We use holography to study codimension-2 surface defects in 5d SCFTs engineered by $(p,q)$ 5-brane webs. The three-dimensional defects are realized by D3-branes ending on the brane web. We identify the holographic representation of the defects in Type IIB $AdS_6$ solutions as probe D3-branes, and study conformal and non-conformal defects which, respectively, preserve one half and one quarter of the supersymmetry. For a sample of 5d SCFTs, including the $T_N$ theories, we provide explicit solutions for conformal and non-conformal defects. For the conformal defects we obtain their contribution to the free energy on $S^5$.
A broad class of holographic duals for 4d $\mathcal N=2$ SCFTs is based on the general half-BPS $AdS_5$ solutions to M-theory constructed by Lin, Lunin and Maldacena, and their Kaluza-Klein reductions to Type IIA. We derive the equations governing spin 2 fluctuations around these solutions. The resulting partial differential equations admit families of universal solutions which are constructed entirely out of the generic data characterizing the background. This implies the existence of families of spin 2 operators in the dual SCFTs, in short superconformal multiplets which we identify.
We present three infinite families of supersymmetric Type IIB backgrounds with AdS$_4$, AdS$_3$ and AdS$_2$ factors, dual to SCFTs in $3$, $2$ and $1$ space-time dimensions respectively. These field theories emerge at low energies, after a twisted compactification of a family of five dimensional ${\cal N}=2$ SCFTs on hyperbolic spaces. The holographic flows across dimensions are explicitly computed. We also discuss a family of SUSY breaking backgrounds, dual to a QCD-like quiver with massive (bi)fundamental matter. Some field theoretical observables are computed for these theories at the fixed…
We study holographic renormalization group flows from four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs to either $\mathcal{N}=2$ or $\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs. Our approach is based on the framework of five-dimensional half-maximal supergravity with general gauging, which we use to study domain wall solutions interpolating between different supersymmetric AdS$_5$ vacua. We show that a holographic RG flow connecting two $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs is only possible if the flavor symmetry of the UV theory admits an ${\rm SO}(3)$ subgroup. In this case the ratio of the IR and UV central charges satisfies a universal r…
We study entanglement entropy and the free energy in recently constructed holographic duals for 5d SCFTs in type IIB supergravity. The solutions exhibit mild singularities, which could potentially complicate holographic applications. We use the relation of the entanglement entropy for a spherical entangling surface to the free energy of the field theory on the five sphere as a well-motivated benchmark to assess how problematic the singularities are. The holographic supergravity computations give well-defined results for both quantities and they satisfy the expected relations. This supports the…
We use the F-theory realization of 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) to study the corresponding spectrum of stringlike, i.e. surface defects. On the tensor branch, all of the stringlike excitations pick up a finite tension, and there is a corresponding lattice of string charges, as well as a dual lattice of charges for the surface defects. The defect group is data intrinsic to the SCFT and measures the surface defect charges which are not screened by dynamical strings. When non-trivial, it indicates that the associated theory has a partition vector rather than a partition function. We c…
We employ a non-compact gauging of four-dimensional maximal supergravity to construct a two-parameter family of AdS$_4$ J-fold solutions preserving $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry. All solutions preserve $\mathfrak{u}(1)\times\mathfrak{u}(1)$ global symmetry and in special limits we recover the previously known $\mathfrak{su}(2)\times\mathfrak{u}(1)$ invariant $\mathcal{N}=2$ and $\mathfrak{su}(2)\times\mathfrak{su}(2)$ invariant $\mathcal{N}=4$ J-fold solutions. This family of AdS$_4$ backgrounds can be uplifted to type IIB string theory and is holographically dual to the conformal manifold of …
We show that the string worldsheet theory of Gaiotto-Maldacena holographic duals to N=2 superconformal field theories generically fails to be classically integrable. We demonstrate numerically that the dynamics of a winding string configuration possesses a non-vanishing Lyapunov exponent. Furthermore an analytic study of the Normal Variational Equation fails to yield a Liouvillian solution. An exception to the generic non-integrability of such backgrounds is provided by the non-Abelian T-dual of $AdS_5 \times S^5$. Here by virtue of the canonical transformation nature of the T-duality classica…
We study the holographic description of ${\cal N}=2$ Super Conformal Field Theories in four dimensions first given by Gaiotto and Maldacena. We present new expressions that holographically calculate characteristic numbers of the CFT and associated Hanany-Witten set-ups, or more dynamical observables, like the central charge. A number of examples of varying complexity are studied and some proofs for these new expressions are presented. We repeat this treatment for the case of the marginally deformed Gaiotto-Maldacena theories, presenting an infinite family of new solutions and compute some of i…
5d ray index is the 5d superconformal index in the presence of a ray-like defect. An elementary ray defect flows to a fundamental Wilson ray in IR gauge theory. In 5d $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal field theory(SCFT) with $E_n$ global symmetry, we compute the ray index associated with an adjoint Wilson ray. We show that the operators that appear in the index are non-trivially charged under the center of the global symmetry $E_n$. The charge under the center being twice compared with the center charge carried by the elementary ray operator indicates a non-trivial OPE between the ray-like defect…
We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to compute the central charges of the d=4, N=2 superconformal field theories arising from N D3-branes at singularities in F-theory. These include the conformal theories with E_n global symmetries. We compute the central charges a and c related to the conformal anomaly, and also the central charges k associated to the global symmetry in these theories. All of these are related to the coefficients of Chern-Simons terms in the dual string theory on AdS_5. Our computation is exact for all values of N, enabling several tests of the dualities recently proposed by Ar…
We study the twisted compactifications of five-dimensional Seiberg SCFTs, with $SU_\mathcal{M}(2)\times E_{N_f+1}$ flavor symmetry, on a generic Riemann surface that preserves four supercharges. The five-dimensional SCFTs are obtained from the decoupling limit of $N$ D4-branes probing a geometry of $N_f<8$ D8-branes and an O8-plane. In addition to the R-symmetry, we can also twist the flavor symmetry by turning on background flux on the Riemann surface. In particular, in the string theory construction of the five-dimensional SCFTs, the background flux for the $SU_\mathcal{M}(2)$ has a geometri…
Using six-dimensional Euclidean $F(4)$ gauged supergravity we construct a holographic renormalization group flow for a CFT on $S^5$. Numerical solutions to the BPS equations are obtained and the free energy of the theory on $S^5$ is determined holographically by calculation of the renormalized on-shell supergravity action. In the process, we deal with subtle issues such as holographic renormalization and addition of finite counterterms. We then propose a candidate field theory dual to these solutions. This tentative dual is a supersymmetry-preserving deformation of the strongly-coupled non-Lag…
We study the $(1,0)$ six-dimensional SCFTs living on defects of non-geometric heterotic backgrounds (T-fects) preserving a $E_7\times E_8$ subgroup of $E_8\times E_8$. These configurations can be dualized explicitly to F-theory on elliptic K3-fibered non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. We find that the majority of the resulting dual threefolds contain non-resolvable singularities. In those cases in which we can resolve the singularities we explicitly determine the SCFTs living on the defect. We find a form of duality in which distinct defects are described by the same IR fixed point. For instan…
We compute the holographic entanglement entropy in the gravity with higher curvature terms dual to d=4 N=2 SCFTs in F-theory using the method proposed in arXiv:1011.5819. The log term of this entanglement entropy reproduces the A-type anomaly of the dual SCFTs in F- theory using the gravity dual with the higher derivative term, which, using the field redefinition, can be transformed to the Gauss-Bonnet term in the subleading order of a derivative expansion. Our analysis shows that the 1/N^2 correction for the central charges should be produced from the gravity including higher derivative terms…
We investigate the holographic Rényi entropy for two-dimensional $\mathcal N=(2,2)$ superconformal field theory (SCFT), which is dual to $\mathcal N=2$ supergravity in AdS$_3$ background. In SCFT we have the stress tensor, current, and their supersymmetric partners, and in supergravity we have the graviton, vector field, and two gravitinos. We get the Rényi mutual information of two short intervals on complex plane in expansion by the cross ratio $x$ to order $x^4$, and Rényi entropy of one interval on torus in expansion by $q=\exp(-2πβ/L)$, with $β$ being the inverse temperature and $L$ being…
We probe type IIA geometries with \emph{folded} semiclassical strings those encode the strong coupling dynamics associated with long operators in a class of SCFTs pertaining to spacetimes whose dimension vary from $6d$ down to $2d$. We particularly focus on folded string configurations those are extended through stack of flavor $ Dp $ ($ p=6,8 $) branes localized along the internal manifold. Considering some specific examples within the realm of $ \mathcal{N}=2 $ linear quivers, we show that the associated string spectrum exhibits a pole as the string approaches flavor D6 branes. We identify t…
We study four-dimensional $N=4$ gauged supergravity coupled to six vector multiplets with semisimple gauge groups $SO(4)\times SO(4)$, $SO(3,1)\times SO(3,1)$ and $SO(4)\times SO(3,1)$. All of these gauge groups are dyonically embedded in the global symmetry group $SO(6,6)$ via its maximal subgroup $SO(3,3)\times SO(3,3)$. For $SO(4)\times SO(4)$ gauge group, there are four $N=4$ supersymmetric $AdS_4$ vacua with $SO(4)\times SO(4)$, $SO(4)\times SO(3)$, $SO(3)\times SO(4)$ and $SO(3)\times SO(3)$ symmetries, respectively. These $AdS_4$ vacua correspond to $N=4$ SCFTs in three dimensions with …
We study marginal deformations of a class of three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs that admit a holographic dual description in massive type IIA supergravity. We compute the dimension of the conformal manifold in these SCFTs and identify a special submanifold with enhanced flavor symmetry. We show how to apply the TsT transformation of Lunin-Maldacena to construct explicit supersymmetric AdS$_4$ solutions of massive type IIA supergravity with non-trivial internal fluxes that are the holographic dual of these marginal deformations. Finally, we also briefly comment on a class of RG flows betwe…
We discuss supersymmetric surface defects in compactifications of six dimensional minimal conformal matter of type SU(3) and SO(8) to four dimensions. The relevant field theories in four dimensions are N=1 quiver gauge theories with SU(3) and SU(4) gauge groups respectively. The defects are engineered by giving space-time dependent vacuum expectation values to baryonic operators. We find evidence that in the case of SU(3) minimal conformal matter the defects carry SU(2) flavor symmetry which is not a symmetry of the four dimensional model. The simplest case of a model in this class is SU(3) SQ…
We study ${\mathcal N}=(1,0)$ six-dimensional theories living on defects of non-geometric backgrounds of the $E_8\times E_8$ and the $\text{Spin}(32)/{\mathbb Z}_2$ heterotic strings. Such configurations can be analyzed by dualizing to F-theory on elliptic K3-fibered non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. The majority of the resulting dual threefolds turn out to contain singularities which do not admit a crepant resolution. When the singularities can be resolved crepantly, the theories living on the defect are explicitly determined and reveal a form of duality in which distinct defects are describ…
Inspired by the recently discovered holographic duality between N=2 SCFTs and half-BPS M-theory backgrounds, we study probe M5-branes. Though our main focus is supersymmetric M5-branes whose worldvolume has an AdS_n factor, we also consider some other configurations. Of special mention is the identification of AdS_5 and AdS_3 probes preserving supersymmetry, with only the latter supporting a self-dual field strength.
We find an explicit supergravity background dual to the $Ω$-deformation of a four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT on $\mathbb{R}^4$. The solution can be constructed in the five-dimensional ${\cal N}=4^+$ gauged supergravity and has a nontrivial self-dual 2-form. When uplifted to type IIB supergravity the background is a deformation of AdS$_5\times S^5$ which preserves 16 supercharges. We also discuss generalizations of this solution corresponding to turning on a vacuum expectation value for a scalar operator in the dual SCFT.
Tokai University（东海大学）；Fudan University（复旦大学）；Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences（上海数学与交叉学科研究院）；Southeast University（东南大学）
本文提出三维超对称规范理论中线缺陷 Witten 指标的一般公式，并发现 M2-膜 SCFT 中 Wilson 线缺陷指标的递推关系，实现高秩指标由低秩数据递归确定。
In conformal field theories (CFTs) of dimension $d>3$, two-dimensional (2d) conformal defects are characterised in part by central charges defined via the defect's contribution to the trace anomaly. However, in general for interacting CFTs these central charges are difficult to calculate. For superconformal 2d defects in supersymmetric (SUSY) CFTs (SCFTs), we show how to compute these defect central charges from the SUSY partition function either on $S^d$ with defect along $S^2$, or on $S^1 \times S^{d-1}$ with defect along $S^1 \times S^1$. In the latter case we propose that defect central ch…
We present new $AdS_5$ solutions in 11d supergravity and identify them as the gravity duals of a class of 4d $\mathcal N = 2$ SCFTs of Argyres-Douglas type, engineered by a stack of M5-branes wrapped on a sphere with one irregular puncture and one regular puncture. The gravity solutions feature an internal M5-brane source, which is dual to the irregular puncture. Thanks to a novel Stückelberg mechanism involving an axion originating from the expansion of the M-theory 3-form, one of the isometry generators on the gravity side is not mapped to a continuous symmetry on the SCFT side.
In this paper we investigate the holographic Rényi entropy in $\mathcal N=1$ supergravity (SUGRA) in AdS$_3$ spacetime, which is dual to the two-dimensional $\mathcal N=(1,1)$ superconformal field theory (SCFT). We consider both cases of two short intervals on a line with zero temperature and one interval on a circle with low temperature. In SUGRA side we consider contributions of both graviton and gravitino, and in SCFT side we consider contributions of both stress tensor $T$, $\bar T$ and their superpartners $G$, $\bar G$. We find matches between SUGRA and SCFT results.
We construct new families of $\text{AdS}_2 \times S^2 \times S^2$ solutions with 4 supercharges in Type II supergravities. We show that subclasses of these solutions can be interpreted in terms of defect branes embedded in 4d $\mathcal{N} = 4 $ SYM, or orbifolds thereof. This is explicitly realised by showing that the solutions asymptote locally to $\text{AdS}_5 \times S^5/\mathbb{Z}_n$, in Type IIB, or its T-dual background, in Type IIA. The latter is a Gaiotto-Maldacena geometry realised on an intersection of D4 and NS5 branes. We extend the Type IIA solutions to include D6 branes, and inter…
We initiate the classification of unitary superconformal defects in unitary superconformal field theories (SCFT) of diverse spacetime dimensions $3\leq d \leq 6$. Our method explores general constraints from the defect superconformal symmetry, unitarity, as well as consistency conditions of local bulk-defect couplings. Such features are common to all superconformal defects regardless of any Lagrangian description. In particular, modified Ward identities of conserved currents in the presence of the defect induce a distinguished set of conformal primary operators on the defect worldvolume, which…
We summarize the results and the ideas in 1707.06152, 1707.06154, 1807.07768 where new warped $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ backgrounds are derived in massive IIA string theory by uplifting exact solutions in $\mathcal N=1$, $d=7$ and $\mathcal N=(1,1)$, $d=6$ gauged supergravities. These solutions are respectively asymptotically $\mathrm{AdS}_7$ and $\mathrm{AdS}_6$ and they are related to the D2-D4-NS5-D6-D8 brane intersection. We provide a particular supergravity solution in 10d describing this bound state and we discuss the relations between its near-horizon geometry and the uplifts from 6d and 7d. The…
We study the $d=11$ gravity dual $AdS_4\times N(1,1)$ of the $d=3$ $\mathcal{N}=3$ flavored Chern-Simons-matter (CSM) theory. In the dual gravity side, we analyze the M5-brane making the edge on the boundary of $AdS_4$ and derive the quantized Hall conductivity of the dual gauge theory. In the gauge theory side, this M5-brane intersects the gauge theory at the codimension-one defect.
We study the holographic dual to $c$-extremization for 2d $(0,2)$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) that have an AdS$_3$ dual realized in Type IIB with varying axio-dilaton, i.e. F-theory. M/F-duality implies that such AdS$_3$ solutions can be mapped to AdS$_2$ solutions in M-theory, which are holographically dual to superconformal quantum mechanics (SCQM), obtained by dimensional reduction of the 2d SCFTs. We analyze the corresponding map between holographic $c$-extremization in F-theory and $\mathcal{I}$-extremization in M-theory, where in general the latter receives corrections relative…
We study an $SO(2)\times SO(2)\times SO(2)\times SO(2)$ truncation of four-dimensional $N=4$ gauged supergravity coupled to six vector multiplets with $SO(4)\times SO(4)$ gauge group and find a new class of holographic RG flows and supersymmetric Janus solutions. In this truncation, there is a unique $N=4$ supersymmetric $AdS_4$ vacuum dual to an $N=4$ SCFT in three dimensions. In the presence of the axion, the RG flows generally preserve $N=2$ supersymmetry while the supersymmetry is enhanced to $N=4$ for vanishing axion. We find solutions interpolating between the $AdS_4$ vacuum and singular…
Operators transform anomalously under the symmetry in the presence of quantum anomalies. We study this aspect of the super-Weyl anomaly in $\mathcal N=(1,1)$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs), in the context of AdS/CFT. In particular, we carry out holographic renormalization for $(1,1)$ pure AdS$_3$ supergravity that is supposed to be a gravity dual of the $\mathcal N=(1,1)$ SCFT, and derive holographic superconformal Ward identities with corresponding anomalies. We show that the obtained super-Weyl anomaly of the $\mathcal N=(1,1)$ SCFT induces a quantum correction term in the transformat…
We study supersymmetric AdS$_7$ vacua of massive type IIA string theory, which were argued to describe the near-horizon limit of NS5/D6/D8-brane intersections and to be holographically dual to 6D $(1,0)$ theories. We show, for the case without D8-brane charges, that such vacua do not admit any supersymmetry-breaking deformations. Our result implies that the dual $(1,0)$ theories do not have a conformal manifold, thus extending previously known results for supersymmetric deformations. It is also in line with the recent conjecture that non-supersymmetric AdS vacua are in the swampland.
We study solutions of type IIB string theory dual to ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on half of $\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ coupled to holographic three-dimensional superconformal field theories (SCFTs) at the edge of this half-space. The dual geometries are asymptotically $AdS^5 \times S^5$ with boundary geometry $\mathbb{R}^{2,1} \times \mathbb{R}^+$, with a geometrical end-of-the-world (ETW) brane cutting off the other half of the asymptotic region of the would-be Poincaré $AdS^5 \times S^5$. We show that by choosing the 3D SCFT appropriately, this ETW brane can be pushed arbitrarily f…
With the purpose of holographically describing flows from a large family of four dimensional ${\cal N}=1$ and ${\cal N}=2$ conformal field theories, we discuss truncations of seven dimensional supergravity to five dimensions. We write explicitly the reduced gauged supergravity and find BPS equations for simple configurations. Lifting these flows to eleven dimensions or Massive IIA supergravity, we present string duals to RG flows from strongly coupled conformal theories when deformed by marginal and/or relevant operators. We further discuss observables common to infinite families of ${\cal N}=…
We apply c-extremization, whose proof we review in full detail, to study two-dimensional N=(0,2) superconformal field theories arising from the low-energy dynamics of D3-branes wrapped on Riemann surfaces and M5-branes wrapped on four-manifolds. We compute the exact central charges of these theories using anomalies and c-extremization. In all cases we also construct AdS_3 supergravity solutions of type IIB and eleven-dimensional supergravity, which are holographic duals to the field theories at large N, and exactly reproduce the central charges computed via c-extremization.
