We construct isometric and conformally isometric embeddings of some gravitational instantons in $\mathbb{R}^8$ and $\mathbb{R}^7$. In particular we show that the embedding class of the Einstein--Maxwell instanton due to Burns is equal to $3$. For $\mathbb{CP}^2$, Eguchi--Hanson and anti-self-dual Taub-NUT we obtain upper and lower bounds on the embedding class.
We compute the exact effective string vacuum backgrounds of the level $k = 81/19 SU(2,1)/U(1)$ coset model. A compact SU(2) isometry present in this seven dimensional solution allows to interpreting it after compactification as a four dimensional non-abelian SU(2) charged instanton with a singular submanifold and an $SO(3) \times U(1)$ isometry. The semiclassical backgrounds, solutions of the type II strings, present similar characteristics.
We find necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of a locally isometric embedding of a vacuum space-time into a conformally-flat 5-space. We explicitly construct such embeddings for any spherically symmetric Lorentzian metric in $3+1$ dimensions as a hypersurface in $R^{4, 1}$. For the Schwarzschild metric the embedding is global, and extends through the horizon all the way to the $r=0$ singularity. We discuss the asymptotic properties of the embedding in the context of Penrose's theorem on Schwarzschild causality. We finally show that the Hawking temperature of the Schwarzschild metr…
We study the integrability of the conformal geodesic flow (also known as the conformal circle flow) on the $SO(3)$--invariant gravitational instantons. On a hyper--Kähler four--manifold the conformal geodesic equations reduce to geodesic equations of a charged particle moving in a constant self--dual magnetic field. In the case of the anti--self--dual Taub NUT instanton we integrate these equations completely by separating the Hamilton--Jacobi equations, and finding a commuting set of first integrals. This gives the first example of an integrable conformal geodesic flow on a four--manifold whi…
We show that a scalar field conformally coupled to AdS gravity in four dimensions with a quartic self-interaction can be embedded into M-theory. The holographic effective potential is exactly calculated, allowing us to study non-perturbatively the stability of AdS_4 in the presence of the conformally coupled scalar. It is shown that there exists a one-parameter family of conformal scalar boundary conditions for which the boundary theory has an unstable vacuum. In this case, the bulk theory has instanton solutions that mediate the decay of the AdS_4 space. These results match nicely with the va…
The conformal symmetry on the instanton moduli space is discussed using the ADHM construction, where a viewpoint of "homogeneous coordinates" for both the spacetime and the moduli space turns out to be useful. It is shown that the conformal algebra closes only up to global gauge transformations, which generalizes the earlier discussion by Jackiw et al. An interesting 5-dimensional interpretation of the SU(2) single-instanton is also mentioned.
We study non-Einstein Bach-flat gravitational instanton solutions that can be regarded as the generalization of the Taub-NUT/Bolt and Eguchi-Hanson solutions of Einstein gravity to conformal gravity. These solutions include non-Einstein spaces which are either asymptotically locally flat spacetimes (ALF) or asymptotically locally Anti-de Sitter (AlAdS). Nevertheless, solutions with different asymptotic conditions exist: we find geometries that present a weakened AlAdS asymptotia, exhibiting the typical low decaying mode of conformal gravity. This permits to identify the simple Neumann boundary…
In terms of spin-charge separated variables, the Minkowski space Yang-Mills BPST instanton describes a locally conformally flat doubly-wrapped cigar manifold that can be viewed as a Euclidean quantum black hole. An ensemble of instantons then corresponds to a ``spacetime foam'' that creates a locally conformally flat spacetime from ``nothing'' as a quantum fluctuation.
A conformal field theory on the boundary of three-dimensional asymptotic anti-de Sitter spaces which appear as near horizon geometry of D-brane bound states is discussed. It is shown that partition functions of gravitational instantons appear as high and low temperature limits of the partition function of the conformal field theory. The result reproduces phase transition between the anti-de Sitter space and the BTZ black hole in the bulk gravity.
We study a subsector of the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence where a class of solutions in the bulk and on the boundary can be explicitly compared. The bulk gravitational theory contains a conformally coupled scalar field with a Phi^4 potential, and is holographically related to a massless scalar with a Phi^6 interaction in three dimensions. We consider the scalar sector of the bulk theory and match bulk and boundary classical solutions of the equations of motion. Of particular interest is the matching of the bulk and the boundary instanton solutions which underlies the relationship between bulk and…
We provide evidence that the conformal blocks of N=1 super Liouville conformal field theory are described in terms of the SU(2) Nekrasov partition function on the ALE space O_{P^1}(-2).
D-instanton calculus has proved to be able to probe the AdS near horizon geometry for $N$ D-branes systems which, when decoupled from gravity, yield four dimensional superconformal gauge theories with various matter content. In this work we extend previous analysis to encompass fractional brane models which give rise to non conformal N=2 Super Yang-Mills theories. Via D-instanton calculus we study the geometry of such models for finite $N$ and recover the $β$ function of the gauge coupling constants which is expected in non conformal gauge theories. We also give a topological matrix theory for…
In this paper we explicitly obtain the leading corrections to the SU(N) N=2 prepotential due to stringy instantons both in flat space-time and in the presence of a non-trivial graviphoton background field. We show that the stringy corrections to the prepotential are expressible in terms of the elementary symmetric polynomials. For N>2 the theory is not conformal; we discuss the introduction of an explicit dependence on the string scale α' in the low-energy effective action through the stringy non-perturbative sector.
We present novel regular Euclidean solutions to General Relativity in presence of Maxwell and conformally coupled scalar fields. In particular, we consider metrics of the Eguchi-Hanson and Taub-NUT families to solve the field equations analytically. The solutions have nontrivial topology labeled by the Hirzebruch signature and Euler characteristic that we compute explicitly. We find that, although the solutions are locally inequivalent with the original (anti-)self-dual Eguchi-Hanson metric, their asymptotically locally Euclidean limit leads to the same global properties. We revisit the Taub-N…
We revisit the computation of instanton effects to various correlation functions in ${\cal N}=4$ SYM and clarify a controversy existing in the literature regarding their consistency with the OPE and conformal symmetry. To check these properties, we examine the conformal partial wave decomposition of four-point correlators involving combinations of half-BPS and Konishi operators and isolate the contribution from the conformal primary scalar operators of twist four. We demonstrate that the leading instanton correction to this contribution is indeed consistent with conformal symmetry and compute …
We construct a five-parameter family of gauge-nonequivalent SU(2) instantons on a noncommutative four sphere $S_θ^4$ and of topological charge equal to -1. These instantons are critical points of a gauge functional and satisfy self-duality equations with respect to a Hodge star operator on forms on $S_θ^4$. They are obtained by acting with a twisted conformal symmetry on a basic instanton canonically associated with a noncommutative instanton bundle on the sphere. A completeness argument for this family is obtained by means of index theorems. The dimension of the ``tangent space'' to the modul…
We reformulate self-dual supersymmetric theories directly in conformal chiral superspace, where superconformal invariance is manifest. The superspace can be interpreted as the generalization of the usual Atiyah-Drinfel'd-Hitchin-Manin twistors (the quaternionic projective line), the real projective light-cone in six dimensions, or harmonic superspace, but can be reduced immediately to four-dimensional chiral superspace. As an example, we give the 't Hooft and ADHM multi-instanton constructions for self-dual super Yang-Mills theory. In both cases, all the parameters are represented as a single,…
The singularity present in cosmological instantons of the Hawking-Turok type is resolved by a conformal transformation, where the conformal factor has a linear zero of codimension one. We show that if the underlying regular manifold is taken to have the topology of $RP^4$, and the conformal factor is taken to be a twisted field so that the zero is enforced, then one obtains a one-parameter family of solutions of the classical field equations, where the minimal action solution has the conformal zero located on a minimal volume noncontractible $RP^3$ submanifold. For instantons with two singular…
In a recent paper [J. P. M. Pitelli, Phys. Rev. D {\bf 99}, 108701 (2019)], one of us showed that the vacuum state associated to conformal fields on a Poicaré patch of anti-de Sitter spacetime is not $\text{AdS}$ invariant for fields satisfying non-trivial boundary conditions (by non-trivial we mean neither Dirichlet nor Neumann) at the conformal boundary. In this way, two isometrically related observers in anti-de Sitter space have different notions of no particle content. Therefore, an observer who is suddenly transported to a different (but isometrically related) frame will feel a bath of p…
A class of two-dimensional topological conformal field theories (TCFTs) is studied within the framework of gauged WZW models in order to gain some insights on the global geometrical nature of TCFTs. The BRST quantizations of topological G/H gauged WZW models (the twisted versions of SUSY gauged WZW models) are given under fixed back-ground gauge fields. The BRST-cohomology of the system is investigated and the correlation functions among these physical observables are considered under the instanton back-grounds. As a consequence, two-dimensional BF gauge theoretical aspects of TCFTs are reveal…
This work presents a classification of all smooth 't Hooft-Jackiw-Nohl-Rebbi instantons over Gibbons-Hawking spaces. That is, we find all smooth SU(2) Yang-Mills instantons over these spaces which arise by conformal rescalings of the metric with suitable functions. Since the Gibbons-Hawking spaces are hyper-Kahler gravitational instantons, the rescaling functions must be positive harmonic. By using twistor methods we present integral formulae for the kernel of the Laplacian associated to these spaces. These integrals are generalizations of the classical Whittaker-Watson formula. By the aid of …
We study conformal field theory with the symmetry algebra $\mathcal{A}(2,p)=\hat{\mathfrak{gl}}(n)_{2}/\hat{\mathfrak{gl}}(n-p)_2$. In order to support the conjecture that this algebra acts on the moduli space of instantons on $\mathbb{C}^{2}/\mathbb{Z}_{p}$, we calculate the characters of its representations and check their coincidence with the generating functions of the fixed points of the moduli space of instantons. We show that the algebra $\mathcal{A}(2,p)$ can be realized in two ways. The first realization is connected with the cross-product of $p$ Virasoro and $p$ Heisenberg algebras: …
We study the extended prepotentials for the S-duality class of quiver gauge theories, considering them as quasiclassical tau-functions, depending on gauge theory condensates and bare couplings. The residue formulas for the third derivatives of extended prepotentials are proven, which lead to effective way of their computation, as expansion in the weak-coupling regime. We discuss also the differential equations, following from the residue formulas, including the WDVV equations, proven to be valid for the $SU(2)$ quiver gauge theories. As a particular example we consider the constrained conforma…
We consider the problem of computing (irregular) conformal blocks in 2d CFTs whose chiral symmetry algebra is the N=2 superconformal algebra. Our construction uses two ingredients: (i) the relation between the representation theories of the N=2 superconformal algebra and the affine sl(2) algebra, extended to the level of the conformal blocks, and (ii) the relation between affine sl(2) conformal blocks and instanton partition functions in the 4d N=2 SU(2) gauge theory with a surface defect. By combining these two facts we derive combinatorial expressions for the N=2 superconformal blocks in the…
We analyze the behavior of the heterotic string near an A-D-E singularity without small instantons. This problem is governed by a strongly coupled worldsheet conformal field theory, which, by a combination of O(alpha') corrections and worldsheet instantons, smooths out the singularities present in the classical geometry.
Generalizations of the AGT correspondence between 4D $\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(2)$ supersymmetric gauge theory on ${\mathbb {C}}^2$ with $Ω$-deformation and 2D Liouville conformal field theory include a correspondence between 4D $\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)$ supersymmetric gauge theories, $N = 2, 3, \ldots$, on ${\mathbb {C}}^2/{\mathbb {Z}}_n$, $n = 2, 3, \ldots$, with $Ω$-deformation and 2D conformal field theories with $\mathcal{W}^{\, para}_{N, n}$ ($n$-th parafermion $\mathcal{W}_N$) symmetry and $\widehat{\mathfrak{sl}}(n)_N$ symmetry. In this work, we trivialize the factor with $\mathcal{W}^{\, par…
The conjecture about the correspondence between instanton partition functions in the N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills theory and conformal blocks of two-dimensional conformal field theories is extended to the case of the N=1 supersymmetric conformal blocks. We find that the necessary modification of the moduli space of instantons requires additional restriction of Z(2)-symmetry. This leads to an explicit form of the N=1 superconformal blocks in terms of Young diagrams with two sorts of cells.
Recently proposed relation between conformal field theories in two dimensions and supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions predicts the existence of the distinguished basis in the space of local fields in CFT. This basis has a number of remarkable properties, one of them is the complete factorization of the coefficients of the operator product expansion. We consider a particular case of the U(r) gauge theory on C^2/Z_p which corresponds to a certain coset conformal field theory and describe the properties of this basis. We argue that in the case p=2, r=2 there exist different bases. We…
In this work we study the dimensional reduction of smooth circle invariant Yang-Mills instantons defined on 4-manifolds which are non-trivial circle fibrations over hyperbolic 3-space. A suitable choice of the 4-manifold metric within a specific conformal class gives rise to singular and smooth hyperbolic monopoles. A large class of monopoles is obtained if the conformal factor satisfies the Helmholtz equation on hyperbolic 3-space. We describe simple configurations and relate our results to the JNR construction, for which we provide a geometric interpretation.
In this paper we construct the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of N=4 supersymmetric systems describing the motion of an isospin particle on a conformally flat four-manifold with SO(4) isometry carrying the non-Abelian field of a BPST instanton. The conformal factor can be specified to yield various particular systems, such as superconformally invariant mechanics as well as a particle on the four-sphere, the pseudosphere or on R x S^3. The isospin degrees of freedom arise as bosonic components of an additional fermionic N=4 supermultiplet, whose other components are rendered auxiliary …
A surprising connection between N=2 gauge theory instanton partition functions and conformal blocks has been recently proposed. We illustrate through simple examples the generalization to asymptotically free N=2 gauge theories
The AGT relations allow one to convert the Zamolodchikov asymptotic formula for the conformal block into the instanton expansion of the Seiberg-Witten prepotential for theory with two colors and four fundamental flavors. This provides an explicit formula for the instanton corrections in this model, resolving in this way an old problem in Seiberg-Witten theory. The answer is especially elegant for vanishing matter masses, then the bare charge of gauge theory 16q_0 = 16e^{iπτ_0} plays the role of a branch point on the spectral torus. The exact prepotential at this point is F a^2\log q with q\neq…
We study Nekrasov's instanton partition function of four-dimensional N=2 gauge theories in the presence of surface operators. This can be computed order by order in the instanton expansion by using results available in the mathematical literature. Focusing in the case of SU(2) quiver gauge theories, we find that the results agree with a modified version of the conformal blocks of affine SL(2) Lie algebra. These conformal blocks provide, in the critical limit, the eigenfunctions of the corresponding quantized Hitchin Hamiltonians.
We combine supersymmetric localization and the conformal bootstrap to study five-dimensional superconformal field theories. To begin, we classify the admissible counter-terms and derive a general relation between the five-sphere partition function and the conformal and flavor central charges. Along the way, we discover a new superconformal anomaly in five dimensions. We then propose a precise triple factorization formula for the five-sphere partition function, that incorporates instantons and is consistent with flavor symmetry enhancement. We numerically evaluate the central charges for the ra…
We study the 4d/2d AGT correspondence between four-dimensional instanton counting and two-dimensional conformal blocks for generalized SU(2) quiver gauge theories coming from punctured Gaiotto curves of arbitrary genus. We propose a conformal block description that corresponds to the elementary SU(2) trifundamental half-hypermultiplet, and check it against Sp(1)-SO(4) instanton counting.
In this paper we study the correspondence between the $\hat{\textrm{su}}(n)_{k}\oplus \hat{\textrm{su}}(n)_{p}/\hat{\textrm{su}}(n)_{k+p}$ coset conformal field theories and $\mathcal{N}=2$ SU(n) gauge theories on $\mathbb{R}^{4}/\mathbb{Z}_{p}$. Namely we check the correspondence between the SU(2) Nekrasov partition function on $\mathbb{R}^{4}/\mathbb{Z}_{4}$ and the conformal blocks of the $S_{3}$ parafermion algebra (in $S$ and $D$ modules). We find that they are equal up to the U(1)-factor as it was in all cases of AGT-like relations. Studying the structure of the instanton partition funct…
We show that the correspondence among $AdS_{3}/CFT_{2}$, the 1D Schwarzian Model, Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and 2+1D Topological Quantum Gravity can be extended to the case of $dS_{3}/CFT_{2}$. The $R$-matrix, related to the gravitational scattering amplitude near the horizon of $dS_{3}$ black hole, corresponds (on the side of the holographic projection) to a crossing kernel in the Schwarzian Model. The $R$-matrix is related to the 6j-symbol of SU$(1,1)$. We also find that in the Euclidean $dS_{3}$ a new Kac-Moody symmetry of instantons emerges out. We dub these new solutions {\it Kac-Moodions}.…
It is well known that instantons are classical topological solutions existing in the context of quantum field theories that lie behind the standard model of particles. To provide a better understanding for the dynamical nature of spinor-type instanton solutions, conformal invariant pure spinor fermionic models that admit particle-like solutions for the derived classical field equations are studied in this work under cosine wave forcing. For this purpose the effects of external periodic forcing on two systems having different dimensions and quantum spinor numbers and have been obtained under th…
In this paper, we present a new formulation of topological conformal gravity in four dimensions. Such a theory was first considered by Witten as a possible gravitational counterpart of topological Yang-Mills theory, but several problems left it incomplete. The key in our approach is to realise a theory which describes deformations of conformally self-dual gravitational instantons. We first identify the appropriate elliptic complex which does precisely this. By applying the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, we calculate the number of independent deformations of a given gravitational instanton which …
AGT conjecture connects Nekrasov instanton partition function of 4D quiver gauge theory with 2D Liouville conformal blocks. We re-investigate this connection using the central extension of spherical Hecke algebra in q-coordinate representation, q being the instanton expansion parameter. Based on AFLT basis together with interwiners we construct gauge conformal state and demonstrate its equivalence to the Liouville conformal state, with careful attention to the proper scaling behavior of the state. Using the colliding limit of regular states, we obtain the formal expression of irregular conform…
We elaborate on a recently conjectured relation of Painlevé transcendents and 2D CFT. General solutions of Painlevé VI, V and III are expressed in terms of $c=1$ conformal blocks and their irregular limits, AGT-related to instanton partition functions in $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories with $N_f=0,1,2,3,4$. Resulting combinatorial series representations of Painlevé functions provide an efficient tool for their numerical computation at finite values of the argument. The series involve sums over bipartitions which in the simplest cases coincide with Gessel expansions of certain Toe…
We discuss the Bosonic sector of a class of supersymmetric non-Lorentzian five-dimensional gauge field theories with an $SU(1,3)$ conformal symmetry. These actions have a Lagrange multiplier which imposes a novel $Ω$-deformed anti-self-dual gauge field constraint. Using a generalised 't Hooft ansatz we find the constraint equation linearizes allowing us to construct a wide class of explicit solutions. These include finite action configurations that describe worldlines of anti-instantons which can be created and annihilated. We also describe the dynamics on the constraint surface.
We examine ADHM multi-instantons in the conformal N=2 supersymmetric Sp(N) gauge theory with one anti-symmetric tensor and four fundamental hypermultiplets. We argue that the ADHM construction and measure can also be deduced from purely field theoretic considerations and also from the dynamics of D-instantons in the presence of D3-branes, D7-branes and an orientifold O7-plane. The measure then admits a large-N saddle-point approximation where the D3-branes disappear but the background is changed to AdS_5 x S^5/Z_2, as expected on the basis of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The large-N measure dis…
We describe some remarkable properties of the so-called Information Metric on instanton moduli space. This Metric is manifestly gauge and conformally invariant and coincides with the Euclidean AdS_5 metric on the one-instanton SU(2) moduli space for the standard metric on R^4. We propose that for an arbitrary boundary metric the AdS/CFT bulk space-time is the instanton moduli space equipped with the Information Metric. To test this proposal, we examine the variation of the instanton moduli and the Information Metric for first-order perturbations of the boundary metric and obtain three non-triv…
Following a recent paper by Alday and Tachikawa, we compute the instanton partition function in the presence of the surface operator by the localization formula on the moduli space. For SU(2) theories we find an exact agreement with CFT correlation functions with a degenerate operator insertion, which enables us to work out the decoupling limit of the superconformal theory with four flavors to asymptotically free theories at the level of differential equations for CFT correlation functions (irregular conformal blocks). We also argue that the K theory (or five dimensional) lift of these computa…