We point out that the non-critical version of the k-fractional superstring theory can be described by k-cut critical points of the matrix models. In particular, in comparison with the spectrum structure of fractional super-Liouville theory, we show that (p,q) minimal fractional superstring theories appear in the Z_k-symmetry breaking critical points of the k-cut two-matrix models and the operator contents and string susceptibility coincide on both sides. By using this correspondence, we also propose a set of primary operators of the fractional superconformal ghost system which consistently produces the correct gravitational scaling critical exponents of the on-shell vertex operators.
We present new $n=(1,1)$ and $n=(1,0)$ supersymmetric generalization of the Liouville equation, which originate from a geometrical approach to describing the classical dynamics of Green--Schwarz superstrings in $N=2,~D=3$ and $N=1,~D=3$ target superspace. Considered are a zero curvature representation and Bäcklund transformations associated with the supersymmetric non--linear equations.
Similarly to the bosonic Liouville theory, the $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric Liouville theory was conjectured to be equipped with the duality that exchanges the superpotential and the Kähler potential. The conjectured duality, however, seems to suffer from a mismatch of the preserved symmetries. More than fifteen years ago, when I was a student, my supervisor Tohru Eguchi gave a beautiful resolution of the puzzle when the supersymmetry is enhanced to $\mathcal{N}=4$ based on his insight into the underlying geometric structure of the $A_1$ singularity. I will review his unpublished but insight…
This is the 11th article in the collection of reviews "Exact results in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories", ed. J. Teschner. It describes an approach to understanding the 4d/2d relations discovered by Alday, Gaiotto and Tachikawa by establishing a triangle of relations between the zero mode quantum mechanics obtained by localisation of class $\cal S$ theories, the quantum theory obtained by quantisation of Hitchin moduli spaces, and conformal field theory.
A four point function of basic Neveu-Schwarz exponential fields is constructed in the N = 1 supersymmetric Liouville field theory. Although the basic NS structure constants were known previously, we present a new derivation, based on a singular vector decoupling in the NS sector. This allows to stay completely inside the NS sector of the space of states, without referencing to the Ramond fields. The four-point construction involves also the NS blocks, for which we suggest a new recursion representation, the so-called elliptic one. The bootstrap conditions for this four point correlation functi…
We construct a four supercharges Liouville superconformal field theory in four dimensions. The Liouville superfield is chiral and its lowest component is a log-correlated complex scalar whose real part carries a background charge. The action consists of a supersymmetric Paneitz operator, a background supersymmetric $\mathcal{Q}$-curvature charge and an exponential potential. It localizes semiclassically on solutions that describe curved superspaces with a constant complex supersymmetric $\mathcal{Q}$-curvature. The theory is non-unitary with a continuous spectrum of scaling dimensions. We stud…
We show that N=1 supersymmetric Liouville theory can be continued to central charge c=3/2, and that the limiting non-rational superconformal field theory can also be obtained as a limit of supersymmetric minimal models. This generalises a result known for the non-supersymmetric case. We present explicit expressions for the three-point functions of bulk fields, as well as a set of superconformal boundary states. The main technical ingredient to take the limit of minimal models consists in determining analytic expressions for the structure constants. In the appendix we show in detail how the str…
In a series of recent papers, a special kind of AdS$_2$/CFT$_1$ duality was observed: the boundary correlators of elementary fields that appear in the Lagrangian of a 2d conformal theory in rigid AdS$_2$ background are the same as the correlators of the corresponding primary operators in the chiral half of that 2d CFT in flat space restricted to the real line. The examples considered were: (i) the Liouville theory where the operator dual to the Liouville scalar in AdS$_2$ is the stress tensor; (ii) the abelian Toda theory where the operators dual to the Toda scalars are the $\mathcal W$-algebr…
N=3 super-Schwarzian and N=(3,0) super-Liouville theories are formulated by the coadjoint orbit method. We study the coadjoint orbit dependence of the respective theories, represented by a superfield b. We show that it is renormalized into the N=3 super-Schwarzian derivative when the b field takes an appropriate configuration at the initial point of the orbit. Then the renormalized actions of the respective theories are invariant under OSp(2$|$3) transformations. If the configuration gets further specified, the initial point of the orbit turns out to be stable under one other kind of OSp(2$|$3…
The applications of the existing Liouville theories for the description of the longitudinal dynamics of non-critical Nambu-Goto string are analyzed. We show that the recently developed DOZZ solution to the Liouville theory leads to the cut singularities in tree string amplitudes. We propose a new version of the Polyakov geometric approach to Liouville theory and formulate its basic consistency condition - the geometric bootstrap equation. Also in this approach the tree amplitudes develop cut singularieties.
We consider the S-matrix of c=1 Liouville theory with vanishing cosmological constant. We examine some of the constraints imposed by unitarity. These completely determine (N,2) amplitudes at tree level in terms of the (N,1) amplitudes when the plus tachyon momenta take generic values. A surprising feature of the matrix model results is the lack of particle creation branch cuts in the higher genus amplitudes. In fact, we show the naive field theory limit of Liouville theory would predict such branch cuts. However, unitarity in the full string theory ensures that such cuts do not appear in genus…
An N=(4,0) supersymmetric Liouville theory is formulated by the coadjoint orbit method. It is discovered that the action has symmetry under PSU(1,1|2).
We consider $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on four manifolds admitting an isometry. Generalized Killing spinor equations are derived from the consistency of supersymmetry algebrae and solved in the case of four manifolds admitting a $U(1)$ isometry. This is used to explicitly compute the supersymmetric path integral on $S^2\times S^2$ via equivariant localization. The building blocks of the resulting partition function are shown to contain the three point functions and the conformal blocks of Liouville Gravity.
We review the relation between the matrix model and Liouville approaches to two-dimensional gravity as elaborated by Moore, Seiberg and Staudacher. Then, based on the supersymmetric Liouville formulation and the discrete eigenvalue model proposed by Alvarez-Gaumé, Itoyama, Mañes and Zadra, we extend the previous relation to the supersymmetric case. The minisuperspace approximation for the supersymmetric case is formulated, and the corresponding wave equation is found.
The two-dimensional manifestly locally supersymmetric actions describing the N=2 and N=4 extended super-Liouville theory coupled to the N=2 and N=4 conformal supergravity, respectively, are constructed in superspace. It is shown that the N=4 super-Liouville multiplet is described by the improved twisted-II scalar multiplet TM-II, whose kinetic terms are given by the SU(2)xU(1) WZNW model.
We present a new supersymmetric integrable model: the $N=2$ superconformal affine Liouville theory. It interpolates between the $N=2$ super Liouville and $N=2$ super sine-Gordon theories and possesses a Lax representation on the complex affine Kac-Moody superalgebra ${\hat {sl(2| 2)^{(1)}}}$. We show that the higher spin $W_{1+\infty}$-type symmetry algebra of ordinary conformal affine Liouville theory extends to a $N=2\; W_{1/2 + \infty}$-type superalgebra.
We show how by assuming at least 8 real timelike supersymmetries in the maximally supersymmetric three-dimensional ungauged supergravity and a further simplifying Ansatz, we are naturally led to a pair of Liouville field equations. We also show that there are no solutions that preserve only 6 real timelike supersymmetries. The solution relies on the classification of complex spinors of Spin(8) to which the problem quickly reduces.
Recently, a duality between Liouville theory and four dimensional N=2 gauge theory has been uncovered by some of the authors. We consider the role of extended objects in gauge theory, surface operators and line operators, under this correspondence. We map such objects to specific operators in Liouville theory. We employ this connection to compute the expectation value of general supersymmetric 't Hooft-Wilson line operators in a variety of N=2 gauge theories.
In this paper we describe algebraic and diagrammatic methods, related to the MHV generating function method, for evaluating and exposing the structure of supersymmetric sums over the states crossing generalized unitarity cuts of multi-loop amplitudes in four dimensions. We focus mainly on cuts of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills amplitudes. We provide various concrete examples, some of which are directly relevant for the calculation of four-loop amplitudes. Additionally, we discuss some cases with less than maximal supersymmetry. The results of these constructions carry over to generalized …
The spectrum of Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Quantum Mechanics (SYMQM) in D=4 dimensions for SU(2) gauge group is computed for a maximal number of bosonic quanta $B\le60$ in the two-fermion sector with the angular momentum $j=0$. We analyse the eigenfunctions of discrete and continuous spectra, test the scaling relation for the continuous spectrum and confirm the dispersion relation to high accuracy.
We study an integrable deformation of the super-Liouville theory which generates a RG flows to the critical Ising model as the IR fixed point. This model turns out to be a supersymmetric sinh-Gordon model with spontaneously broken N=1 supersymmetry. The resulting massless Goldstino is the only stable on-shell particle which controls the IR behaviours. We propose the exact $S$-matrix of the Goldstino and compare associated thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations with the quantization conditions derived from the reflection amplitudes of the the super-Liouville theory to provide nonperturbative chec…
It is shown that an alternative supersymmetric version of the Liouville equation extracted from D=3 Green-Schwarz superstring equations naturally arises as a super-Toda model obtained from a properly constrained supersymmetric WZNW theory based on the $sl(2, R)$ algebra. Hamiltonian reduction is performed by imposing a nonlinear superfield constraint which turns out to be a mixture of a first- and second-class constraint on supercurrent components. Supersymmetry of the model is realized nonlinearly and is spontaneously broken. The set of independent current fields which survive the Hamiltonian…
An attempt is given to formulate the extensions of the KP hierarchy by introducing fractional order pseudo-differential operators. In the case of the extension with the half-order pseudo-differential operators, a system analogous to the supersymmetric extensions of the KP hierarchy is obtained. Unlike the supersymmetric extensions, no Grassmannian variable appears in the hierarchy considered here. More general hierarchies constructed by the 1/N-th order pseudo-differential operators, their integrability and the reduction procedure are also investigated. In addition to finding out the new exten…
We further investigate, in the planar limit of N=4 supersymmetric Yang Mills theories,the high energy Regge behavior of six-point MHV scattering amplitudes. In particular, for the new Regge cut contribution found in our previous paper, we compute in the leading logarithmic approximation (LLA) the energy spectrum of the BFKL equation in the color octet channel, and we calculate explicitly the two loop corrections to the discontinuities of the amplitudes for the transitions 2 to 4 and 3 to 3. We find an explicit solution of the BFKL equation for the octet channel for arbitrary momentum transfers…
We study the supersymmetric kink with higher derivative and momentum cut-off regularization schemes. We introduce the new momentum cut-off regularization scheme which we call ``generalized momentum cut-off''. A new, explicit computation for the central charge anomaly for this scheme is described in detail. The calculation of the first order mass corrections for the bosonic and supersymmetric kink within the momentum cut-off is presented in hep-th/0010051, so that one can compare the one-loop central charge and mass computed independently within the same regularization setup. We confirm that th…
We study D-branes in the mirror pair N=2 Liouville / supersymmetric SL(2,R)/U(1) coset superconformal field theories. After revisiting the duality between the two models, we build D0, D1 and D2 branes, on the basis of the boundary state construction for the Euclidean AdS(3) conformal field theory. We also construct D0-branes in an orbifold that rotates the angular direction of the cigar. We show how the poles of correlators associated to localized states and bulk interactions naturally decouple in the one-point functions of localized and extended branes. We stress the role played in the analys…
We review our work on computations of the quantum corrections to the mass and the central charge of the susy kink. For the mass corrections, we find that the widely used momentum cut-off scheme gives an incorrect result, but we deduce through smoothing of the cut-off an extra term in the mass formula, which produces the correct result. We discover the importance of boundary effects for the mode number cut-off regularization scheme. We introduce the notion of delocalized boundary energy. We discuss two discrete $Z_2$ symmetries and their importance to the mode number approach. For the central c…
We review recent developments (up to January 2004) of the Liouville field theory and its matrix model dual. This review consists of three parts. In part I, we review the bosonic Liouville theory. After briefly reviewing the necessary background, we discuss the bulk structure constants (the DOZZ formula) and the boundary states (the FZZT brane and the ZZ brane). Various applications are also presented. In part II, we review the supersymmetric extension of the Liouville theory. We first discuss the bulk structure constants and the branes as in the bosonic Liouville theory, and then we present th…
We reanalyse the question whether the quantum Bogomolnyi bound is saturated in the two-dimensional supersymmetric kink and sine-Gordon models. Our starting point is the usual expression for the one-loop correction to the mass of a soliton in terms of sums over zero-point energies. To regulate these sums, most authors put the system in a box with suitable boundary conditions, and impose an ultraviolet cut-off. We distinguish between an energy cut-off and a mode number cut-off, and show that they lead to different results. We claim that only the mode cut-off yields correct results, and only if o…
In this letter we propose exact three-point correlation functions for N=1 supersymmetric Liouville theory. Along the lines of Zamolodchikov and Zamolodchikov paper (hep-th/9506136) we propose a generalized special function which describe the three-point amplitudes. We consider briefly the so called reflection amplitudes in the supersymmetric case.
We compute the even part of the two-loop seven-point planar MHV amplitude in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We find that the even part is expressed in terms of conformal integrals with simple rational coefficients. We also compute the even part of two all-n cuts. An important feature of the result is that no hexagon (or higher polygon) loops appear among the integrals detected by the cuts we computed. We also present a "leg addition rule," which allows us to express some integral coefficients in the n+1-point MHV amplitude in terms of the integral coefficients of the n-point MHV amplitu…
We work out the constraints imposed by SL(2C) invariance for sphere topology and modular invariance for torus topology, on the discretized form of Liouville action in Polyakov's non local covariant form. These are sufficient to completely fix the discretized action except for the overall normalization constant and a term which in the continuum limit goes over to a topological invariant. The treatment can be extended to the supersymmetric case.
A hermitian one-matrix model with an even quartic potential exhibits a third-order phase transition when the cuts of the matrix model curve coalesce. We use the known solutions of this matrix model to compute effective superpotentials of an N=1, SU(N) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory coupled to an adjoint superfield, following the techniques developed by Dijkgraaf and Vafa. These solutions automatically satisfy the quantum tracelessness condition and describe a breaking to SU(N/2) x SU(N/2) x U(1). We show that the value of the effective superpotential is smooth at the transition point, and th…
The new method of solving quantum mechanical problems is proposed. The finite, i.e. cut off, Hilbert space is algebraically implemented in the computer code with states represented by lists of variable length. Complete numerical solution of a given system is then automatically obtained. The technique is applied to Wess-Zumino quantum mechanics and D=2 and D=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills quantum mechanics with SU(2) gauge group. Convergence with increasing cut-off was observed in many cases, well within the reach of present machines. Many old results were confirmed and some new ones, especially f…
The Schrödinger equation is shown to be equivalent to a constrained Liouville equation under the assumption that phase space is extended to Grassmann algebra valued variables. For onedimensional systems, the underlying Hamiltonian dynamics has a N=2 supersymmetry. Potential applications to more realistic theories are briefly discussed.
We propose exact formulas for the 2- and 3-point functions of the WZNW model on the non-compact supergroup OSP(1|2). Using the path integral approach that was recently developed in arXiv:0706.1030 we show how local correlation functions in the OSP(p|2) WZNW models can be obtained from those of N=p supersymmetric Liouville field theory for p=1,2. We then employ known results on correlators in N=1 Liouville theory to determine the structure constants of the OSP(1|2) theory.
We present two results concerning the relation between poles and cuts by using the example of N=1 U(N_c) gauge theories with matter fields in the adjoint, fundamental and anti-fundamental representations. The first result is the on-shell possibility of poles, which are associated with flavors and on the second sheet of the Riemann surface, passing through the branch cut and getting to the first sheet. The second result is the generalization of hep-th/0311181 (Intriligator, Kraus, Ryzhov, Shigemori, and Vafa) to include flavors. We clarify when there are closed cuts and how to reproduce the res…
On the three-point functions in timelike N=1 Liouville CFT
School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study（高等研究院自然科学院）；Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, Institut de Physique Théorique（巴黎萨克雷大学、法国国家科学研究中心、法国原子能和替代能源委员会、理论物理研究所）
A quantum field theory is described which is a supersymmetric classical model. -- Supersymmetry generators of the system are used to split its Liouville operator into two contributions, with positive and negative spectrum, respectively. The unstable negative part is eliminated by a positivity constraint on physical states, which is invariant under the classical Hamiltonian flow. In this way, the classical Liouville equation becomes a functional Schroedinger equation of a genuine quantum field theory. Thus, 't Hooft's proposal to reconstruct quantum theory as emergent from an underlying determi…
We give a detailed critical discussion of the properties of Wilsonian effective actions, defined by integrating out all modes above a given scale $μ$. In particular, we provide a precise and relatively convenient prescription how to implement the infrared cutoff $μ$ in any loop integral that is manifestly Lorentz invariant and also preserves global linear symmetries such as e.g. supersymmetry. We discuss the issue of gauge invariance of effective actions in general and in particular when using background field gauge. Our prescription for the IR cutoff (as any such prescription) breaks the gaug…
We present an ansatz for the planar five-loop four-point amplitude in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in terms of loop integrals. This ansatz exploits the recently observed correspondence between integrals with simple conformal properties and those found in the four-point amplitudes of the theory through four loops. We explain how to identify all such integrals systematically. We make use of generalized unitarity in both four and D dimensions to determine the coefficients of each of these integrals in the amplitude. Maximal cuts, in which we cut all propagators of a given integral, …
Supersymmetric extensions of Hamilton-Jacobi separable Liouville mechanical systems with two degrees of freedom are defined. It is shown that supersymmetry can be implemented in this type of systems in two independent ways. The structure of the constants of motion is unveiled and the entanglement between integrability and supersymmetry is explored.
In this article we present the cut Fock space approach to the D=d+1=2, Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Quantum Mechanics (SYMQM). We start by briefly introducing the main features of the framework. We concentrate on those properties of the method which make it a convenient set up not only for numerical calculations but also for analytic computations. In the main part of the article a sample of results are discussed, namely, analytic and numerical analysis of the D=2, SYMQM systems with SU(2) and SU(3) gauge symmetry.
We study the superpotentials, quantum parameter space and phase transitions that arise in the study of large N dualities between $\mathcal{N}=1$ SUSY U(N) gauge theories and string models on local Calabi-Yau manifolds. The main tool of our analysis is a notion of spectral curve characterized by a set of complex partial 't Hooft parameters and cuts given by projections on the spectral curve of minimal supersymmetric cycles of the underlying Calabi-Yau manifold. In particular we show how prepotentials and superpotentials can be associated to spectral curves without relying on any holomorphic mat…
If low-energy supersymmetry is the solution to the hierarchy problem, it is a puzzle why supersymmetric particles have not been observed experimentally to date. We show that supersymmetric particles in the TeV region can be explained if the fundamental cut-off scale of the theory is smaller than the 4-dimensional Planck scale and if thermal leptogenesis is the source of the observed baryon asymmetry. The supersymmetric particles such as sfermions and gauginos are predicted to be in the TeV region, while the gravitino is the LSP with mass of O(100)GeV and is a good candidate for dark matter. In…
We study the instanton contributions of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory and propose that the instanton moduli space is mapped to the moduli space of punctured spheres. Due to the recursive structure of the boundary in the Deligne-Knudsen-Mumford stable compactification, this leads to a new recursion relation for the instanton coefficients, which is bilinear. Instanton contributions are expressed as integrals on M_{0,n} in the framework of the Liouville F-models. This also suggests considering instanton contributions as a kind of Hurwitz numbers and also provides a prediction on the asymptotic …
The two-loop Euler-Heisenberg-type effective action for N = 1 supersymmetric QED is computed within the background field approach. The background vector multiplet is chosen to obey the constraints D_\a W_\b = D_{(\a} W_{\b)} = const, but is otherwise completely arbitrary. Technically, this calculation proves to be much more laborious as compared with that carried out in hep-th/0308136 for N = 2 supersymmetric QED, due to a lesser amount of supersymmetry. Similarly to Ritus' analysis for spinor and scalar QED, the two-loop renormalisation is carried out using proper-time cut-off regularisation.…
In this thesis generalizations of matrix and eigenvalue models involving supersymmetry are discussed. Following a brief review of the Hermitian one matrix model, the c=-2 matrix model is considered. Built from a matrix valued superfield this model displays supersymmetry on the matrix level. We stress the emergence of a Nicolai-map of this model to a free Hermitian matrix model and study its diagrammatic expansion in detail. Correlation functions for quartic potentials on arbitrary genus are computed, reproducing the string susceptibility of c=-2 Liouville theory in the scaling limit. The resul…
Using unitarity methods, we compute, for several massive two-dimensional models, the cut-constructible part of the one-loop 2->2 scattering S-matrices from the tree-level amplitudes. We apply our method to various integrable theories, finding evidence that for supersymmetric models the one-loop S-matrix is cut-constructible, while for models without supersymmetry (but with integrability) the missing rational terms are proportional to the tree-level S-matrix and therefore can be interpreted as a shift in the coupling. Finally, applying our procedure to the world-sheet theory for the light-cone …
It was recently shown that non-Abelian vortex strings supported in a version of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) become critical superstrings. In addition to four translational moduli, non-Abelian strings under consideration have six orientational and size moduli. Together they form a ten-dimensional target space required for a superstring to be critical, namely, the product of the flat four-dimensional space and conifold -- a non-compact Calabi-Yau threefold. In this paper we report on further studies of low-lying closed string states which emerge in four dimensions and identify…
We present two types of obstacles for constructing de Sitter space in supersymmetric theories that appear as effective theories of quantum gravity. The first obstacle concerns de Sitter critical points in extended supergravity with charged massless gravitini. We show that all such critical points have a Hubble scale of the same order or above the UV cutoff dictated by the magnetic Weak Gravity Conjecture. The second obstacle concerns the dynamics of the goldstino in models with non-linearly realized supersymmetry, such as string models involving anti-branes. We show, using an exact renormaliza…
Two different kinds of interactions between a ${Z}_{n}$-parafermionic and a Liouville field theory are considered. For generic values of $n$, the effective central charges describing the UV behavior of both models are calculated in the Neveu-Schwarz sector. For $n=2$ exact vacuum expectation values of primary fields of the Liouville field theory, as well as the first descendent fields are proposed. For $n=1$, known results for Sinh-Gordon and Bullough-Dodd models are recovered whereas for $n=2$, exact results for these two integrable coupled Ising-Liouville models are shown to exchange under a…
We investigate the underlying quantum group symmetry of 2d Liouville and dilaton gravity models, both consolidating known results and extending them to the cases with $\mathcal{N} = 1$ supersymmetry. We first calculate the mixed parabolic representation matrix element (or Whittaker function) of $\text{U}_q(\mathfrak{sl}(2, \mathbb{R}))$ and review its applications to Liouville gravity. We then derive the corresponding matrix element for $\text{U}_q(\mathfrak{osp}(1|2, \mathbb{R}))$ and apply it to explain structural features of $\mathcal{N} = 1$ Liouville supergravity. We show that this matrix…
We construct a new class of exact and stable superstring solutions based on $N=4$ superconformal world-sheet symmetry. In a subclass of these, the full spectrum of string excitations is derived in a modular-invariant way. In the weak curvature limit, our solutions describe a target space with non-trivial metric and topology, and generalize the previously known (semi) wormhole. The effective field theory limit is identified in certain cases, with solutions of the $N=4$ and $N=8$ extended gauged supergravities, in which the number of space-time supersymmetries is reduced by a factor of 2 because…
Alday, Gaiotto, and Tachikawa conjectured relations between certain 4d N=2 supersymmetric field theories and 2d Liouville conformal field theory. We study generalizations of these relations to 4d theories with surface operators. For one type of surface operators the corresponding 2d theory is the WZW model, and for another type - the Liouville theory with insertions of extra degenerate fields. We show that these two 4d theories with surface operators exhibit an IR duality, which reflects the known relation (the so-called separation of variables) between the conformal blocks of the WZW model an…
