We revisit the duality between five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and deformations of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory from a new perspective. We give a unified treatment of supersymmetric gauge theories in three and five dimensions using cohomological localization techniques and the Atiyah-Singer index theorem. We survey various known results in a unified framework and provide simplified derivations of localization formulas, as well as various extensions including the case of irregular Seifert fibrations. We describe the reductions to four-dimensional gauge theories, and give an extensive description of the dual two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory when the three-dimensional part of the geometry is a squashed three-sphere, including its extension to non-zero area, and a detailed analysis of the resulting matrix model. The squashing parameter $b$ yields a further deformation of the usual $q$-deformation of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory, which for rational values $b^2=p/s$ yields a new correspondence with Chern-Simons theory on lens spaces $L(p,s)$.
We study quiver gauge theories on the round and squashed seven-spheres, and orbifolds thereof. They arise by imposing $G$-equivariance on the homogeneous space $G/H=\mathrm{SU}(4)/\mathrm{SU}(3)$ endowed with its Sasaki-Einstein structure, and $G/H=\mathrm{Sp}(2)/\mathrm{Sp}(1)$ as a 3-Sasakian manifold. In both cases we describe the equivariance conditions and the resulting quivers. We further study the moduli spaces of instantons on the metric cones over these spaces by using the known description for Hermitian Yang-Mills instantons on Calabi-Yau cones. It is shown that the moduli space of i…
We show that, in some limit, gravitational instantons correspond to exotic smooth geometry on R^4. The geometry of this exotic R^4 represents magnetic monopoles of Polyakov-'t Hooft type and the BPS condition allows for the generation of the charges from the gravitational sources of exotic R^4. Higgs field is, as usual, present in the monopole configurations. We indicate some possible scenarios in cosmology, particle physics and condensed matter where pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on the exotic R^4 aquires non-zero mass for its gauge boson when the smoothness is changed to the standard R^4 and,…
We construct supersymmetric theories on the SU(3)xU(1) symmetric squashed five-sphere with 2, 4, 6, and 12 supercharges. We first determine the Killing equation by dimensional reduction from 6d, and use Noether procedure to construct actions. The supersymmetric Yang-Mills action is straightforwardly obtained from the supersymmetric Chern-Simons action by using a supersymmetry preserving constant vector multiplet.
We present new solutions of the $d=5$ Einstein-Yang-Mills theory describing black holes with squashed horizons. These configurations are asymptotically locally flat and have a boundary topology of a fibre bundle $R\times S^1 \hookrightarrow S^{2}$. In a $d=4$ picture, they describe black hole solutions with both nonabelian and U(1) magnetic charges.
We define a squashed four-sphere by a dimensional reduction of a twisted S^4 x S^1, and construct explicitly a supersymmetric Yang-Mills action on it. The action includes a non-trivial dilaton factor and a theta term with a non-constant theta. The partition function of this theory is calculated using the localization technique. The resulting partition function can be written in the form consistent with the AGT relation due to the non-constant theta term. The parameter b which characterizes the partition function in this form is not restricted to be real for the squashed four-sphere.
New clues for the best understanding of the nature of the symmetry-breaking mechanism are revealed in this paper. A revision of the standard gauge transformation properties of Yang-Mills fields, according to a group approach to quantization scheme, enables the gauge group coordinates to acquire dynamical content outside the null mass shell. The corresponding extra (internal) field degrees of freedom are transferred to the vector potentials to conform massive vector bosons.
It is shown that the Spin(7)-invariant super Yang-Mills theory in euight dimensions, which relies on the existence of the Caley invariant, permits the construction of a cohomological extension, which relies on the existence of the eight-dimensional analogue of the Pontryagin invariant arising from a quartic chiral primary operator.
We construct new solutions of the Einstein equations with negative cosmological constant in five spacetime dimensions. They smoothly emerge as deformations of the known AdS$_5$ black strings. The first type of configurations can be viewed as the $d=4$ Taub-NUT-AdS solutions uplifted to five dimensions, in the presence of a negative cosmological constant. We argue that these solutions provide the gravity dual for a ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory formulated in a $d=4$ homogeneous Gödel-type spacetime background. A different deformation of the AdS$_5$ black strings leads to squashed AdS bla…
We find new vacuum solutions of ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills with totally anti-symmetric cubic soft SUSY breaking terms, or equivalently solutions of the IKKT matrix model of type $\mathbb{R}^4_θ\times {\cal K}_N$ with flux terms. The solutions can be understood in terms of 4- and 6- dimensional fuzzy branes ${\cal K}_N$ in extra dimensions, describing self-intersecting projections of compact flag manifolds of $SU(3)$. The 6-dimensional solutions provide a 6-fold covering of the internal space near the origin, while the 4-dimensional branes have a triple self-intersections spanning all 6 inte…
It is shown that the dimensional reduction of the N_T=2, D=3 Blau-Thompson model to D=2, i.e., the novel topological twist of N=8, D=2 super Yang-Mills theory, provides an example of a Hodge-type cohomological theory. In that theory the generators of the topological shift, co-shift and gauge symmetry, together with a discrete duality operation, are completely analogous to the de Rham cohomology operators and the Hodge *-operation.
We study 7D maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on curved manifolds that admit Killing spinors. If the manifold admits at least two Killing spinors (Sasaki-Einstein manifolds) we are able to rewrite the supersymmetric theory in terms of a cohomological complex. In principle this cohomological complex makes sense for any K-contact manifold. For the case of toric Sasaki-Einstein manifolds we derive explicitly the perturbative part of the partition function and speculate about the non-perturbative part. We also briefly discuss the case of 3-Sasaki manifolds and suggest a plausible form for…
We construct nearly topological Yang-Mills theories on eight dimensional manifolds with a special holonomy group. These manifolds are the Joyce manifold with $Spin(7)$ holonomy and the Calabi-Yau manifold with SU(4) holonomy. An invariant closed four form $T_{μνρσ}$ on the manifold allows us to define an analogue of the instanton equation, which serves as a topological gauge fixing condition in BRST formalism. The model on the Joyce manifold is related to the eight dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Topological dimensional reduction to four dimensions gives non-abelian Seiberg-Witte…
We consider a black hole solution whose spatial boundary is a squashed three sphere in Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant. We solve the Einstein equations numerically and find a warped AdS black hole solution with arbitrary squashing parameter. This solution becomes the ordinary AdS-Schwarzschild solution when the squashing parameter is chosen appropriately. Motivated by this fact, we study N=4 super Yang-Mills theory with zero coupling constant on a squashed three sphere and show that the thermodynamical entropy of this theory roughly agrees with that of the warped AdS black…
In the localization of 5-dimensional N = 1 super-Yang-Mills, contact-instantons arise as non-perturbative contributions. In this note, we revisit such configurations and discuss their generalizations. We propose for contact-instantons a cohomological theory whose BRST observables are invariants of the background contact geometry. To make the formalism more concrete, we study the moduli problem of contact- instanton, and we find that it is closely related to the eqiuivariant index of a canonical Dirac-Kohn operator associated to the geometry. An integral formula is given when the geometry is K-…
We consider type IIB $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ symmetry to relate the partition functions of different 5d supersymmetric Abelian linear quiver Yang-Mills theories in the $Ω$-background and squashed $S^5$ background. By Higgsing S-dual theories, we extract new and old 3d mirror pairs. Generically, the Higgsing procedure yields 3d defects on intersecting spaces, and we derive new hyperbolic integral identities expressing the equivalence of the squashed $S^3$ partition functions with additional degrees of freedom on the $S^1$ intersection.
We show that the partially topological twisted N=16, D=2 super Yang-Mill theory gives rise to a N_T=8 Hodge-type cohomological gauge theory with global SU(4) symmetry.
We study topological gauge theories with N=(2,0) supersymmetry based on stable bundles on general Kahler 3-folds. In order to have a theory that is well defined and well behaved, we consider a model based on an extension of the usual holomorphic bundle by including a holomorphic 3-form. The correlation functions of the model describe complex 3-dimensional generalizations of Donaldson-Witten type invariants. We show that the path integral can be written as a sum of contributions from stable bundles and a complex 3-dimensional version of Seiberg-Witten monopoles. We study certain deformations of…
The higher dimensional analogue of the Blau-Thompson model in D=5 is constructed by a N_T=1 topological twist of N=2, D=5 super Yang-Mills theory. Its dimenional reduction to D=4 and D=3 gives rise to the B-model and N_T=4 equivariant extension of the Blau-Thompson model, respectively. A further dimensional reduction to D=2 provides another example of a N_T=8 Hodge-type cohomological theory with global symmetry group SU(2) \otimes \bar SU(2). Moreover, it is shown that this theory possesses actually a larger global symmetry group SU(4) and and that it agrees with the N_T=8 topological twisting…
Recent results on the cohomological reformulation of the problem of consistent interactions between gauge fields are illustrated in the case of the Yang-Mills models. By evaluating the local BRST cohomology through descent equation techniques, it is shown (i) that there is a unique local, Poincaré invariant cubic vertex for free gauge vector fields which preserves the number of gauge symmetries to first order in the coupling constant; and (ii) that consistency to second order in the coupling constant requires the structure constants appearing in the cubic vertex to fulfill the Jacobi identity.…
The origin of non-renormalization theorems in field theories with global supersymmetry can be traced to the fact that supersymmetric actions can be viewed as the highest components of respective supermultiplets. Supersymmetric interactions in particular can therefore be represented as supersymmetry variations of lower dimensional field polynomials. We investigate here this algebraic structure in the context of the Wess-Zumino model and N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories.
The equations of motion of quantum Yang - Mills theory (in the planar `large N' limit), when formulated in Loop-space are shown to have an anomalous term, which makes them analogous to the equations of motion of WZW models. The anomaly is the Jacobian of the change of variables from the usual ones i.e. the connection one form $A $, to the holonomy $U$. An infinite dimensional Lie algebra related to this change of variables (the Lie algebra of loop substitutions) is developed, and the anomaly is interpreted as an element of the first cohomology of this Lie algebra. The Migdal-Makeenko equations…
A BRST-cohomological analysis of Seiberg-Witten maps and results on gauge anomalies in noncommutative Yang-Mills theories with general gauge groups are reviewed.
We construct a large class of gauge theories with extended supersymmetry on four-dimensional manifolds with a Killing vector field and isolated fixed points. We extend previous results limited to super Yang-Mills theory to general $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories including hypermultiplets. We present a general framework encompassing equivariant Donaldson-Witten theory and Pestun's theory on $S^4$ as two particular cases. This is achieved by expressing fields in cohomological variables, whose features are dictated by supersymmetry and require a generalized notion of self-duality for two-forms and…
Topological structure of translation-invariant noncommutative Yang-Mills theories are studied by means of a cohomology theory, so called star-cohomology, which plays an intermediate role between de Rham and cyclic (co)homology theory for noncommutative algebras and gives rise to a cohomological formulation comparable to Seiberg-Witten map.
In this paper we consider IIA and IIB matrix string theories which are defined by two-dimensional and three-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory with the maximal supersymmetry, respectively. We exactly compute the partition function of both of the theories by mapping to a cohomological field theory. Our result for the IIA matrix string theory coincides with the result obtained in the infra-red limit by Kostov and Vanhove, and thus gives a proof of the exact quasi classics conjectured by them. Further, our result for the IIB matrix string theory coincides with the exact result of IKKT model by M…
The construction of a $N_T=3$ cohomological gauge theory on an hyper-K"ahler eight-fold, whose group theoretical descrition was given by Blau and Thompson, is performed explicitly.
We study globally supersymmetric 3d gauge theories on curved manifolds by describing the coupling of 3d topological gauge theories, with both Yang-Mills and Chern-Simons terms in the action, to background topological gravity. In our approach the Seifert condition for manifolds supporting global supersymmetry is elegantly deduced from the topological gravity BRST transformations. A cohomological characterization of the geometrical moduli which affect the partition function is obtained. In the Seifert context Chern-Simons topological (framing) anomaly is BRST trivial. We compute explicitly the c…
We determine the most general form of the interaction between the gravitational field and an arbitrary Yang-Mills system of fields (massless and massive). We work in the perturbative quantum framework of the causal approach (of Epstein and Glaser) and use a cohomological definition of gauge invariance for both gauge fields. We also consider the case of massive gravity. We discuss the question whether gravity couples to the unphysical degrees of freedom in the Yang-Mills fields.
We construct new supersymmetric black holes in five-dimensional supergravity with an arbitrary number of vector multiplets and Fayet-Iliopoulos gauging. These are asymptotically locally AdS$_5$ and the conformal boundary comprises a squashed three-sphere with $\text{SU}(2)\times \text{U}(1)$ symmetry. The solution depends on two parameters, of which one determines the angular momentum and the Page electric charges, while the other controls the squashing at the boundary. The latter is arbitrary, however in the flow towards the horizon it is attracted to a value that only depends on the other pa…
We consider euclidean D-branes wrapping around manifolds of exceptional holonomy in dimensions seven and eight. The resulting theory on the D-brane---that is, the dimensional reduction of 10-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory---is a cohomological field theory which describes the topology of the moduli space of instantons. The 7-dimensional theory is an N_T = 2 (or balanced) cohomological theory given by an action potential of Chern-Simons type. As a by-product of this method, we construct a related cohomological field theory which describes the monopole moduli space on a 7-manifold o…
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 topological aspects of matrix models and noncommutative cohomological field theories (N.C.CohFT). N.C.CohFT have symmetry under the arbitrary infinitesimal noncommutative parameter $θ$ deformation. This fact implies that N.C.CohFT possess a less sensitive topological property than K-theory, but the classification of manifolds by N.C.CohFT has a possibility to give a new view point of global characterization of noncommutative manifolds. To investigate properties of N.C.CohFT, we construct some models whose fixed point loci are given by sets of projection operators. Particularly, the pa…
We consider the dimensional reduction of supersymmetric Yang-Mills on a Calabi-Yau 3-fold. We show by construction how the resulting cohomological theory is related to the balanced field theory of the Kaehler Yang-Mills equations introduced by Donaldson and Uhlenbeck-Yau.
We study the relation between Donaldson-Thomas theory of Calabi-Yau threefolds and a six-dimensional topological Yang-Mills theory. Our main example is the topological U(N) gauge theory on flat space in its Coulomb branch. To evaluate its partition function we use equivariant localization techniques on its noncommutative deformation. As a result the gauge theory localizes on noncommutative instantons which can be classified in terms of N-coloured three-dimensional Young diagrams. We give to these noncommutative instantons a geometrical description in terms of certain stable framed coherent she…
We discuss bosonic and supersymmetric Yang-Mills matrix models with compact semi-simple gauge group. We begin by finding convergence conditions for the partition and correlation functions. Moving on, we specialise to the SU(N) models with large N. In both the Yang-Mills and cohomological formulations, we find all quantities which are invariant under the supercharges. Finally, we apply the deformation method of Moore, Nekrasov and Shatashvili directly to the Yang-Mills model. We find a deformation of the action which generates mass terms for all the matrix fields whilst preserving some supersym…
We discuss the twistor correspondence between complex vector bundles over a self-dual four-dimensional manifold and holomorphic bundles over its twistor space and describe the moduli space of self-dual Yang-Mills fields in terms of Cech and Dolbeault cohomology sets. The cohomological description provides the geometric interpretation of symmetries of the self-dual Yang-Mills equations.
This work is a continuation of our previous paper arXiv:1812.06473 where we have constructed ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on 4D manifolds with a Killing vector field with isolated fixed points. In this work we expand on the mathematical aspects of the theory, with a particular focus on its nature as a cohomological field theory. The well-known Donaldson-Witten theory is a twisted version of ${\cal N}=2$ SYM and can also be constructed using the Atiyah-Jeffrey construction. This theory is concerned with the moduli space of anti-self-dual gauge connections, with a deformation th…
A long-standing conjecture on the structure of renormalized, gauge invariant, integrated operators of arbitrary dimension in Yang-Mills theory is established. The general solution of the consistency condition for anomalies with sources included is also derived. This is achieved by computing explicitely the cohomology of the full unrestricted BRST operator in the space of local polynomial functionals with ghost number equal to zero or one. The argument does not use power counting and is purely cohomological. It relies crucially on standard properties of the antifield formalism.
We completely compute the local BRST cohomology $H(s|d)$ of the combined Yang-Mills-2-form system coupled through the Yang-Mills Chern-Simons term ("Chapline-Manton model"). We consider the case of a simple gauge group and explicitely include in the analysis the sources for the BRST variations of the fields ("antifields"). We show that there is an antifield independent representative in each cohomological class of $H(s|d)$ at ghost number 0 or 1. Accordingly, any counterterm may be assumed to preserve the gauge symmetries. Similarly, there is no new candidate anomaly beside those already consi…
The extended BRST cohomology of N=2 super Yang-Mills theory is discussed in the framework of Algebraic Renormalization. In particular, N=2 supersymmetric descent equations are derived from the cohomological analysis of linearized Slavnov-Taylor operator $\B$. It is then shown that both off- and on-shell N=2 super Yang-Mills actions are related to a lower-dimensional gauge invariant field polynomial $Tr\f^2$ by solving these descent equations. Moreover, it is found that these off- and on-shell solutions differ only by a $\B-$exact term, which can be interprated as a consequence of the fact that…
The entire geometric formulations of the BRST and the anti-BRST structures are worked out in presence of the Nakanishi-Lautrup field. It is shown that in the general form of gauge fixing mechanisms within the Faddeev-Popov quantization approach, the antiBRST invariance reflects thoroughly the classical symmetry of the Yang-Mills theories with respect to gauge fixing methods. The Nakanishi-Lautrup field is also defined and worked out as a geometric object. This formulation helps us to introduce two absolutely new topological invariants of quantized Yang-Mills theories, so called the Nakanishi-L…
We reconsider the relation of superconformal indices of superconformal field theories of class S with five-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory compactified on the product space of a round three-sphere and a Riemann surface. We formulate the five-dimensional theory in supersymmetric backgrounds preseving N=2 and N=1 supersymmetries and discuss a subtle point in the previous paper concerned with the partial twisting on the Riemann surface. We further compute the partition function by localization of the five-dimensional theory on a squashed three-sphere in N=2 and N=1 supersymmetric…
We present a study of D=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills matrix models with SO(3) mass terms based on the cohomological approach and the Monte Carlo method. In the bosonic models we show the existence of an exotic first/second order transition from a phase with a well defined background geometry (the fuzzy sphere) to a phase with commuting matrices with no geometry in the sense of Connes. At the transition point the sphere expands abruptly to infinite size then it evaporates as we increase the temperature (the gauge coupling constant). The transition looks first order due to the discontinuity in th…
We study modular invariants arising in the four-point functions of the stress tensor multiplet operators of the ${\cal N} = 4$ $SU(N)$ super-Yang-Mills theory, in the limit where $N$ is taken to be large while the complexified Yang-Mills coupling $τ$ is held fixed. The specific four-point functions we consider are integrated correlators obtained by taking various combinations of four derivatives of the squashed sphere partition function of the ${\cal N} = 2^*$ theory with respect to the squashing parameter $b$ and mass parameter $m$, evaluated at the values $b=1$ and $m=0$ that correspond to t…
The Seiberg-Witten map for noncommutative Yang-Mills theories is studied and methods for its explicit construction are discussed which are valid for any gauge group. In particular the use of the evolution equation is described in some detail and its relation to the cohomological approach is elucidated. Cohomological methods which are applicable to gauge theories requiring the Batalin-Vilkoviskii antifield formalism are briefly mentioned. Also, the analogy of the Weyl-Moyal star product with the star product of open bosonic string field theory and possible ramifications of this analogy are brie…
Consistent interactions between Yang-Mills gauge fields and an abelian 2-form are investigated by using a Hamiltonian cohomological procedure. It is shown that the deformation of the BRST charge and the BRST-invariant Hamiltonian of the uncoupled model generates the Yang-Mills Chern-Simons interaction term. The resulting interactions deform both the gauge transformations and their algebra, but not the reducibility relations.
We derive non-Abelian localization formulae for supersymmetric Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory with matters on a Seifert manifold M, which is the three-dimensional space of a circle bundle over a two-dimensional Riemann surface Σ, by using the cohomological approach introduced by Kallen. We find that the partition function and the vev of the supersymmetric Wilson loop reduces to a finite dimensional integral and summation over classical flux configurations labeled by discrete integers. We also find the partition function reduces further to just a discrete sum over integers in some cases, and ev…
In the pure large-N Yang-Mills theory there is a quasi-BPS sector that is exactly solvable at large N. It follows an exact beta function and the glueball spectrum in this sector. The main technical tool is a new holomorphic loop equation for quasi-BPS Wilson loops, that occurs as a non-supersymmetric analogue of Dijkgraaf-Vafa holomorphic loop equation for the glueball superpotential of n=1 SUSY gauge theories. The new holomorphic loop equation is localized, i.e. reduced to a critical equation, by a deformation of the loop that is a vanishing boundary in homology, somehow in analogy with Witte…
The basics of operadic variational formalism is presented which is necessary when modeling the operadic systems. A general gauge theoretic approach to the abstract operads, based on the physical measurements concepts, is justified and considered. It is explained how the matrix and Poisson algebra relations can be extended to operadic realm. The tangent cohomology spaces of the binary associative flows with their Gerstenhaber algebra structure can be seen as equally natural objects for operadic modeling, just as the matrix and Poisson algebras in conventional modeling. In particular, the relati…
We analyze the restoration of the Slavnov-Taylor (ST) identities for pure massless Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge within the BPHZL renormalization scheme with IR regulator. We obtain the most general form of the action-like part of the symmetric regularized action, obeying the relevant ST identities and all other relevant symmetries of the model, to all orders in the loop expansion. We also give a cohomological characterization of the fulfillment of BPHZL IR power-counting criterion, guaranteeing the existence of the limit where the IR regulator goes to zero. The technique analyzed in t…
The (perturbative) renormalization properties of the BF formulation of Yang-Mills gauge models are shown to be identical to those of the usual, second order formulation. This result holds in any number of spacetime dimensions and is a direct consequence of cohomological theorems established by G. Barnich, F. Brandt and the author (Commun.Math.Phys., 174 (1995) 57).
Classical three dimensional Yang-Mills is seen to be related to the topological Chern-Simons term through a nonlinear but fully local and covariant gauge field redefinition. A classical recursive cohomological argument is provided.
Mikhailov has constructed an infinite family of 1/8 BPS D3-branes in AdS(5) x S**5. We regulate Mikhailov's solution space by focussing on finite dimensional submanifolds. Our submanifolds are topologically complex projective spaces with symplectic form cohomologically equal to 2 pi N times the Fubini-Study Kahler class. Upon quantization and removing the regulator we find the Hilbert Space of N noninteracting Bose particles in a 3d Harmonic oscillator, a result previously conjectured by Beasley. This Hilbert Space is isomorphic to the classical chiral ring of 1/8 BPS states in N=4 Yang-Mills …
