The properties of supersymmetric gauge theories in the Higgs phase at low energies can appropriately be studied by means of a non-linear sigma model, which has the target space being Kahler for N=1 supersymmetric models and hyperKahler for N=2 models. By construction of the Kahler and hyperKahler quotients for the gauge theories with SO and USp gauge symmetries, we obtain the explicit metrics on their respective manifolds. Furthermore, we study the lumps in the non-linear sigma models and their effective description, using the Kahler quotients.
We study non-linear sigma models whose target spaces are the Higgs phases of supersymmetric SO and USp gauge theories by using the Kahler and hyper-Kahler quotient constructions. We obtain the explicit Kahler potentials and develop an expansion formula to make use of the obtained potentials from which we also calculate the curvatures of the manifolds. The 1/2 BPS lumps in the U(1) x SO and U(1) x USp Kahler quotients and their effective descriptions are also studied. In this connection, a general relation between moduli spaces of vortices and lumps is discussed. We find a new singular limit of…
We consider the five dimensional $USp(2k)$ gauge theory which consists of one antisymmetric and $n_{f}$ fundamental hypermultiplets. This gauge theory is a many-probe generalization of the SU(2) gauge theory in five dimensions considered by Seiberg in the context of probing type I superstring by a D4-brane. This gauge theory can also be obtained from the USp(2k) matrix model by matrix T-dual transformations in the large k limit. We exhibit the anomalous interaction associated with this five dimensional theory on the new phase, where the vacuum expectation values (vevs) of the scalars belonging…
We determine the exact global structure of the moduli space of $N{=}2$ supersymmetric $SO(n)$ and $\USp(2n)$ gauge theories with matter hypermultiplets in the fundamental representations, using the non-renormalization theorem for the Higgs branches and the exact solutions for the Coulomb branches. By adding an $(N{=}2)$--breaking mass term for the adjoint chiral field and varying the mass, the $N{=}2$ theories can be made to flow to either an ``electric'' $N{=}1$ supersymmetric QCD or its $N{=}1$ dual ``magnetic'' version. We thus obtain a derivation of the $N{=}1$ dualities of Seiberg.
BPS lumps in ${\cal N}=2$ SUSY nonlinear sigma models on hyper-\kahler manifolds in four dimensions are studied. We present new lump solutions with various kinds of topological charges. New BPS equations and a new BPS bound, expressed by the three complex structures on hyper-\kahler manifolds, are found. We show that any states satisfying these BPS equations preserve 1/8 (1/4) SUSY of ${\cal N}=2$ SUSY nonlinear sigma models with (without) a potential term. These BPS states include non-parallel multi-(Q-)lumps.
We derive the algebraic description of the Coulomb branch of 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ $USp(2N)$ SQCD theories with $N_f$ fundamental hypermultiplets and determine their low energy physics in any vacuum from the local geometry of the moduli space, identifying the interacting SCFTs which arise at singularities and possible extra free sectors. The SCFT with the largest moduli space arises at the most singular locus on the Coulomb branch. For $N_f>2N$ (good theories) it sits at the origin of the conical variety as expected. For $N_f =2N$ we find two separate most singular points, from which the two isom…
We find the phase and flavor symmetry breaking pattern of each N=1 supersymmetric vacuum of SU(n_c) and USp(2 n_c) gauge theories, constructed from the exactly solvable N=2 theories by perturbing them with small adjoint and generic bare hypermultiplet (quark) masses. In SU(n_c) theories with n_f \leq n_c the vacua are labelled by an integer r, in which the flavor U(n_f) symmetry is dynamically broken to U(r) \times U(n_f-r) in the limit of vanishing bare hyperquark masses. In the r=1 vacua the dynamical symmetry breaking is caused by the condensation of magnetic monopoles in the n_f representa…
We derive the BPS equations satisfied by lump solitons in $(2+1)$-dimensional sigma models with toric 8-dimensional hyper-Kähler (${HK}_8$) target spaces and check they preserve 1/2 of the supersymmetry. We show how these solitons are realised in M theory as M2-branes wrapping holomorphic 2-cycles in the $\bE^{1,2}\times {HK}_8$ background. Using the $κ$-symmetry of a probe M2-brane in this background we determine the supersymmetry they preserve, and note that there is a discrepancy in the fraction of supersymmetry preserved by these solitons as viewed from the low energy effective sigma model…
The Argyres-Douglas (AD) theories of type $(D_n,D_m)$, realized by type IIB geometrical engineering on a single hypersurface singularity, are studied. We analyze their conformal manifolds and propose the 3d mirror theories of all theories in this class upon reduction on a circle. A subclass of the AD theories in question that admits marginal couplings is found to be $\mathrm{SO}$ or $\mathrm{USp}$ gaugings of certain $D_p(\mathrm{SO}(2N))$ and $D_p(\mathrm{USp}(2N))$ theories. For such theories, we develop a method to derive this weakly-coupled description from the Newton polygon associated to…
We study dynamical flavor symmetry breaking in the context of a class of N=1 supersymmetric SU(n_c) and USp(2 n_c) gauge theories, constructed from the exactly solvable N=2 theories by perturbing them with small adjoint and generic bare hypermultiplet (quark) masses. We find that the flavor U(n_{f}) symmetry in SU(n_{c}) theories is dynamically broken to $U(r)\times U(n_{f}-r)$ groups for $n_f \leq n_c$. In the r=1 case the dynamical symmetry breaking is caused by the condensation of monopoles in the $\underline{n_{f}}$ representation. For general r, however, the monopoles in the $\underline{{…
The worldvolume theory of D3-branes probing four D7-branes and an O7-plane on $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2$ is given by a supersymmetric USp x USp gauge theory. We demonstrate that, at least for a particular choice of the holonomy at infinity, we can go to a dual description of the gauge theory, where we can add a Fayet-Iliopoulos term describing the blowing-up of the orbifold to the smooth ALE space. This allows us to express the moduli space of SO(8) instantons on the smooth ALE space as a hyperkähler quotient of a flat space times the Higgs branch of a class S theory. We also discuss a genera…
A first-order `BPS' equation is obtained for 1/8 supersymmetric intersections of soliton-membranes (lumps) of supersymmetric (4+1)-dimensional massless sigma models, and a special non-singular solution is found that preserves 1/4 supersymmetry. For 4-dimensional hyper-Kähler target spaces ($HK_4$) the BPS equation is shown to be the low-energy limit of the equation for a Cayley-calibrated 4-surface in $\bE^4\times HK_4$. Similar first-order equations are found for stationary intersections of Q-lump-membranes of the massive sigma model, but now generic solutions preserve either 1/8 supersymmetr…
We study the Higgs branch of the SCFT limit of 5d SO(6) and SO(8) gauge theory with hypermultiplets in the spinor and vector representations. In the case of SO(6) gauge theories, we contrast the magnetic quivers obtained with those of SU(4) gauge theory with hypermultiplets in the fundamental and second rank antisymmetric representations. Since SU(4) gauge theories admit several different values of the Chern-Simons level, we make some observations about how to distinguish those theories from the brane webs of the SO(6) theories. In the case of SO(8) gauge theories, we use SO(8) triality to pro…
The richness of 5d $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories with a UV fixed point at infinite coupling is due to the existence of local disorder operators known as instanton operators. By considering the Higgs branch of $SU(2)$ gauge theories with $N_f \leq 7$ flavours at finite and infinite coupling, we write down the explicit chiral ring relations between instanton operators, the glueball superfield and mesons. Exciting phenomena appear at infinite coupling: the glueball superfield is no longer nilpotent and the classical chiral ring relations are quantum corrected by instanton operators bilinears. We also …
We revisit the Hanany-Witten brane construction of 3d gauge theories with N=2 supersymmetry. Instantons are known to generate a superpotential on the Coulomb branch of the theory. We show that this superpotential can be viewed as arising from the classical scattering of domain wall solitons. The domain walls live on the worldvolume of the fivebranes and their existence relies on the recent observation that the charged hypermultiplet at the intersection of perpendicular D-branes has non-canonical kinetic terms. We further show how Dp branes may be absorbed at the intersection of perpendicular D…
In this note, we calculate the $S^3$ free energy $F$ of 3-d ${\cal N}\geq 4$ supersymmetric gauge theories with $U(N)$, $O(N)$, and $USp(2N)$ gauge groups and matter hypermultiplets in the fundamental and two-index tensor representations. Supersymmetric localization reduces the computation of $F$ to a matrix model that we solve in the large $N$ limit using two different methods. The first method is a saddle point approximation first introduced in arXiv:1011.5487, which we extend to next-to-leading order in $1/N$. The second method generalizes the Fermi gas approach of arXiv:1110.4066 to theori…
We consider N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with a simple classical gauge group, one adjoint $Φ, N_f$ pairs ($Q_i,\tilde{Q_i}$) of (fundamental, anti-fundamental) and a tree-level superpotential with terms of the Landau-Ginzburg form $\tilde{Q}_iΦ^lQ_j$. The quantum moduli space of these models includes a Coulomb branch. We find hyperelliptic curves that encode the low energy effective gauge coupling for the groups SO(N_c) and USp(N_c) (the corresponding curve for SU(N_c) is already known). As a consistency check, we derive the sub-space of some vacua with massless dyons via confining phase …
We consider supersymmetric gauge theories on $S^5$ with a negative Yang-Mills coupling in their large $N$ limits. Using localization we compute the partition functions and show that the pure ${\mathrm{SU}}(N)$ gauge theory descends to an ${\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{+N/2}\times {\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{-N/2}\times {\mathrm{SU}}(2)$ Chern-Simons gauge theory as the inverse 't Hooft coupling is taken to negative infinity for $N$ even. The Yang-Mills coupling of the ${\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{\pm N/2}$ is positive and infinite, while that on the ${\mathrm{SU}}(2)$ goes to zero. We also show that the odd $N$ case ha…
Supergravity solutions related to large N SU(N) pure gauge theories with eight supercharges have recently been shown to give rise to an ``enhancon'', a new type of hypersurface made of D-branes. We show that enhancons also arise in similar situations pertaining to SO(2N+1), USp(2N) and SO(2N) gauge theories, using orientifolds. Enhancons therefore appear to come in types A, B, C, and D. The latter three differ globally from type A by having an extra Z_2 identification, and are distinguished locally by their subleading behaviour in large N. We focus mainly on 2+1 dimensional gauge theory, where…
Five-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories with gauge group $U(N)$, $SU(N)$, $USp(2N)$ and $SO(N)$ are studied at large rank through localization on a large sphere. The phase diagram of theories with fundamental hypermultiplets is universal and characterized by third order phase transitions, with the exception of $U(N)$, that shows both second and third order transitions. The phase diagram of theories with adjoint or (anti-)symmetric hypermultiplets is also determined and found to be universal. Moreover, Wilson loops in fundamental and antisymmetric representations of any rank are analyzed in t…
We present a general method for computing the central charges a and c of N=2 superconformal field theories corresponding to singular points in the moduli space of N=2 gauge theories. Our method relates a and c to the U(1)_R anomalies of the topologically twisted gauge theory. We evaluate these anomalies by studying the holomorphic dependence of the path integral measure on the moduli. We calculate a and c for superconformal points in a variety of gauge theories, including N=4 SU(N), N=2 pure SU(N) Yang-Mills, and USp(2N) with 1 massless antisymmetric and 4 massive fundamental hypermultiplets. …
We determine the form of all timelike supersymmetric solutions of all N greater or equal than 2, d=4 ungauged supergravities, for N less or equal than 4 coupled to vector supermultiplets, using the $Usp(n+1,n+1)-symmetric formulation of Andrianopoli, D'Auria and Ferrara and the spinor-bilinears method, while preserving the global symmetries of the theories all the way. As previously conjectured in the literature, the supersymmetric solutions are always associated to a truncation to an N=2 theory that may include hypermultiplets, although fields which are eliminated in the truncations can have …
We discuss dynamics of N=2 supersymmetric SU(n_c) gauge theories with n_f quark hypermultiplets. Upon N=1 perturbation of introducing a finite mass for the adjoint chiral multiplet, we show that the flavor U(n_f) symmetry is dynamically broken to U(r) \times U(n_f-r), where r\leq [n_f/2] is an integer. This flavor symmetry breaking occurs due to the condensates of magnetic degrees of freedom which acquire flavor quantum numbers due to the quark zero modes. We briefly comment on the USp(2n_c) gauge theories. This talk is based on works with Giuseppe Carlino and Ken Konishi, hep-th/0001036 and h…
We construct effective actions for non-Abelian 1/4 Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) monopole-vortex complexes in 4d N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories with gauge groups U(N), U(1) \times SO(2n) and U(1) \times USp(2n). In the color-flavor locked vacuum with degenerate hypermultiplet masses, a subgroup of the color-flavor diagonal symmetry remains unbroken and gives internal orientational moduli to vortices which confine monopoles in the Higgs phase. In this paper we discuss the effective action which describes the interactions between monopoles and the orientational moduli of non-Abelian …
