(N)_i$, using the method of supersymmetric localization. We also perform a large $N$ analysis of the index. This index includes contribution from non zero magnetic flux sector. The fact that these theories have a weakly coupled UV completion in terms of $\mathcal{N}= 3$ supersymmetric Chern-Simons Yang-Mills theories enables us to apply the localization technique. Such theories have dual M-theory description on $\mathrm{AdS}_4\times M_7$, where $M_7$ is a …
We use localization techniques to compute the expectation values of supersymmetric Wilson loops in Chern-Simons theories with matter. We find the path-integral reduces to a non-Gaussian matrix model. The Wilson loops we consider preserve a single complex supersymmetry, and exist in any N=2 theory, though the localization requires superconformal symmetry. We present explicit results for the cases of pure Chern-Simons theory with gauge group U(N), showing agreement with the known results, and ABJM, showing agreement with perturbative calculations. Our method applies to other theories, such as Ga…
We show that there are two supersymmetric completions of the three-dimensional Chern-Simons theory of level k with gauge group U(N)xU(N) coupled to four sets of massless scalars and spinors in the bi-fundamental representation, if we require Sp(2) global symmetry with the matter fields in the fundamental representation of SU(4). One is the N=6 superconformal theory recently studied in arXiv:0806.1218 [hep-th] and another is a new theory with N=1 superconformal symmetry. We conjecture that the N=1 theory is dual to M theory on AdS_4 x Squashed S^7/Z_k.
We present a superspace formulation of the D=3, N=4,5 superconformal Chern-Simons Matter theories, with matter supermultiplets valued in a symplectic 3-algebra. We first construct an N=1 superconformal action, and then generalize a method used by Gaitto and Witten to enhance the supersymmetry from N=1 to N=5. By decomposing the N=5 supermultiplets and the symplectic 3-algebra properly and proposing a new super-potential term, we construct the N=4 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories in terms of two sets of generators of a (quaternion) symplectic 3-algebra. The N=4 theories can also be d…
We consider the non-relativistic superconformal U(N) X U(N) Chern-Simons theory with level (k,-k) possessing fourteen supersymmetries. We obtain an exact four-point scattering amplitude of the theory to all orders in 1/N and 1/k and prove that the scattering amplitude becomes trivial when k=1 and 2. We confirm this amplitude to one-loop order by using an explicit field theoretic computation and show that the beta function for the contact interaction vanishes to the one-loop order, which is consistent with the quantum conformal invariance of the underlying theory.
We present an explicit expression for the grand potential of the U(N)^3 superconformal Chern-Simons theory with the Chern-Simons levels being (k,0,-k). From the viewpoint of the Newton polygon, it is expected that the grand potential is given by the free energy of the topological string theory on the local D_5 del Pezzo geometry, though the explicit identification was a puzzle for years. We show how the expectation is realized explicitly. As a bonus, we can also study the Z_2 orbifold of this theory and find the grand potential is now given in terms of the local E_7 del Pezzo geometry.
We consider one of the well-known solutions in eleven-dimensional supergravity where the seven-dimensional Einstein space is given by a SO(3)-bundle over the CP^2. By reexaming the AdS_4 supergravity scalar potential, the holographic renormalization group flow from N=(0,1) SU(3) x SU(2)-invariant UV fixed point to N=(3,0) SU(3) x SU(2)-invariant IR fixed point is reinterpreted. A dual operator in three-dimensional superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories corresponding to this RG flow is described.
We investigate the N=2 superconformal index for supersymmetric quiver Chern-Simons theories with large N gauge groups. After general arguments about the large N limit, we compute the first few terms in the series expansion of the index for theories proposed as dual theories to homogeneous spaces V^{5,2}, Q^{1,1,1}, Q^{2,2,2}, M^{1,1,1}, and N^{0,1,0}. We confirm that the indices have symmetries expected from the isometries of dual manifolds.
We investigate the AdS/CFT correspondence for quiver gauge theories realized on D3-branes put on abelian orbifolds by using the superconformal index. We assume that on the gravity side the finite $N$ corrections of the index are reproduced by D3-branes wrapped on three particular three-cycles in the internal space ${\cal Y}$, the abelian orbifold of $\boldsymbol{S}^5$. We first establish the relation between baryonic charges on the gauge theory side and the D3-brane wrapping numbers and holonomies on D3-branes. Then we confirm our proposal by comparing the results of localization for gauge the…
We find the exact solution for a finite size Giant Magnon in the $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ sector of the string dual of the $\mathcal{N}=6$ superconformal Chern-Simons theory recently constructed by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena. The finite size Giant Magnon solution consists of two magnons, one in each $SU(2)$. In the infinite size limit this solution corresponds to the Giant Magnon solution of arXiv:0806.4959. The magnon dispersion relation exhibits finite-size exponential corrections with respect to the infinite size limit solution.
The three dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory coupled to matter fields, possibly deformed by a superpotential, give rise to a large class of exactly conformal theories with Lagrangian descriptions. These theories can be arbitrarily weakly coupled, and hence can be studied perturbatively. We study the theories in the large N limit, and compute the two-loop anomalous dimension of certain long operators. Our result suggests that various N=2 U(N) Chern-Simons theories coupled to suitable matter fields are dual to open or closed string theories in AdS4, which are not yet constructed.
We study the nonrelativistic limit of the $N=2$ supersymmetric Chern-Simons matter system. We show that in addition to Galilean invariance the model admits a set of symmetries generated by fermionic charges, which can be interpreted as an {\it extended Galilean supersymmetry }. The system also possesses a hidden conformal invariance and then the full group of symmetries is the {\it extended superconformal Galilean} group. We also show that imposing extended superconformal Galilean symmetry determines the values of the coupling constants in such a way that their values in the bosonic sector agr…
Bethe ansatz equations have been proposed for the asymptotic spectral problem of AdS_4/CFT_3. This proposal assumes integrability, but the previous verification of weak-coupling integrability covered only the su(4) sector of the ABJM gauge theory. Here we derive the complete planar two-loop dilatation generator of N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory from osp(6|4) superconformal symmetry. For the osp(4|2) sector, we prove integrability through a Yangian construction. We argue that integrability extends to the full planar two-loop dilatation generator, confirming the applicability of the Beth…
The holographic nonsupersymmetric renormalization group flows in four dimensions are found. The mass-deformed N=2, 4 Chern-Simons matter theories can be reproduced from N=1 Chern-Simons matter theory by putting some constraints in the mass terms. We construct the geometric superpotential, from an eleven dimensional M-theory lift, which provides M2-brane probe analysis for the infrared ends of various supersymmetric or nonsupersymmetric flows.
We extend the N=4 superconformal Chern-Simons theories of Gaiotto and Witten to those with additional twisted hyper-multiplets. The new theories are generically linear quiver gauge theories with the two types of hyper-multiplets alternating between gauge groups. Our construction includes the Bagger-Lambert model of SO(4) gauge group. A family of abelian theories are identified with those proposed earlier in the context of the M-crystal model for M2-branes probing (C^2/Z_n)^2 orbifolds. Possible extension with non-abelian BF couplings and string/M-theory realization are briefly discussed.
In this work it is studied the spontaneous breaking of superconformal and gauge invariances in the Abelian N=1,2 three-dimensional supersymmetric Chern-Simons-matter theories in a large N limit. It is computed the Kählerian effective superpotential at subleading order and shown that the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism is the responsible for the dynamical generation of a mass scale in the N=1 model. This effect appears due to two-loop diagrams that are logarithmic divergent. In particular, the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism fails when we lift the N=1 to N=2 Supersymmetric Chern-Simons-Matter model, like…
We consider the partition function of the superconformal Chern-Simons theories with the quiver diagram being the affine D-type Dynkin diagram. Rewriting the partition function into that of a Fermi gas system, we show that the perturbative expansions in 1/N are summed up to an Airy function, as in the ABJM theory or more generally the theories of the affine A-type quiver. As a corollary, this provides a proof for the previous proposal in the large N limit. For special values of the Chern-Simons levels, we further identify three species of the membrane instantons and also conjecture an exact exp…
We introduce an anti-symmetric metric into a 3-algebra and call it a symplectic 3-algebra. The N=6, Sp(2N) X U(1) superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theory with SU(4) R-symmetry in three dimensions is constructed by specifying the 3-brackets in a symplectic 3-algebra. We also demonstrate that the N=6, U(M) X U(N) theory can be recast into this symplectic 3-algebraic framework.
We study the large-$N$ limit of superconformal index for two strongly interacting Chern-Simons theories in three dimensions with $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry, and compare the result against the AdS/CFT dual, namely the data of full Kaluza-Klein reduction spectra obtained using the exceptional field theory technique. The two theories of interest are mABJM and GJV theories, which are obtained as IR fixed point of RG whose UV description is ABJM and maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory respectively. We confirm agreement and the duality persists. For the case of mABJM it turns out that we n…
We attempt to derive quiver Chern-Simons-matter theories from the Bagger-Lambert theory with Nambu bracket, through an orbifold prescription which effectively induces a dimensional reduction of the internal space for 3-algebra. We consider M2-branes on an N=4 orbifold $C^2/Z_k\times C^2$, and compare the result with the so-called dual Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena model, proposed recently by Hanany, Vegh, and Zaffaroni. Unlike the N=6 example $C^4/Z_k$, we find ambiguities in the matrix regularization.
We study the partition function of three-dimensional ${\mathcal N}=4$ superconformal Chern-Simons theories of the circular quiver type, which are natural generalizations of the ABJM theory, the worldvolume theory of M2-branes. In the ABJM case, it was known that the perturbative part of the partition function sums up to the Airy function as $Z(N)=e^{A}C^{-1/3}\mathrm{Ai}[C^{-1/3}(N-B)]$ with coefficients $C$, $B$ and $A$ and that for the non-perturbative part the divergences coming from the coefficients of worldsheet instantons and membrane instantons cancel among themselves. We find that many…
We propose three-dimensional N=6 superconformal U(N) X U(M) and SU(N) X SU(N) Chern-Simons gauge theories with two pairs of bifundamental chiral superfields in the (N, M) and (\overline{N}, \overline{M}) representations and in the (N, N) and (\overline{N}, \overline{N}) representations, respectively. We also propose the superconformal U(1) X U(1) gauge theories that have n pairs of bifundamental chiral superfields with U(1) X U(1) charges (\pm 1, \mp 1) or (\pm 1, \pm 1). Although these U(1) X U(1) gauge theories have global symmetry SU(2n), the R-symmetry is SO(6) for n=2, and might be SO(2n)…
We study the anomalous dimensions for scalar operators for a three-dimensional Chern-Simons theory recently proposed in arXiv:0806.1218. We show that the mixing matrix at two-loop order is that for an integrable Hamiltonian of an SU(4) spin chain with sites alternating between the fundamental and the anti-fundamental representations. We find a set of Bethe equations from which the anomalous dimensions can be determined and give a proposal for the Bethe equations to the full superconformal group of OSp(2,2|6).
Recently it has been conjectured that N=6, U(N)_{k} \times U(N)_{-k} Chern-Simons theory is dual to M-theory on AdS_4\times S^7/Z_{k}. By studying one-loop correction to the M-theory effective action, we calculate the correction to the entropy of thermal field theory at strong coupling. For large k level, we have also found the alpha' correction to the entropy from the string correction of the type IIA effective action. The structure of these two corrections at strong t'Hooft coupling are different.
We discuss the N=2 superspace formulation of the N=8 superconformal Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory, and of the N=6 superconformal Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena U(N)xU(N) Chern-Simons theory. In particular, we prove the full SU(4) R-symmetry of the ABJM theory. We then consider orbifold projections of this theory that give non-chiral and chiral (U(N)xU(N))^n superconformal quiver gauge theories. We argue that these theories are dual to certain AdS_4 x S^7/(Z_n x Z_k) backgrounds of M-theory. We also study a SU(3) invariant mass term in the superpotential that makes the N=8 theory flow to…
We consider how to take an orbifold reduction for the multiple M2-brane theory recently proposed by Bagger and Lambert, and discuss its relation to Chern-Simons theories. Starting from the infinite dimensional 3-algebra realized as the Nambu bracket on a 3-torus, we first suggest an orbifolding prescription for various fields. Then we introduce a second truncation, which effectively reduces the internal space to a 2-torus. Eventually one obtains a large-N limit of Chern-Simons gauge theories coupled to matter fields. We consider an abelian orbifold C^4/Z_n, and illustrate how one can arrive at…
We investigate $N=2$ supersymmetric sigma model orbifolds of the sphere in the large radius limit. These correspond to $N=2$ superconformal field theories. Using the equations of topological-anti-topological fusion for the topological orbifold, we compute the generalized Dynkin diagrams of these theories - i.e., the soliton spectrum - which was used in the classification of massive superconformal theories. They correspond to the extended Dynkin diagrams associated to finite subgroups of $SO(3).$
We consider M-theory on (T^2\times R^2)/Z_n with M5 branes wrapped on R^2. One can probe this background with M5 branes wrapped on T^2. The theories on the probes provide many new examples of N=2 field theories without Lagrangian description. All these theories have Coulomb branches, and we find the corresponding Seiberg-Witten curves. The exact solution is encoded in a Hitchin system on an orbifolded torus with punctures. The theories we consider also arise from D3 probes in F-theory on K3\times K3 orbifolds. Interestingly, the relevant F-theory background has frozen Z_n singularities which a…
We study large N orbifold equivalences involving three-dimensional N=3 and N=4 supersymmetric quiver Chern-Simons-matter theories. The gravity dual of the N=3 Chern-Simons-matter theory is described by AdS4xM7 where the tri-Sasaki manifold M7 is known as the Eschenburg space. We find evidence that a large N orbifold equivalence for the N=4 case continues from the M-theory limit to the weak-coupling limit. For the N=3 case, we find consistent large N equivalences involving a projection changing the nodes of the gauge groups, and also for a projection changing Chern-Simons levels where for the l…
A Lagrangian description of a maximally supersymmetric conformal field theory in three dimensions was constructed recently by Bagger and Lambert (BL). The BL theory has SO(4) gauge symmetry and contains scalar and spinor fields that transform as 4-vectors. We verify that this theory has OSp(8|4) superconformal symmetry and that it is parity conserving despite the fact that it contains a Chern--Simons term. We describe several unsuccessful attempts to construct theories of this type for other gauge groups and representations. This experience leads us to conjecture the uniqueness of the BL theor…
In the so-called (2,2) theory, which is the U(N)^4 circular quiver superconformal Chern-Simons theory with levels (k,0,-k,0), it was known that the instanton effects are described by the free energy of topological strings whose Gopakumar-Vafa invariants coincide with those of the local D_5 del Pezzo geometry. By considering two types of one-parameter rank deformations U(N) x U(N+M) x U(N+2M) x U(N+M) and U(N+M) x U(N) x U(N+M) x U(N), we classify the known diagonal BPS indices by degrees. Together with other two types of one-parameter deformations, we further propose the topological string exp…
It was known that the ABJM matrix model is dual to the topological string theory on a Calabi-Yau manifold. Using this relation it was possible to write down the exact instanton expansion of the partition function of the ABJM matrix model. The expression consists of a universal function constructed from the free energy of the refined topological string theory with an overall topological invariant characterizing the Calabi-Yau manifold. In this paper we explore two other superconformal Chern-Simons theories of the circular quiver type. We find that the partition function of one theory enjoys the…
By studying the previously known holographic N=4 supersymmetric renormalization group flow(Gowdigere-Warner) in four dimensions, we find the mass deformed Chern-Simons matter theory which has N=4 supersymmetry by adding the four mass terms among eight adjoint fields. The geometric superpotential from the eleven dimensions is found and provides the M2-brane probe analysis. As second example, we consider known holographic N=8 supersymmetric renormalization group flow(Pope-Warner) in four dimensions. The eight mass terms are added and similar geometric superpotential is obtained.
We examine the string dual of the recently constructed $\mathcal{N}=6$ superconformal Chern-Simons theory of Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena (ABJM theory). We focus in particular on the $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ sector. We find a sigma-model limit in which the resulting sigma-model is two Landau-Lifshitz models added together. We consider a Penrose limit for which we can approach the $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ sector. Finally, we find a new Giant Magnon solution in the $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ sector corresponding to one magnon in each $SU(2)$. We put these results together to find the full magnon disp…
Using the duality conjecture between N=6 supersymmetric U(N)_k \times U(N)_{-k} Chern-Simons theory and M-theory on AdS_4 \times S^7/Z_{k}, we calculate the corrections to the shear viscosity of the field theory at temperature T. At strong 't Hooft coupling and at small k level, we have considered one-loop correction to the M-theory effective action. At large k level, we have considered the alpha' correction to the type IIA effective action. In both cases the correction to the ratio of shear viscosity to the entropy density is positive.
We investigate the large $N$ instanton effects of partition functions in a class of $\mathcal{N}=4$ circular quiver Chern-Simons theories on a three-sphere. Our analysis is based on the supersymmetry localization and the Fermi-gas formalism. The resulting matrix model can be regarded as a two-parameter deformation of the ABJM matrix model, and has richer non-perturbative structures. Based on a systematic semi-classical analysis, we find analytic expressions of membrane instanton corrections. We also exactly compute the partition function for various cases and find some exact forms of worldshee…
We study thermodynamics of N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory by computing quantum corrections to the free energy. We find that in weakly coupled ABJM theory on R(2) x S(1), the leading correction is non-analytic in the 't Hooft coupling lambda, and is approximately of order lambda^2 log(lambda)^3. The free energy is expressed in terms of the scalar thermal mass m, which is generated by screening effects. We show that this mass vanishes to 1-loop order. We then go on to 2-loop order where we find a finite and positive mass squared m^2. We discuss differences in the calculation between Coul…
We study a class of classical solutions of three-dimensional N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory coupled with U(N) \times U(N) bi-fundamental matter fields. Especially, time evolutions of fuzzy spheres are discussed for both massless and massive cases. For the massive case, there are a variety of solutions having different behaviors according to the value of the mass. In addition to the time-dependent solutions, we analyze non-BPS static solutions which represent parallel M5/M5 or M5/anti-M5-branes suspended by multiple M2-branes. These solutions are similar to the fundamental strings conne…
We define a 3-algebra with structure constants being symmetric in the first two indices. We also introduce an invariant anti-symmetric tensor into this 3-algebra and call it a symplectic 3-algebra. The general N=5 superconformal Chern-Simons-matter (CSM) theory with SO(5) R-symmetry in three dimensions is constructed by using this algebraic structure. We demonstrate that the supersymmetry can be enhanced to N=6 if the sympelctic 3-algebra and the fields are decomposed in a proper fashion. By specifying the 3-brackets, some presently known N=5, 6 superconformal theories are described in terms o…
It is shown that the twisted sector spectrum, as well as the associated Chern-Simons interactions, can be determined on M-theory orbifold fixed planes that do not admit gravitational anomalies. This is demonstrated for the seven-planes arising within the context of an explicit $R^6 \times S^1/Z_2 \times T^4/Z_2$ orbifold, although the results are completely general. Local anomaly cancellation in this context is shown to require fractional anomaly data that can only arise from a twisted sector on the seven-planes, thus determining the twisted spectrum up to a small ambiguity. These results open…
Four-dimensional field equations are determined for perturbations of the quotient seven-sphere size and squashing parameter in eleven-dimensional supergravity. The quotient seven-sphere is a S^1-bundle over the CP^3 which is regarded as a S^2-fibration over the base S^4. By analyzing the AdS_4 supergravity scalar potential, the holographic supersymmetric(or nonsupersymmetric) renormalization group(RG) flow from N=1(or N=0) SO(5) x U(1)-invariant UV fixed point to N=6(or N=0) SU(4)_R x U(1)-invariant IR fixed point is obtained. The three-dimensional boundary theories are described by superconfo…
