We analyze instantons in the very strongly coupled large-$N$ limit ($N\to\infty$ with $g^2$ fixed) of large-$N$ gauge theories, where the effect of the instantons remains finite. By using the exact partition function of four-dimensional ${\cal N}=2^*$ gauge theories as a concrete example, we demonstrate that each instanton sector in the very strongly coupled large-$N$ limit is related to the one in the 't Hooft limit ($N\to\infty$ with $g^2N$ fixed) through a simple analytic continuation. Furthermore we show the equivalence between the instanton partition functions of a pair of large-$N$ gauge theories related by an orbifold projection. This can open up a new way to analyze the partition functions of low/non-supersymmetric theories. We also discuss implication of our result to gauge/gravity dualities for M-theory as well as a possible application to large-$N$ QCD.
This is the 13th article in the collection of reviews "Exact results in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories", ed. J. Teschner. It discusses the relation between the instanton partition functions and the partition function of the topological string from the perspective of the B-model. The instanton partition functions provide solutions to the holomorphic anomaly equations characterising the partition functions of the topological string.
We analyze intersecting surface defects inserted in interacting four-dimensional N = 2 supersymmetric quantum field theories. We employ the realization of a class of such systems as the infrared fixed points of renormalization group flows from larger theories, triggered by perturbed Seiberg-Witten monopole-like configurations, to compute their partition functions. These results are cast into the form of a partition function of 4d/2d/0d coupled systems. Our computations provide concrete expressions for the instanton partition function in the presence of intersecting defects and we study the cor…
We review recent progress in determining the partition function of the ABJM theory in the large N expansion, including all of the perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. Especially, we will focus on how these exact expansions are obtained from various beautiful relations to Fermi gas system, topological string theory, integrable model and supergroup.
We introduce and study tetrahedron instantons, which can be realized in string theory by D$1$-branes probing a configuration of intersecting D$7$-branes in flat spacetime with a proper constant $B$-field. Physically they capture instantons on $\mathbb{C}^{3}$ in the presence of the most general intersecting real codimension-two supersymmetric defects. Moreover, we construct the tetrahedron instantons as particular solutions of general instanton equations in noncommutative field theory. We analyze the moduli space of tetrahedron instantons and discuss the geometric interpretations. We compute t…
We consider certain line defect operators in five-dimensional SUSY gauge theories, whose interaction with the self-dual instantons is described by 1d ADHM-like gauged quantum mechanics constructed by Tong and Wong. The partition function in the presence of these operators is known to be a generating function of BPS Wilson loops in skew symmetric tensor representations of the gauge group. We calculate the partition function and explicitly prove that it is a finite polynomial of the defect mass parameter $x$, which is an essential property of the defect operator and the Wilson loop generating fu…
We study the stringy instanton partition function of four dimensional ${\cal N}=2$ $U(N)$ supersymmetric gauge theory which was obtained by Bonelli et al in 2013. In type IIB string theory on $\mathbb{C}^2\times T^*\mathbb{P}^1\times \mathbb{C}$, the stringy $U(N)$ instantons of charge $k$ are described by $k$ D1-branes wrapping around the $\mathbb{P}^1$ bound to $N$ D5-branes on $\mathbb{C}^2\times \mathbb{P}^1$. The KK corrections induced by compactification of the $\mathbb{P}^1$ give the stringy corrections. We find a relation between the stringy instanton partition function whose quantum s…
We discuss a class of Little String Theories (LSTs) whose low energy descriptions are supersymmetric gauge theories on the $Ω$-background with gauge group $U(N)$ and matter in the adjoint representation. We show that the instanton partition function of these theories can be written in terms of Kronecker-Eisenstein series, which in a particular limit of the deformation parameters of the $Ω$-background organise themselves into Greens functions of free scalar fields on a torus. We provide a concrete identification between (differences of) such propagators and Nekrasov subfunctions. The latter are…
Building on our previous work [2109.01110], we will compute a new kind of $G_2$ instanton partition function. By doing so, we complete a set of building blocks of the instanton partition function associated with a large class of $G_2$ manifolds.
We compute the instanton partition functions of $\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs in class $\mathcal{S}_k$. We obtain this result via orbifolding Dp/D(p-4) brane systems and calculating the partition function of the supersymmetric gauge theory on the worldvolume of $K$ D(p-4) branes. Starting with D5/D1 setups probing a $\mathbb{Z}_\ell\times \mathbb{Z}_k$ orbifold singularity we obtain the $K$ instanton partition functions of 6d $(1,0)$ theories on $\mathbb{R}^4 \times T^2$ in the presence of orbifold defects on $T^2$ via computing the 2d superconformal index of the worldvolume theory on $K$ D1 branes wr…
We propose a set of novel expansions of Nekrasov's instanton partition functions. Focusing on 5d supersymmetric pure Yang-Mills theory with unitary gauge group on $\mathbb{C}^2_{q,t^{-1}} \times \mathbb{S}^1$, we show that the instanton partition function admits expansions in terms of partition functions of unitary gauge theories living on the 3d subspaces $\mathbb{C}_{q} \times \mathbb{S}^1$, $\mathbb{C}_{t^{-1}} \times \mathbb{S}^1$ and their intersection along $\mathbb{S}^1$. These new expansions are natural from the BPS/CFT viewpoint, as they can be matched with $W_{q,t}$ correlators invol…
We derive the exact vortex partition function in 2d $\mathcal{N}$ = (2,2) gauge theory on the Omega-background, applying the localization scheme in the Higgs phase. We show that the partition function at a finite Omega-deformation parameter $ε$ satisfies a system of differential equations, which can be interpreted as a quantized version of the twisted F-term equations characterizing the SUSY vacua. Using the differential equations derived in this paper, we show the correspondence between the partition function of the two-dimensional vortex string worldsheet theory and the Nekrasov partition fu…
We study the superconformal index of five-dimensional SCFTs and the sphere partition function of four-dimensional gauge theories with eight supercharges in the presence of co-dimension two half-BPS defects. We derive a prescription which is valid for defects which can be given a "vortex construction", i.e. can be defined by RG flow from vortex configurations in a larger theory. We test the prescription against known results and expected dualities. We employ our prescription to develop a general computational strategy for defects defined by coupling the bulk degrees of freedom to a Gauged Linea…
We study the super instanton solution in the gauge theory with U$(n_{+}| n_{-})$ gauge group. Based on the ADHM construction generalized to the supergroup theory, we derive the instanton partition function from the super instanton moduli space through the equivariant localization. We derive the Seiberg-Witten geometry and its quantization for the supergroup gauge theory from the instanton partition function, and study the connection with classical and quantum integrable systems. We also argue the brane realization of the supergroup quiver gauge theory, and possible connection to the non-superg…
We study the partition function of the orientifold ABJM theory, which is a superconformal Chern-Simons theory associated with the orthosymplectic supergroup. We find that the partition function associated with any orthosymplectic supergroup can be realized as the partition function of a Fermi gas system whose density matrix is identical to that associated with the corresponding unitary supergroup with a projection to the even or odd chirality. Furthermore we propose an identity which gives directly all of the Gopakumar-Vafa invariants for the worldsheet instanton effects in the chirally projec…
We analyze the coefficients of partition functions of Vafa-Witten theory for the complex projective plane $\mathbb{CP}^2$. We experimentally study the growth of the coefficients for gauge group $SU(2)$ and $SU(3)$, which are examples of mock modular forms of depth $1$ and 2 respectively. We also introduce the notion of ``mock cusp form'', and study an example of weight 3 related to the $SU(3)$ partition function. Numerical experiments on the first 200 coefficients suggest that the coefficients of a mock modular form of weight $k$ grow as the coefficients of a modular form of weight $k$, that i…
本文对D1-D5膜系统的规范线性西格玛模型在一个解析的A_1奇点上进行了精确计算。这是通过超对称局部化爆破的两个球。我们证明了在C^2/Z_2的吹落极限下，配分函数约化为Nekrasov配分函数来计算瞬子模空间的等变体积.对于有限的半径，我们得到了一个世界片瞬子修正塔，我们确定与ADHM模空间的等变Gromov-Witten不变量。我们表明，这些修正可以编码在变形的Seiberg-Witten prepotential。从数学的观点来看，所研究的D1-D5系统表现出双重性质：D1-膜的观点捕获了Givental形式主义中ADHM瞬子模空间的等变量子上同调，而D5-膜的观点与P^1 x C^2的高阶等变Donaldson-Thomas不变量有关。
Automorphic Instanton Partition Functions on Calabi-Yau Threefolds
我们综述了关于紧致卡-丘三重空间X上IIA/B型弦论中的超多重态模空间M，或者等价地，X x S ^1上IIB/A型向量多重态模空间的量子修正的最新结果。我们的主要重点在于问题的图形化的无限系列的D-膜和NS 5-膜瞬子，使用自守形式的数学机器。我们回顾的建议，只要在D=3的低能理论表现出算术的“U对偶”对称G（Z）的总瞬子配分函数产生的某个酉自守表示的G，其傅立叶系数再现的BPS退化。对于D=4，N=2的R^3 × S^1上的理论，我们论证了相关的自守表示落在G的四元数离散级数中，并且配分函数可以实现为M上扭量空间Z上的全纯截面。本文还对与N=2壁面相交公式的密切关系作了一些评论。
The Gauge/Bethe correspondence relates Omega-deformed N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories to some quantum integrable models, in simple cases the integrable models can be treated as solvable quantum mechanics models. For SU(2) gauge theory with an adjoint matter, or with 4 fundamental matters, the potential of corresponding quantum model is the elliptic function. If the mass of matter takes special value then the potential is an elliptic solution of KdV hierarchy. We show that the deformed prepotential of gauge theory can be obtained from the average densities of conserved charges of the classica…
We propose a new prescription for computing the Nekrasov partition functions of five-dimensional theories with eight supercharges realized by gauging non-perturbative flavor symmetries of three five-dimensional superconformal field theories. The topological vertex formalism gives a way to compute the partition functions of the matter theories with flavor instanton backgrounds, and the gauging is achieved by summing over Young diagrams. We apply the prescription to calculate the Nekrasov partition functions of various five-dimensional gauge theories such as $\mathrm{SO}(2N)$ gauge theories with…
We generalize Nakajima-Yoshioka blowup equations to arbitrary gauge group with hypermultiplets in arbitrary representations. Using our blowup equations, we compute the instanton partition functions for 4d N=2 and 5d N=1 gauge theories for arbitrary gauge theory with a large class of matter representations, without knowing explicit construction of the instanton moduli space. Our examples include exceptional gauge theories with fundamentals, SO(N) gauge theories with spinors, and SU(6) gauge theories with rank-3 antisymmetric hypers. Remarkably, the instanton partition function is completely det…
We consider the partition function for Euclidean $SU(N)$ super Yang-Mills on a squashed seven-sphere. We show that the localization locus of the partition function has instanton membrane solutions wrapping the six "fixed" three-spheres on the $\mathbb{S}^7$. The ADHM variables of these instantons are fields living on the membrane world volume. We compute their contribution by localizing the resulting three-dimensional supersymmetric field theory. In the round-sphere limit the individual instanton contributions are singular, but the singularities cancel when adding the contributions of all six …
We study the emergence of de Sitter space in Euclidean dynamical triangulations (EDT). Working within the semi-classical approximation, it is possible to relate the lattice parameters entering the simulations to the partition function of Euclidean quantum gravity. We verify that the EDT geometries behave semi-classically, and by making contact with the Hawking-Moss instanton solution for the Euclidean partition function, we show how to extract a value of the renormalized Newton's constant from the simulations. This value is consistent with that of our previous determination coming from the int…
We compute the normalization of the general multi-instanton contribution to the partition function of $(p',p)$ minimal string theory and also to the dual two-matrix integral. We find perfect agreement between the two results.
In arXiv:0908.4052, Nekrasov and Shatashvili pointed out that the N=2 instanton partition function in a special limit of the Omega-deformation parameters is characterized by certain thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) like equations. In this work we present an explicit derivation of this fact as well as generalizations to quiver gauge theories. To do so we combine various techniques like the iterated Mayer expansion, the method of expansion by regions, and the path integral tricks for non-perturbative summation. The TBA equations derived entirely within gauge theory have been proposed to encode t…
We refine a previous proposal for obtaining the multi-instanton partition function from the supersymmetric index of the 1d supersymmetric gauge theory on the worldline of D0-branes. We provide examples where the refinements are crucial for obtaining the correct result.
