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 I will review his unpublished but insightful idea and present our attempts to extend it to more general cases.
We study integrable deformations of sine-Liouville conformal field theory. Every integrable perturbation of this model is related to the series of quantum integrals of motion (hierarchy). We construct the factorized scattering matrices for different integrable perturbed conformal field theories. The perturbation theory, Bethe ansatz technique, renormalization group and methods of perturbed conformal field theory are applied to show that all integrable deformations of sine-Liouville model possess non-trivial duality properties.
The origin of the rather mysterious duality symmetry found in quantum Liouville theory is investigated by considering the Liouville theory as the reduction of a WZW-like theory in which the form of the potential for the Cartan field is not fixed a priori. It is shown that in the classical theory conformal invariance places no condition on the form of the potential, but the conformal invariance of the classical reduction requires that it be an exponential. In contrast, the quantum theory requires that, even before reduction, the potential be a sum of two exponentials. The duality of these two e…
In this paper we consider a strong-weak coupling duality of the N=2 super-Liouville field theory (SLFT). Without the self-duality found in other Liouville theories, the N=2 SLFT, we claim, is associated with a `dual' action by a transformation $b\to 1/b$ where $b$ is the coupling constant. To justify our conjecture, we compute the reflection amplitudes (or two-point functions) of the (NS) and the (R) operators of the N=2 SLFT based on the conjectured dual action and show that the results are consistent with known results.
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.
The quantum discrete Liouville model in the strongly coupled regime, 1<c<25, is formulated as a well defined quantum mechanical problem with unitary evolution operator. The theory is self-dual: there are two exponential fields related by Hermitean conjugation, satisfying two discrete quantum Liouville equations, and living in mutually commuting subalgebras of the quantum algebra of observables.
The quantisation of the two-dimensional Liouville field theory is investigated using the path integral, on the sphere, in the large radius limit. The general form of the $N$-point functions of vertex operators is found and the three-point function is derived explicitly. In previous work it was inferred that the three-point function should possess a two-dimensional lattice of poles in the parameter space (as opposed to a one-dimensional lattice one would expect from the standard Liouville potential). Here we argue that the two-dimensionality of the lattice has its origin in the duality of the q…
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.
We argue that topological matrix models (matrix models of the Kontsevich type) are examples of exact open/closed duality. The duality works at finite N and for generic `t Hooft couplings. We consider in detail the paradigm of the Kontsevich model for two-dimensional topological gravity. We demonstrate that the Kontsevich model arises by topological localization of cubic open string field theory on N stable branes. Our analysis is based on standard worldsheet methods in the context of non-critical bosonic string theory. The stable branes have Neumann (FZZT) boundary conditions in the Liouville …
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 present an interesting reformulation of a collection of dilaton gravity models in two space-time dimensions into a field theory of two decoupled Liouville fields in flat space, in the presence of a Maxwell gauge field. An effective action is also obtained, encoding the dynamics of the dilaton field and the single gravitational degree of freedom in a decoupled regime. This effective action represents an interesting starting point for future work, including the canonical quantization of these classes of non trivial models of gravity coupled matter systems.
We propose an SL(2,R) Chern-Simons description of Liouville field theory (LFT), whose correlation function duals to partition function of N=2 SU(2) gauge theories. We give the dual expressions for conformal blocks, fusion rules, and Wilson loop operators in Chern-Simons theory. By realizing Wilson loop operator in Liouville as a Hopf link in S^3 on which lives an SL(2,R) Chern-Simons theory, we obtain an alternative description of monodromy of this loop operator in Liouville field theory as the ratio of link invariants. We show how to calculate t'Hooft loops in the simplest example -- the N=4 …
We prove the equivalence of the SL(2,R)/U(1) Kazama-Suzuki model, which is a fermionic generalization of the 2d Black Hole, and N=2 Liouville theory. We show that this duality is an example of mirror symmetry. The essential part of the derivation is to realize the fermionic 2d Black Hole as the low energy limit of a gauged linear sigma-model. Liouville theory is obtained by dualizing the charged scalar fields and taking into account the vortex-instanton effects, as proposed recently in non-dilatonic models. The gauged linear sigma-model we study has many useful generalizations which we briefly…
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…
The Fateev-Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov (FZZ) duality relates Witten's cigar model to sine-Liouville theory. This duality was proven in the path integral formulation and extended to the case of higher genus closed Riemann surfaces by Schomerus and one of the authors. In this note we further extend the duality to the case with boundary. Specifically, we relate D1-branes in the cigar model to D2-branes in the sine-Liouville theory. In particular, the boundary action for D2-branes in the sine-Liouville theory is constructed. We also consider the fermionic version of the FZZ duality. This duality w…
We study (0,2) deformations of N=2 Liouville field theory and its mirror duality. A gauged linear sigma model construction of the ultraviolet theory connects (0,2) deformations of Liouville field theory and (0,2) deformations of N=2 SL(2,R)/U(1) coset model as a mirror duality. Our duality proposal from the gauged linear sigma model completely agrees with the exact CFT analysis. In the context of heterotic string compactifications, the deformation corresponds to the introduction of a non-trivial gauge bundle. This non-compact Landau-Ginzburg construction yields a novel way to study the gauge b…
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…
We prove that the cigar conformal field theory is dual to the Sine-Liouville model, as conjectured originally by Fateev, Zamolodchikov and Zamolodchikov. Since both models possess the same chiral algebra, our task is to show that correlations of all tachyon vertex operators agree. We accomplish this goal through an off-critical version of the geometric Langlands duality for sl(2). More explicitly, we combine the well-known self-duality of Liouville theory with an intriguing correspondence between the cigar and Liouville field theory. The latter is derived through a path integral treatment. Aft…
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 pro…
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…
Motivated by recent works in which the FZZ duality plays an important role, we revisit the computation of correlation functions in the sine-Liouville field theory. We present a direct computation of the three-point function, the simplest to the best of our knowledge, and give expressions for the $N$-point functions in terms of integrated Liouville theory correlators. This leads us to discuss the relation to the $H^+_3$ WZW-Liouville correspondence, especially in the case in which spectral flow is taken into account. We explain how these results can be used to study scattering amplitudes of win…
We consider the ${\cal N}=4$ Liouville theory by varying the linear dilaton coupling constant $\cal{Q}$. It is known that at two different values of coupling constant ${\cal Q}=\sqrt{2\over N},-(N-1)\sqrt{2\over N}$ system exhibits two different small ${\cal N}=4$ superconformal symmetries with central charge $c=6$ and $c=6(N-1)$, respectively. In the context of string theory these two theories are considered to describe Coulumb and Higgs branch of the theory and expected to be dual to each other. We study the Mathieu and umbral moonshine phenomena in these two theories and discuss their dual …
The description of the two sets of (4,0) supersymmetric models that are related by non-abelian duality transformations is given. The (4,0) supersymmetric WZNW is constructed and the formulation of the (4,0) supersymmetric sigma model dual to (4,0) supersymmetric WZNW model in the sense of Poisson-Lie T-duality is described.
We establish solutions corresponding to AdS4 static charged black holes with inhomogeneous two-dimensional horizon surfaces of constant curvature. Depending on the choice of the 2D constant curvature space, the metric potential of the internal geometry of the horizon satisfies the elliptic wave/elliptic Liouville equations. We calculate the charge diffusion and transport coefficients in the hydrodynamic limit of gauge/gravity duality and observe the exponential suppression in the diffusion coefficient and in the shear viscosity-per-entropy density ratio in the presence of an inhomogeneity on b…
Using D-brane techniques, we compute the spectrum of stable BPS states in N=4 supersymmetric gauge theory, and find it is consistent with Montonen-Olive duality.
We derive level-rank duality in pure Chern-Simons gauge theories from a non-supersymmetric Seiberg duality by using a non-supersymmetric brane configuration in type IIB string theory. The brane configuration consists of fivebranes, N D3 antibranes and an O3 plane. By swapping the fivebranes we derive a 3d non-supersymmetric Seiberg duality. After level shifts from loop effects, this identifies the IR of Sp(2N)_{2k-2N+2} and Sp(2k-2N+2)_{-2N} pure Chern-Simons theories, which is a level-rank pair. We also derive level-rank duality in a Chern-Simons theory based on a unitary group.
Duality in supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory with a symmetric tensor is studied using the technique of deconfining and Seiberg's duality. By construction the gauge group of the dual theory necessarily becomes a product group. In order to check the duality, several nontrivial consistency conditions are examined. In particular we find that by deforming along a flat direction, the duality flows to the Seiberg's duality of SO(N) gauge theory.
Exact duality in supersymmetric gauge theories leads to highly non-trivial predictions about the moduli spaces of BPS monopole solutions. These notes attempt to be a pedagogical review of the current status of these investigations and are based on lectures given at the 33rd Karpacz Winter School: Duality - Strings and Fields, February 1997.
Recently Seiberg has conjectured a duality symmetry connecting different theories of the supersymmetric QCD type. We provide support for this conjecture by analyzing a flat direction of the theory along which the two dual theories go over to the same theory in the IR.
In this note, we explore the relation between crossing symmetry and modular invariance in conformal field theory and S-duality in gauge theory. It is shown that partition functions of different S dual theories of N=2 SU(2) gauge theory with four fundamentals can be derived from the crossing symmetry of the Liouville four point function. We also show that the partition function of N=4 SU(2) gauge theory can be derived from the Liouville partition function on torus.
Starting from Seiberg's electric-magnetic duality for supersymmetric QCD, we construct dual pairs of non-supersymmetric gauge theories. This is accomplished by first taking the large N limit of supersymmetric QCD and its dual partner and then performing a special ``orbifold projection'' recently introduced by Kachru and Silverstein. We argue that in the large N limit the two projected theories remain dual. The non-supersymmetric gauge theories which can be studied in this fashion have non-supersymmetric field content, chiral fermions and exactly massless scalar matter.
We suggest IR-dual descriptions for d=3 N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with gauge groups USp(2N_c) and U(N_c) and matter in the fundamental representation. We relate this duality to the IR duality of d=4 N=1 SQCD theories, and in one case also to mirror symmetry.
We extend the path-integral formulation of Poisson-Lie duality found by Tyurin and von Unge to N=1 supersymmetric sigma-models. Using an explicit representation of the generators of the Drinfel'd double corresponding to GxU(1)^dimG we discuss an application to non-abelian duality. The paper also contains the relevant background and some comments on Poisson-Lie duality.
The curves that describe the M-theoretic extension of type IIA string configurations with non-supersymmetric field theories on their surface exhibit a duality map. The map suggests a continued link between a SU(N) gauge theory with F flavours and an SU(F-N) gauge theory with F flavours (the duality of supersymmetric QCD) even when the gaugino mass is taken to infinity. Within the context of the field theory such a duality only continues to make sense if the scalar fields remain light. We discuss the difficulties of decoupling the scalars within this framework.
We present a new supersymmetric AdS_6 solution of type IIB supergravity with SU(2) isometry. Through the AdS/CFT correspondence, this has potentially very interesting implications for 5d fixed point theories. This solution is the result of a non-Abelian T-duality on the known supersymmetric AdS_6 solution of massive IIA. The SU(2) R-symmetry is untouched, leading to sixteen supercharges and preserved supersymmetry.
It has been conjectured that duality cascade occurs in the $\mathcal{N}=3$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills Chern-Simons theory with the gauge group $U(N )_k \times U(N+M )_{-k}$ coupled to two bi-fundamental hypermultiplets. The brane picture suggests that this duality cascade can be generalized to a class of 3d $\mathcal{N}=3$ supersymmetric quiver gauge theories coming from so-called Hanany-Witten type brane configurations. In this paper we perform non-perturbative tests of the duality cascades using supersymmetry localization. We focus on $S^3$ partition functions and prove predictions from the d…
In this paper we constructed superloop space duality for a four dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with $\mathcal{N} =1$ supersymmetry. This duality reduces to the ordinary loop space duality for the ordinary Yang-Mills theory. It also reduces to the Hodge duality for an abelian gauge theory. Furthermore, the electric charges, which are the sources in the original theory, appear as monopoles in the dual theory. Whereas, the magnetic charges, which appear as monopoles in the original theory, become sources in the dual theory.
We study the effect of Freudenthal duality on supersymmetric extremal black hole attractors in N = 2, D = 4 ungauged supergravity. Freudenthal duality acts on the dyonic black hole charges as an anti-involution which keeps the black hole entropy and the critical points of the effective black hole potential invariant. We analyze its effect on the recently discovered distinct, mutually exclusive phases of axionic supersymmetric black holes, related to the existence of non-trivial involutory constant matrices. In particular, we consider a supersymmetric D0-D4-D6 black hole and we explicitly Freud…
S-dualities in scale invariant N=2 supersymmetric field theories are derived by embedding those theories in asymptotically free N=2 theories with higher rank gauge groups. S-duality transformations on the coupling of the scale invariant theory follow from global symmetries acting on the Coulomb branch of the higher rank theory. Since these global symmetries are exact in the asymptotically free theory, this shows that S-duality is an exact equivalence of N=2 theories and not just a property of their supersymmetric states.
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).
T-dualities of the non-supersymmetric string models, which are constructed by twisted compactifications, are investigated. We show that the T-duality groups of such models are obtained by imposing congruence conditions on $O\left( d_{L},d_{R},\mathbb{Z}\right) $, that is, the non-supersymmetric string models are invariant under congruence subgroups of $O\left( d_{L},d_{R},\mathbb{Z}\right)$. We also point out that the transitions among the non-supersymmetric models can be induced by acting $O\left( d_{L},d_{R},\mathbb{Z}\right) $ transformations.
With the help of M-theory configuration of N=1 supersymmetric QCD, we analyze the strong coupling moduli of N=1 theory and its relation with S-duality transformation in N=2 supersymmetric QCD. As a result we confirm that two type-IIA descriptions for N=1 supersymmetric QCD, one of them being strong coupling description and another being weak, correspond to a single M-theory description for N=1 supersymmetric QCD. The existence of singlet fields is also discussed.
We show how the supersymmetric KdV equation can be obtained from the self-duality condition on Yang-Mills fields in four dimension associated with the graded Lie algebra OSp(2/1). We also obtain the hierarchy of Susy KdV equations from such a condition. We formulate the Susy KdV hierarchy as a vanishing curvature condition associated with the U(1) group and show how an Abelian self-duality condition in four dimension can also lead to these equations.
We propose new strong/weak dualities in two dimensional conformal field theories by generalizing the Fateev-Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov (FZZ-)duality between Witten's cigar model described by the $\mathfrak{sl}(2)/\mathfrak{u}(1)$ coset and sine-Liouville theory. In a previous work, a proof of the FZZ-duality was provided by applying the reduction method from $\mathfrak{sl}(2)$ Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model to Liouville field theory and the self-duality of Liouville field theory. In this paper, we work with the coset model of the type $\mathfrak{sl}(N+1)/(\mathfrak{sl}(N) \times \mathfrak{u…
We propose an electric-magnetic duality and conjecture an exact conformal window for a class of non-supersymmetric U(N_c) gauge theories with fermions in the (anti)symmetric representation of the gauge group and N_f additional scalar and fermion flavors. The duality exchanges N_c with N_f -N_c \mp 4 leaving N_f invariant, and has common features with Seiberg duality in N=1 SQCD with SU or SO/Sp gauge group. At large N the duality holds due to planar equivalence with N=1 SQCD. At finite N we embed these gauge theories in a setup with D-branes and orientifolds in a non-supersymmetric, but tachyo…
We derive N = 1, 2 superfield equations as the conditions for a (nonlinear) theory of one abelian N = 1 or N = 2 vector multiplet to be duality invariant. The N = 1 super Born-Infeld action is a particular solution of the corresponding equation. A family of duality invariant nonlinear N = 1 supersymmetric theories is described. We present the solution of the N = 2 duality equation which reduces to the N = 1 Born-Infeld action when the (0,1/2) part of N = 2 vector multiplet is switched off. We also propose a constructive perturbative scheme to compute duality invariant N = 2 superconformal acti…
In these notes we attempt to give a pedagogical introduction to the work of Seiberg and Witten on S-duality and the exact results of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with and without matter. The first half is devoted to a review of monopoles in gauge theories and the construction of supersymmetric gauge theories. In the second half, we describe the work of Seiberg and Witten.
We study scattering amplitudes in two-dimensional string theory on a black hole bakground. We start with a simple derivation of the Fateev-Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov (FZZ) duality, which associates correlation functions of the sine-Liouville integrable model on the Riemann sphere to tree-level string amplitudes on the Euclidean two-dimensional black hole. This derivation of FZZ duality is based on perturbation theory, and it relies on a trick originally due to Fateev, which involves duality relations between different Selberg type integrals. This enables us to rewrite the correlation function…
We show a physical realization of the Langlands duality in correlation functions of H_3^+ WZNW model. We derive a dual version of the Stoyanovky-Riabult-Teschner (SRT) formula that relates the correlation function of the H_3^+ WZNW and the dual Liouville theory to investigate the level duality k-2 \to (k-2)^{-1} in the WZNW correlation functions. Then, we show that such a dual version of the H_3^+ - Liouville relation can be interpreted as a particular case of a biparametric family of non-rational CFTs based on the Liouville correlation functions, which was recently proposed by Ribault. We stu…
The Goddard, Nuyts and Olive conjecture for electric-magnetic duality in Yang-Mills theory with an arbitrary gauge group G is extended by including a non-vanishing vacuum angle $θ$. This extended S-duality conjecture includes the case when the unbroken gauge group is non-abelian and a definite prediction for the spectrum of dyons results.
We construct T-duality on K3 surfaces. The T-duality exchanges a 4-brane R-R charge and a 0-brane R-R charge. We study the action of the T-duality on the moduli space of 0-branes located at points of K3 and 4-branes wrapping it. We apply the construction to F-theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau 4-fold and study the duality of N=2 SU(N_c) gauge theories in four dimensions. We discuss the generalization to the N=1 duality scenario.
Recently N. Seiberg has shown that certain N=1 supersymmetric Yang -- Mills theories have the property that their infrared physics can be equivalently described by {\it two different} gauge theories, with the strong coupling region of one corresponding to the weak coupling region of the other. This duality leads to interesting results about the infrared dynamics of these theories. We generalize Seiberg's ideas to a new class of models for which a similar duality allows one to obtain rather detailed dynamical information about the long distance physics.
We investigate the geometry of the moduli spaces of dual electric and magnetic N=1 supersymmetric field theories. Using the SU(N_c) gauge group as a guideline we show that the electric and magnetic moduli spaces coincide for a suitable choice of the Kahler potential of the magnetic theory. We analyse the Kahler structure of the dual moduli spaces.
The Born-Infeld theory of a toroidal D3-brane has an SL(5,Z) U-duality symmetry. We investigate how this symmetry is reflected in the supersymmetry algebra. We propose an action of the group on the gauge theory fields in the BPS sector by introducing an extra field together with an additional symmetry, and argue for the U-invariance of the degeneracies of the BPS spectrum.
A parent action is introduced to formulate (S-) dual of non-anticommutative N=1\2 supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory. Partition function for parent action in phase space is utilized to establish the equivalence of partition functions of the theories which this parent action produces. Thus, duality invariance of non-anticommutative N=1\2 supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory follows. The results which we obtained are valid at tree level or equivalently at the first order in the nonanticommutativity parameter C_{μν}.
We perform explicitly the toroidal compactification of eleven dimensional supergravity to six dimensions and present its action in a manifestly $SO(5,5)\over SO(5)\times SO(5)$ invariant form using the recently proposed covariant formulation of theories involving chiral fields.
Starting with the generalized potentials, currents, field tensors and electromagnetic vector fields of dyons as the complex complex quantities with real and imaginary counter parts as electric and magnetic constituents, we have established the electromagnetic duality for various fields and equations of motion associated with dyons in consistent way. It has been shown that the manifestly covariant forms of generalized field equations and equation of motion of dyons are invariant under duality transformations. Quaternionic formulation for generalized fields of dyons are developed and correspondi…
