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 Gaiotto-Witten theories, BLG, and their variants.
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 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 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 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 compute the $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal blocks from the networks of open Wilson lines in the $\text{osp}(1|2)$ Chern-Simons theory in the expansion of large central charge $c$. We first reproduce the $1/c$ correction of conformal weight from an open Wilson line by adopting the regularization prescription developed in our previous works. We then obtain the closed form expressions of superconformal blocks including $1/c$ corrections, which were not available before. We also examine heavy operators corresponding to supersymmetric conical spaces, and the geometry is quantized by utilizing th…
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 complete the program of 2012.15792 about perturbative approaches for $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal quiver theories in four dimensions. We consider several classes of observables in presence of Wilson loops, and we evaluate them with the help of supersymmetric localization. We compute Wilson loop vacuum expectation values, correlators of multiple coincident Wilson loops and one-point functions of chiral operators in presence of them acting as superconformal defects. We extend this analysis to the most general case considering chiral operators and multiple Wilson loops scattered in all the p…
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 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 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 study operator insertions into 1/2 BPS Wilson loops in N = 6 ABJM theory and investigate their two-point correlators. In this framework, the energy emitted by a heavy moving probe can be exactly obtained from some two-point coefficients of bosonic and fermionic insertions. This allows us to confirm an early proposal for computing the Bremsstrahlung function in terms of certain supersymmetric circular Wilson loops, whose value might be accessible to localization techniques. In the derivation of this result we also elucidate the structure of protected multiplets in the relevant superconformal…
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 find a general formula for the operator mixing on the $\mathbb{S}^4$ of chiral primary operators (CPO) for the ${\cal N}=4$ theory at large $N$ in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. As an application, we compute the correlator of a CPO and a Wilson loop, reproducing an earlier result by Giombi and Pestun obtained from a two-matrix model proposal. Finally, we discuss a simple method to obtain correlators in general ${\cal N}=2$ superconformal field theories in perturbation theory in terms of correlators of the ${\cal N}=4$ theory.
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 construct for the first time Drukker-Trancanelli (DT) type fermionic Bogomolnyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Wilson loops in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal $SU(N)\times SU(N)$ quiver theory and $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. The connections of these fermionic BPS Wilson loops have a supermatrix structure. We construct timelike BPS Wilson lines in Minkowski spacetime and circular BPS Wilson loops in Euclidean space. These Wilson loops involve dimensionful parameters. For generic values of parameters, they preserve one real (complex) supercharge in Lorentzian (Euclidean…
We present a three-loop O(g^6) calculation of the difference between the expectation values of Wilson loops evaluated in N=4 and superconformal N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group SU(N) using dimensional reduction. We find a massive reduction of required Feynman diagrams, leaving only certain two-matter-loop corrections to the gauge field and associated scalar propagator. This "diagrammatic difference" leaves a finite result proportional to the bare propagators and allows the recovery of the zeta(3) term coming from the matrix model for the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop in the…
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…
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 $U(2N)\times U(2N)$…
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…
We show that tree level superstring theories on certain supersymmetric backgrounds admit a symmetry which we call ``fermionic T-duality''. This is a non-local redefinition of the fermionic worldsheet fields similar to the redefinition we perform on bosonic variables when we do an ordinary T-duality. This duality maps a supersymmetric background to another supersymmetric background with different RR fields and a different dilaton. We show that a certain combination of bosonic and fermionic T-dualities maps the full superstring theory on $AdS_5 \times S^5$ back to itself in such a way that gluon…
Scattering amplitudes in three-dimensional N=6 Chern-Simons theory are shown to be non-invariant with respect to the free representation of the osp(6|4) symmetry generators. At tree and one-loop level these "anomalous" terms occur only for non-generic, singular configurations of the external momenta and can be used to determine the form of the amplitudes. In particular we show that the symmetries predict that the one-loop six-point amplitude is non-vanishing and confirm this by means of an explicit calculation using generalized unitarity methods. We comment on the implications of this finding …
Dual conformal symmetry and Yangian symmetry are symmetries of amplitudes that have aided the study of scattering amplitudes in highly supersymmetric theories like ${\cal N}=4$ SYM and ABJM. However, in general such symmetries are absent from the theories with lesser or no supersymmetry. In this paper, we show that the tree level $2\to 2$ scattering amplitude in the 3d ${\cal N}=2$ Chern-Simons theory coupled to a fundamental chiral multiplet is dual superconformal invariant. In the 't Hooft large $N$ limit, the $2\to 2$ scattering amplitude in this theory has been shown to be tree-level exact…
