Habilitation memoir. 308 pages; v2. minor updates, typos corrected; v3. reference updated, typos corrected. This is a preprint of the following work: Taro Kimura, Instanton Counting, Quantum Geometry and Algebra, 2021, Springer, reproduced with permission of Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76190-5
The aim of this memoir for "Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches" is to present quantum geometric and algebraic aspects of supersymmetric gauge theory, which emerge from non-perturbative nature of the vacuum structure induced by instantons. We start with a brief summary of the equivariant localization of the instanton moduli space, and show how to obtain the instanton partition function and its generalization to quiver gauge theory and supergroup gauge theory in three ways: the equivariant index formula, the contour integral formula, and the combinatorial formula. We then explore the geometric description of $\mathcal{N} = 2$ gauge theory based on Seiberg-Witten geometry together with its string/M-theory perspective. Through its relation to integrable systems, we show how to quantize such a geometric structure via the $Ω$-deformation of gauge theory. We also discuss the underlying quantum algebraic structure arising from the supersymmetric vacua. We introduce the notion of quiver W-algebra constructed through double quantization of Seiberg-Witten geometry, and show its specific features: affine quiver W-algebras, fractional quiver W-algebras, and their elliptic deformations.
We propose, following the AGT correspondence, how the $\mathcal{W}^{\, para}_{N, n}$ ($n$-th parafermion $\mathcal{W}_N$) minimal model characters are obtained from the $U(N)$ instanton counting on ${\mathbb {C}}^2/{\mathbb {Z}}_n$ with $Ω$-deformation by imposing specific conditions which remove the minimal model null states.
We present closed-form expressions of unrefined instanton partition functions for gauge groups of type $BCD$ as sums over Young diagrams. For $\mathrm{SO}(n)$ gauge groups, we provide a fivebrane web picture of our formula based on the vertex-operator formalism of the topological vertex with a new type called O-vertex for an O5-plane.
In this note, we investigate the detailed relationship between the orbifold partition counting and the (l-quotient, l-core) pair counting. We show that the orbifold partition counting is exactly the same as the (l-quotient, l-core) pair counting.
There have been two distinct schemes studied in the literature for instanton counting in A_{p-1} asymptotically locally Euclidean (ALE) spaces. We point out that the two schemes---namely the counting of orbifolded instantons and instanton counting in the resolved space---lead in general to different results for partition functions. We illustrate this observation in the case of N=2 U(N) gauge theory with 2N flavors on the A_{p-1} ALE space. We propose simple relations between the instanton partition functions given by the two schemes and test them by explicit calculations.
In this article, we calculated the refined topological vertex for the one parameter case using the Jack symmetric functions. Also, we obtain the partition function for elliptic N=2 models, the results coincide with those of Nekrasov instanton counting partition functions for the $N=2^{\ast}$ theories.
We perform a study of the moduli space of framed torsion free sheaves on Hirzebruch surfaces by using localization techniques. After discussing general properties of this moduli space, we classify its fixed points under the appropriate toric action and compute its Poincare' polynomial. From the physical viewpoint, our results provide the partition function of N=4 Vafa-Witten theory on Hirzebruch surfaces, which is relevant in black hole entropy counting problems according to a conjecture due to Ooguri, Strominger and Vafa.
We show how to obtain the instanton partition function of N=2 SYM with exceptional gauge group EFG using blow-up recursion relations derived by Nakajima and Yoshioka. We compute the two instanton contribution and match it with the recent proposal for the superconformal index of rank 2 SCFTs with E6, E7 global symmetry.
We give a mathematically rigorous proof of Nekrasov's conjecture: the integration in the equivariant cohomology over the moduli spaces of instantons on $\mathbb R^4$ gives a deformation of the Seiberg-Witten prepotential for N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills theory. Through a study of moduli spaces on the blowup of $\mathbb R^4$, we derive a differential equation for the Nekrasov's partition function. It is a deformation of the equation for the Seiberg-Witten prepotential, found by Losev et al., and further studied by Gorsky et al.
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.
Noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas invariants for abelian orbifold singularities can be studied via the enumeration of instanton solutions in a six-dimensional noncommutative N=2 gauge theory; this construction is based on the generalized McKay correspondence and identifies the instanton counting with the counting of framed representations of a quiver which is naturally associated to the geometry of the singularity. We extend these constructions to compute BPS partition functions for higher-rank refined and motivic noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas invariants in the Coulomb branch in terms of gauge…
This is the third article in the collection of reviews "Exact results on N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories", ed. J. Teschner. It is explained how to compute the instanton partition functions. The results can be written as sums over bases for the equivariant cohomology of instanton moduli spaces. The known results relating the symmetries of these spaces to the symmetries of conformal field theory are reviewed.
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 investigate the possibility to extract Seiberg-Witten curves from the formal series for the prepotential, which was obtained by the Nekrasov approach. A method for models whose Seiberg-Witten curves are not hyperelliptic is proposed. It is applied to the SU(N) model with one symmetric or antisymmetric representations as well as for SU(N_1)xSU(N_2) model with (N_1,N_2) or (N_1,\bar{N}_2) bifundamental matter. Solutions are compared with known results. For the gauge group product we have checked the instanton corrections which follow from our curves against direct instanton counting computati…
We study the relationship between instanton counting in N=4 Yang-Mills theory on a generic four-dimensional toric orbifold and the semi-classical expansion of q-deformed Yang-Mills theory on the blowups of the minimal resolution of the orbifold singularity, with an eye to clarifying the recent proposal of using two-dimensional gauge theories to count microstates of black holes in four dimensions. We describe explicitly the instanton contributions to the counting of D-brane bound states which are captured by the two-dimensional gauge theory. We derive an intimate relationship between the two-di…
Direct evaluation of the Seiberg-Witten prepotential is accomplished following the localization programme suggested some time ago. Our results agree with all low-instanton calculations available in the literature. We present a two-parameter generalization of the Seiberg-Witten prepotential, which is rather natural from the M-theory/five dimensional perspective, and conjecture its relation to the tau-functions of KP/Toda hierarchy.
We survey some features of equivariant instanton partition functions of topological gauge theories on four and six dimensional toric Kahler varieties, and their geometric and algebraic counterparts in the enumerative problem of counting holomorphic curves. We discuss the relations of instanton counting to representations of affine Lie algebras in the four-dimensional case, and to Donaldson-Thomas theory for ideal sheaves on Calabi-Yau threefolds. For resolutions of toric singularities, an algebraic structure induced by a quiver determines the instanton moduli space through the McKay correspond…
We construct an Imbimbo-Mukhi type matrix model, which reproduces exactly the partition function of ${\mathbb{CP}^1}$ topological strings in the small phase space, Nekrasov's instanton counting in ${\cal{N}}=2$ gauge theory and the large $N$ limit of the partition function in 2-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on a sphere. In addition, we propose a dual Stieltjes-Wigert type matrix model, which emerges when all-genus topological string amplitudes on certain simple toric Calabi-Yau manifolds are compared with the Imbimbo-Mukhi type model.
We study the prepotential of N=2 gauge theories using the instanton counting techniques introduced by Nekrasov. For the SO theories without matter we find a closed expression for the full prepotential and its string theory gravitational corrections. For the more subtle case of Sp theories without matter we discuss general features and compute the prepotential up to instanton number three. We also briefly discuss SU theories with matter in the symmetric and antisymmetric representations. We check all our results against the predictions of the corresponding Seiberg-Witten geometries.
We introduce the notion of the (instanton part of the) Seiberg-Witten prepotential for general Schrodinger operators with periodic potential. In the case when the operator in question is integrable we show how to compute the prepotential in terms of period integrals; this implies that in the integrable case our definition of the prepotential coincides with the one that has been extensively studied in both mathematical and physical literature. As an application we give a proof of Nekrasov's conjecture connecting certain "instanton counting" partition function for an arbitrary simple group G wit…
We compute the partition function for the exotic instanton system corresponding to D-instantons on D7 branes in Type I' theory. We exploit the BRST structure of the moduli action and its deformation by RR background to fully localize the integration. The resulting prepotential describes non-perturbative corrections to the quartic couplings of the gauge field F living on the D7's. The results match perfectly those obtained in the dual heterotic theory from a protected 1-loop computation, thus providing a non-trivial test of the duality itself.
We give explicit expressions for the finite frequency greybody factor, quasinormal modes and Love numbers of Kerr black holes by computing the exact connection coefficients of the radial and angular parts of the Teukolsky equation. This is obtained by solving the connection problem of the confluent Heun equation in terms of the explicit expression of irregular Virasoro conformal blocks as sums over partitions via the AGT correspondence. In the relevant approximation limits our results are in agreement with existing literature. The method we use can be extended to solve the linearized Einstein …
We study the asymptotic form of the Gopakumar-Vafa invariants at all genera for Calabi-Yau toric threefolds which have the structure of fibration of the A_n singularity over P^1. We claim that the asymptotic form is the inverse Laplace transform of the corresponding instanton amplitude in the prepotential of N=2 SU(n+1) gauge theory coupled to external graviphoton fields, which is given by the logarithm of the Nekrasov's partition function.
The non-perturbative behavior of the N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories is both highly non-trivial and tractable. In the last three years the valuable progress was achieved in the instanton counting, the direct evaluation of the low-energy effective Wilsonian action of the theory. The localization technique together with the Lorentz deformation of the action provides an elegant way to reduce functional integrals, representing the effective action, to some finite dimensional contour integrals. These integrals, in their turn, can be converted into some difference equations which define the S…
In this paper we investigate different ways of deriving the A-cycle period as a series in instanton counting parameter $q$ for ${\cal N}=2$ SYM with up to four antifundamental hypermultiplets in NS limit of $Ω$ background. We propose a new method for calculating the period and demonstrate its efficiency by explicit calculations. The new way of doing instanton counting is more advantageous compared to known standard techniques and allows to reach substantially higher order terms with less effort. This approach is applied for the pure case as well as for the case with several hypermultiplets. We…
In my lecture I consider integrals over moduli spaces of supersymmetric gauge field configurations (instantons, Higgs bundles, torsion free sheaves). The applications are twofold: physical and mathematical; they involve supersymmetric quantum mechanics of D-particles in various dimensions, direct computation of the celebrated Seiberg-Witten prepotential, sum rules for the solutions of the Bethe ansatz equations and their relation to the Laumon's nilpotent cone. As a by-product we derive some combinatoric identities involving the sums over Young tableaux.
We extend the graviphoton-corrected prepotential of five-dimensional pure U(N) super Yang-Mills, which was originally proposed by Nekrasov, by incorporating the effect of the five-dimensional Chern-Simons term. This extension allows us to reproduce by a gauge theory calculation the partition functions of corresponding topological A-model on local toric Calabi-Yau manifolds X^m_N for all m=0,1,...,N. The original proposal corresponds to the case m=0.
Motivated by Nekrasov's instanton counting, we discuss a method for calculating equivariant volumes of non-compact quotients in symplectic and hyper-Kähler geometry by means of the Jeffrey-Kirwan residue-formula of non-abelian localization. In order to overcome the non-compactness, we use varying symplectic cuts to reduce the problem to a compact setting, and study what happens in the limit that recovers the original problem. We implement this method for the ADHM construction of the moduli spaces of framed Yang-Mills instantons on $\R^{4}$ and rederive the formulas for the equivariant volumes …
We describe the moduli space of SU(N) instantons in the presence of a general surface operator of type N=n_1+ ... +n_M in terms of the representations of the so-called chain-saw quiver, which allows us to write down the instanton partition function as a summation over the fixed point contributions labeled by Young diagrams. We find that the instanton partition function depends on the ordering of n_I which fixes a choice of the parabolic structure. This is in accord with the fact that the Verma module of the W-algebra also depends on the ordering of n_I. By explicit calculations, we check that …
We consider the Hanany-Witten type brane configuration in a background of RR 4-form field strength and examine the behavior of Euclidean D0-branes propagating between two NS5-branes. We evaluate the partition function of the D0-branes and show that it coincides with the Nekrasov partition function of instantons for four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. In this analysis, the Myers effect plays a crucial role. We apply the same method to the brane configuration realizing four-dimensional N=2 theory with hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation and reproduce the correspo…
The partition function of $\mathcal{N}=2$ super Yang-Mills theories with arbitrary simple gauge group coupled to a self-dual $Ω$-background is shown to be fully determined by studying the renormalization group equations relevant to the surface operators generating its one-form symmetries. The corresponding system of equations results in a ${\it non-autonomous}$ Toda chain on the root system of the Langlands dual, the evolution parameter being the RG scale. A systematic algorithm computing the full multi-instanton corrections is derived in terms of recursion relations whose gauge theoretical so…
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 examine the two-dimensional U(N) Yang-Mills theory by using the technique of random partitions. We show that the large N limit of the partition function of the 2D Yang-Mills theory on S^2 reproduces the instanton counting of 4D N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories introduced by Nekrasov. We also discuss that we can take the ``double scaling limit'' by fixing the product of the N and cell size in Young diagrams, and the effective action given by Douglas and Kazakov is naturally obtained by taking this limit. We give an interpretation for our result from the view point of the superstring theory …
M-theoretic construction of N=2 gauge theories implies that the instanton partition function is expressed as the scalar product of coherent states (Whittaker states) in the Verma module of an appropriate two dimensional conformal field theory. We present the characterizing conditions for such states that give the partition function with fundamental hypermultiplets for SU(3) theory and SU(2) theory with a surface operator. We find the states are no longer the coherent states in the strict sense but we can characterize them in terms of a few annihilation operators of lower levels combined with t…
We compute the instanton partition function for ${\cal N}=4$ U(N) gauge theories living on toric varieties, mainly of type $\R^4/Γ_{p,q}$ including $A_{p-1}$ or $O_{\PP_1}(-p)$ surfaces. The results provide microscopic formulas for the partition functions of black holes made out of D4-D2-D0 bound states wrapping four-dimensional toric varieties inside a Calabi-Yau. The partition function gets contributions from regular and fractional instantons. Regular instantons are described in terms of symmetric products of the four-dimensional variety. Fractional instantons are built out of elementary sel…
We study Nekrasov's deformed partition function of 5-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory compactified on a circle. Mathematically it is the generating function of the characters of the coordinate rings of the moduli spaces of instantons on $\mathbb R^4$. We show that it satisfies a system of functional equations, called blowup equations, whose solution is unique. As applications, we prove (a) logarithm of the partition function times $ε_1ε_2$ is regular at $ε_1 = ε_2 = 0$, (a part of Nekrasov's conjecture), and (b) the genus 1 parts, which are first several Taylor coefficients of the …
These notes have two parts. The first is a study of Nekrasov's deformed partition functions $Z(\ve_1,\ve_2,\vec{a};\q,\vecτ)$ of N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills theories, which are generating functions of the integration in the equivariant cohomology over the moduli spaces of instantons on $\mathbb R^4$. The second is review of geometry of the Seiberg-Witten curves and the geometric engineering of the gauge theory, which are physical backgrounds of Nekrasov's partition functions. The first part is continuation of math.AG/0306198, where we identified the Seiberg-Witten prepotential with $Z(0,0,\vec{a};\q,0…
We propose an explicit formula connecting Donaldson invariants and Seiberg-Witten invariants of a 4-manifold of simple type via Nekrasov's deformed partition function for the N=2 SUSY gauge theory with a single fundamental matter. This formula is derived from Mochizuki's formula, which makes sense and was proved when the 4-manifold is complex projective. Assuming our formula is true for a 4-manifold of simple type, we prove Witten's conjecture and sum rules for Seiberg-Witten invariants (superconformal simple type condition), conjectured by Mariño, Moore and Peradze.
It has been proposed recently that topological A-model string amplitudes for toric Calabi-Yau 3-folds in non self-dual graviphoton background can be caluculated by a diagrammatic method that is called the ``refined topological vertex''. We compute the extended A-model amplitudes for SU(N)-geometries using the proposed vertex. If the refined topological vertex is valid, these computations should give rise to the Nekrasov's partition functions of N=2 SU(N) gauge theories via the geometric engineering. In this article, we verify the proposal by confirming the equivalence between the refined A-mod…
Instanton partition functions of 5d N=1 gauge theories are Witten indices for the ADHM gauged quantum mechanics with (0,4) SUSY. We derive the integral contour prescriptions for these indices using the Jeffrey-Kirwan method, for gauge theories with hypermultiplets in various representations. The results can be used to study various 4d/5d/6d QFTs. In this paper, we study 5d SCFTs which are at the UV fixed points of 5d SYM theories. In particular, we focus on the Sp(N) theories with N_f \leq 7 fundamental and 1 antisymmetric hypermultiplets, living on the D4-D8-O8 systems. Their superconformal i…
In this paper we study the holomorphic Euler characteristics of determinant line bundles on moduli spaces of rank 2 semistable sheaves on an algebraic surface X, which can be viewed as $K$-theoretic versions of the Donaldson invariants. In particular, if X is a smooth projective toric surface, we determine these invariants and their wallcrossing in terms of the K-theoretic version of the Nekrasov partition function (called 5-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory compactified on a circle in the physics literature). Using the results of math.AG/0606180 we give an explicit generating funct…
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…
The instanton partition function of N=2, D=4 SU(2) gauge theory is obtained by taking the field theory limit of the topological open string partition function, given by a Chern-Simons theory, of a CY3-fold. The CY3-fold on the open string side is obtained by geometric transition from local F_0 which is used in the geometric engineering of the SU(2) theory. The partition function obtained from the Chern-Simons theory agrees with the closed topological string partition function of local F_0 proposed recently by Nekrasov. We also obtain the partition functions for local F_1 and F_2 CY3-folds and …
We argue the connection of Nekrasov's partition function in the Ωbackground and the moduli space of D-branes, suggested by the idea of geometric engineering and Gopakumar-Vafa invariants. In the instanton expansion of N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills theory the Nakrasov's partition function with equivariant parameters ε_1, ε_2 of toric action on C^2 factorizes correctly as the character of SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R spin representation. We show that up to two instantons the spin contents are consistent with the Lefschetz action on the moduli space of D2-branes on (local) F_0. We also present an attempt at con…
For a smooth projective toric surface we determine the Donaldson invariants and their wallcrossing in terms of the Nekrasov partition function. Using the solution of the Nekrasov conjecture math.AG/0306198, hep-th/0306238, math.AG/0409441 and its refinement math.AG/0311058, we apply this result to give a generating function for the wallcrossing of Donaldson invariants of good walls of simply connected projective surfaces with $b_+=1$ in terms of modular forms. This formula was proved earlier in alg-geom/9506018 more generally for simply connected 4-manifolds with $b_+=1$, assuming the Kotschic…
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: …
Recently, Kallen and Zabzine computed the partition function of a twisted supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on the five-dimensional sphere using localisation techniques. Key to their construction is a five-dimensional generalisation of the instanton equation to which they refer as the contact instanton equation. Subject of this article is the twistor construction of this equation when formulated on K-contact manifolds and the discussion of its integrability properties. We also present certain extensions to higher dimensions and supersymmetric generalisations.
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 describe the statistical mechanics of a melting crystal in three dimensions and its relation to a diverse range of models arising in combinatorics, algebraic geometry, integrable systems, low-dimensional gauge theories, topological string theory and quantum gravity. Its partition function can be computed by enumerating the contributions from noncommutative instantons to a six-dimensional cohomological gauge theory, which yields a dynamical realization of the crystal as a discretization of spacetime at the Planck scale. We describe analogous relations between a melting crystal model in two d…
We study worldsheet instanton corrections to the exotic 522-brane geometry in type II string theory. The BPS vortices in the N=(4,4) gauged linear sigma model modify the geometry of the 522-brane. We find that the modification of the geometry is understood by the localization in the T-dualized winding direction.
Two dimensional N=(4,4) gauge theories flow to interacting superconformal field theories on their Higgs branch. We examine worldsheet instantons in these theories through the eyes of a D-brane construction. The effective instanton partition function is shown to reveal an emergent background AdS_3 x S^3 geometry.
We use the information metric to investigate the moduli space of a U(1) instanton on (anti)self-dual manifolds, finding an $AdS$ geometry similar to that for the moduli space of a Yang-Mills instanton on flat space. We discuss our results from the perspective of gauge/gravity duality.
We review and elaborate on certain aspects of the connections between instanton counting in maximally supersymmetric gauge theories and the computation of enumerative invariants of smooth varieties. We study in detail three instances of gauge theories in six, four and two dimensions which naturally arise in the context of topological string theory on certain non-compact threefolds. We describe how the instanton counting in these gauge theories are related to the computation of the entropy of supersymmetric black holes, and how these results are related to wall-crossing properties of enumerativ…
We study the geometry of Euclidean instantons in loop quantum cosmology (LQC) such as those relevant for the no-boundary proposal. Confining ourselves to the simplest case of a cosmological constant in minisuperspace cosmologies, we analyze solutions of the semiclassical (Euclidean) path integral in LQC. We find that the geometry of LQC instantons have the peculiar feature of an infinite tail which distinguishes them from Einstein gravity. Moreover, due to quantum-geometry corrections, the small-a behaviour of these instantons seem to naturally favor a closing-off of the geometry in a regular …
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.
We give a complete classification of supersymmetric gravitational instantons in Euclidean N=2 supergravity coupled to vector multiplets. An interesting class of solutions is found which corresponds to the Euclidean analogue of stationary black hole solutions of N=2 supergravity theories.
We investigate membrane and fivebrane instanton effects in type IIA string theory compactified on rigid Calabi-Yau manifolds. These effects contribute to the low-energy effective action of the universal hypermultiplet, in four dimensional spacetime. To compute the nonperturbative effects due to the fivebrane instanton to the universal hypermultiplet, an instanton calculation is performed. In the absence of fivebrane instantons, the quaternionic geometry of the hypermultiplet is determined by solutions of the three-dimensional Toda equation. We construct solutions describing membrane instantons…
Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications（北京国际数学研究中心）；Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Tsinghua University（清华大学丘成桐数学科学中心）；Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822（里昂第一大学，CNRS/IN2P3，IP2I里昂）；Université Bourgogne Europe, CNRS, IMB UMR 5584（勃艮第欧洲大学，CNRS，IMB）
We construct the exact solution of one (anti)instanton in N=1/2 super Yang-Mills theory defined on non(anti)commutative superspace. We first identify N = 1/2 superconformal invariance as maximal spacetime symmetry. For gauge group U(2), SU(2) part of the solution is given by the standard (anti)instanton, but U(1) field strength also turns out nonzero. The solution is SO(4) rotationally symmetric. For gauge group U(N), in contrast to the U(2) case, we show that the entire U(N) part of the solution is deformed by non(anti)commutativity and fermion zero-modes. The solution is no longer rotational…
