On brane systems with O${}^+$ planes -- 5d and 6d SCFTs
Mohammad Akhond, Guillermo Arias-Tamargo, Federico Carta, Julius F. Grimminger, Amihay Hanany
备注：
V3: typos corrected, 94.2 pages, many figures, V4: More detailed analysis of global symmetry for Bahrdwaj theories, typos in tables in intro corrected, matches journal version, V5: typo corrected
We study Higgs branches of field theories with 8 supercharges in 5 and 6 dimensions, focusing on theories realised on 5-brane webs in Type IIB with an O$7^+$ plane, or a D6-D8-NS5 brane system in Type IIA in the presence of an O$8^+$ plane. We find magnetic quivers for the Higgs branches of these theories. The main consequence of the presence of the orientifold is that it renders the magnetic quiver to be non-simply-laced. We propose a contribution of the O$7^+$ to the usual stable intersection number of 5-branes from tropical geometry, and show that it is consistent with Fayet-Iliopoulos deformations of magnetic quivers which represent mass deformations of 5d SQFTs. From the magnetic quivers, we compute phase diagrams and highest weight generating functions for the Higgs branches, enabling us to identify the global form of the flavour symmetry for several families of 5d SQFTs; among them Bhardwaj's rank-1 theory. For 6d theories realised on a $-4$ curve, we observe the appearance of an additional $D_4$ slice on top of the phase diagram as one goes to the tensionless limit.
We study a class of N=1 quiver gauge theories build out of vector multiplets and matter multiplets in the fundamental and bifundamental representations. We argue that these theories flow to interacting SCFTs in the IR and calculate their central charges. We exhibit a type IIA brane construction which at low energies is described by these SCFTs. This also leads to a natural description of the theories in terms of M5-branes on a punctured sphere.
We study $5d$ gauge theories that go in the UV to $6d$ $\mathcal{N}$$=(1,0)$ SCFT. We focus on these theories that can be engineered in string theory by brane webs. Given a theory in this class, we propose a method to determine the $6d$ SCFT it goes to. We also discuss the implication of this to the compactification of the resulting $6d$ SCFT on a torus to $4d$. We test and demonstrate this method with a variety of examples.
We present evidence for a new class of strongly coupled N = 1 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) motivated by F-theory GUT constructions. These SCFTs arise from D3-brane probes of tilted seven-branes which undergo monodromy. In the probe theory, this tilting corresponds to an N = 1 deformation of an N = 2 SCFT by a matrix of field-dependent masses with non-trivial branch cuts in the eigenvalues. Though these eigenvalues characterize the geometry, we find that they do not uniquely specify the holomorphic data of the physical theory. We also comment on some phenomenological aspects of how the…
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 study AdS duals of four-dimensional (4D) $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) on $\mathbb{Z}_k$ S-folds with T-branes that flow to 4D $\mathcal{N}=3$ theories. In a previous study, it was discussed how considering T-brane structure breaks the $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry in 4D SCFTs on $\mathbb{Z}_k$ S-folds down to $\mathcal{N}=1$. In this study, we analyze this effect from the AdS perspective. We also discuss the constructions of 4D $\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs on S-folds with T-branes starting from global K3 hypersurfaces whose fibers involve complex multiplications. We choose…
It is known that a 4d N = 1 SCFT lives on D3-branes probing a local del Pezzo Calabi-Yau singularity. The Seiberg (or toric) duality of this SCFT arises from the Picard-Lefshetz transformation of the affine E_N 7-brane background that is associated with the Calabi-Yau threefold. In this paper we study the duality of the affine E_N background itself and a 5-brane probing it. We then find that many different Type IIB 5-brane webs describe the same SCFT in 5d. We check this duality by comparing the Nekrasov partition functions of these 5-brane web configurations.
We consider the low-energy limit of the two-dimensional theory on multiple M2-branes suspended between a flat M5-brane and a curved M5-brane. We argue that it is described by an $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric Landau-Ginzburg model with the superpotential determined by the shape of the curved M5-branes, which flows in the low-energy limit to a Kazama-Suzuki coset model. We provide evidence by studying ground states and BPS spectra of the systems.
We introduce a systematic approach to constructing $\mathcal{N}=1$ Lagrangians for a class of interacting $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs. We analyse in detail the simplest case of the construction, arising from placing branes at an orientifolded $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_2$ singularity. In this way we obtain Lagrangian descriptions for all the $R_{2,k}$ theories. The rank one theories in this class are the $E_6$ Minahan-Nemeschansky theory and the $C_2\times U(1)$ Argyres-Wittig theory. The Lagrangians that arise from our brane construction manifestly exhibit either the entire expected flavour symmetry …
The worldvolume theory of M5-branes on an ADE singularity $\mathbb{R}^5/Γ_G$ can be Higgsed in various ways, corresponding to the possible nilpotent orbits of $G$. In the F-theory dual picture, this corresponds to activating T-brane data along two stacks of 7-branes and yields a tensor branch realization for a large class of 6D SCFTs. In this paper, we show that the moduli spaces and anomalies of these T-brane theories are related in a simple, universal way to data of the nilpotent orbits. This often works in surprising ways and gives a nontrivial confirmation of the conjectured properties of …
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 t…
We engineer a large new set of four-dimensional N=1 superconformal field theories by wrapping M5-branes on complex curves. We present new supersymmetric AdS_5 M-theory backgrounds which describe these fixed points at large N, and then directly construct the dual four-dimensional CFTs for a certain subset of these solutions. Additionally, we provide a direct check of the central charges of these theories by using the M5-brane anomaly polynomial. This is a companion paper which elaborates upon results reported in arXiv:1112:5487.
We consider the low-energy limit of the two-dimensional theory on k M2-branes suspended between a straight M5-brane and a curved M5-brane. We argue that it is described by an N=(2,2) supersymmetric gauge theory with no matter fields but with a non-trivial twisted superpotential, and also by an N=(2,2) supersymmetric Landau-Ginzburg model, such that the (twisted) superpotentials are determined by the shape of the M5-branes. We find particular cases realize Kazama-Suzuki models. Evidence is provided by the study of ground states, chiral rings, BPS spectra and S^2 partition functions of the syste…
We find a large class of two-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ SCFTs obtained by compactifying four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ quiver gauge theories on a Riemann surface. We study these theories using anomalies and $c$-extremization. The gravitational duals to these fixed points are new AdS$_3$ solutions of IIB supergravity which we exhibit explicitly. Along the way we uncover a universal relation between the conformal anomaly coefficients of four-dimensional and two-dimensional SCFTs connected by an RG flow across dimensions. We also observe an interesting novel phenomenon in which the superco…
We study the correspondence between the large $N$ limit of ${\cal N} = 2$ three dimensional superconformal field theories and M theory on orbifolds of $AdS_4 \times {\bf S^7}$. We identify the brane configuration which gives $C^3/Z_3$ as a background for the M theory in terms of a Brane Box Model or a (p, q) web model. By taking the orbifold projection on the known spectrum of Kaluza-Klein harmonics of supergravity, we obtain information about the chiral primary operators at the orbifold singularities.
We consider Type IIB 5-brane configurations for 5d rank 2 superconformal theories which are classified recently by geometry in arXiv:1801.04036. We propose all the 5-brane web diagrams for these rank 2 theories and show dualities between some of different gauge theories with explicit duality map of mass parameters and Coulomb branch moduli. In particular, we explicitly construct 5-brane configurations for $G_2$ gauge theory with six flavors and its dual $Sp(2)$ and $SU(3)$ gauge theories. We also present 5-brane webs for $SU(3)$ theories of Chern-Simons level greater than 5.
We analyze topological mass terms of BF type arising in supersymmetric M-theory compactifications to $AdS_5$. These describe spontaneously broken higher-form gauge symmetries in the bulk. Different choices of boundary conditions for the BF terms yield dual field theories with distinct global discrete symmetries. We discuss in detail these symmetries and their 't Hooft anomalies for 4d $\mathcal N = 1$ SCFTs arising from M5-branes wrapped on a Riemann surface without punctures, including theories from M5-branes at a $\mathbb Z_2$ orbifold singularity. The anomaly polynomial is computed via infl…
We describe the general BPS system that governs the gravity duals of N=(0,2) two-dimensional superconformal field theories in the low-energy limit of M5-branes on a four-manifold, M4. In order to preserve supersymmetry, we restrict to cases where the four-manifold is embedded in a Calabi-Yau fourfold that is a sum of two line bundles over M4. We further reduce the N=(0,2) system to describe the gravity duals of SCFTs with N=(0,4) and N=(2,2) supersymmetry. In the first case, the solutions fit in the larger class of AdS3xS2xCY3 solutions of M-theory dual to N=(0,4) SCFTs. In the case of the 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.
We study a class of four-dimensional N=1 superconformal field theories obtained by wrapping M5-branes on a Riemann surface with punctures. We identify UV descriptions of four-dimensional SCFTs corresponding to curves with a class of punctures. The quiver tails appearing in these UV descriptions differ significantly from their N=2 counterpart. We find a new type of object that we call the `Fan'. We show how to construct new N=1 superconformal theories using the Fan. Various dual descriptions for these SCFTs can be identified with different colored pair-of-pants decompositions. For example, we f…
We study various conjectural dual descriptions of a stack of M2-branes in M-theory including ADHM, ABJ(M), BLG, discrete gauge theories and quiver Chern-Simons (CS) theories and propose several new dualities of the M2-brane SCFTs by analyzing flavored supersymmetric indices in detail. The mapping of local operators, Coulomb, Higgs and mixed branch operators as well as global symmetries under the dualities are obtained from the precise matching of the indices. Furthermore, we find closed form expressions for the Coulomb limit of the indices of the $U(N)$ ADHM theory and the dual quiver CS theor…
M5-branes probing an ADE singularity lead to 6D SCFTs with (1,0) supersymmetry. On the tensor branch, the M5-branes specify domain walls of a 7D Super Yang-Mills theory with gauge group G of ADE-type, thus providing conformal matter for a broad class of generalized quiver theories. Additionally, these theories have G x G flavor symmetry, and a corresponding Higgs branch. In this note we use the F-theory realization of these theories to calculate the scaling dimension of the operator parameterizing seven-brane recombination, i.e. motion of the stack of M5-branes off of the orbifold singularity.…
Recently it was conjectured that parallel branes at conical singularities are related to string/M theory on $AdS \times X$ where $X$ is an Einstein manifold. In this paper we consider coincident M2 branes near a conifold singularity when M theory is compactified on $AdS_4 \times Q^{1,1,1}$ where $Q^{1,1,1} = (SU(2) \times SU(2) \times SU(2))/(U(1) \times U(1))$ is a seven dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold. We argue that M theory on $AdS_4 \times Q^{1,1,1}$ can be described in terms of a three dimensional superconformal field theory.We use the fact that the three dimensional self-mirror dual…
We study supersymmetric intersections of NS5-, D6- and D8-branes in type IIA string theory. We focus on the supergravity description of this system and identify a "near horizon" limit in which we recover the recently classified supersymmetric seven-dimensional AdS solutions of massive type IIA supergravity. Using a consistent truncation to seven-dimensional gauged supergravity we construct a universal supersymmetric deformation of these AdS vacua. In the holographic dual six-dimensional (1,0) superconformal field theory this deformation describes a universal RG flow on the tensor branch of the…
We compute all 3-point functions of the ``universal'' scalar operators contained in the interacting, maximally supersymmetric CFTs at large N by using the AdS/CFT correspondence. These SCFTs are related to the low energy description of M5, M2 and D3 branes, and the common set of universal scalars corresponds through the AdS/CFT relation to the fluctuations of the metric and the magnetic potential along the internal manifold. For the interacting (0,2) SCFT_6 at large N, which is related to M5 branes, this set of scalars is complete, while additional non-universal scalar operators are present in…
We study the spectrum of BPS particles on the Coulomb branch of five-dimensional superconformal field theories (5d SCFTs) compactified on a circle. By engineering these theories in M-theory on ${\mathbf X} \times S^1 $, for ${\mathbf X}$ an isolated Calabi-Yau threefold singularity, we naturally identify the BPS category of the 5d theory on a circle with the derived category of coherent sheaves on a resolution of ${\mathbf X}$. It follows that the BPS spectrum can be studied in terms of 5d BPS quivers, which are the fractional-brane quivers for the singularity ${\mathbf X}$. 5d BPS quivers gen…
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…
We analyse the moduli spaces of superconformal field theories (SCFTs). For N=2 we find an enhanced moduli space which in geometrical terms corresponds to tori with two independent complex structures. To explain the precise relation with the moduli space of SCFTs on K3 surfaces as described by Aspinwall and Morrison, we discuss some subtleties with the precise interpretation of the N=2 and N=4 moduli spaces. We also explain why in some cases the SYZ-description of mirror symmetry as fibrewise T-duality seems to break down. Using gluing matrices we give an algebraic description of D-branes and c…
We study the full moduli space of vacua of 6d worldvolume SCFTs on M5 branes probing an $A$-type singularity, focusing on the geometric incarnation of the discrete gauging mechanism which acts as a discrete quotient on the Higgs branch fibered over the tensor branch. We combine insights from brane constructions and magnetic quiver techniques, in which discrete gauging is implemented through the concept of decoration introduced in [arXiv:2202.01218]. We discover and characterize new transverse slices between phases of 6d SCFTs, identifying some of them with a family of isolated symplectic singu…
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…
We extend the anomaly inflow methods developed in M-theory to SCFTs engineered via D3-branes in type IIB. We show that the 't Hooft anomalies of such SCFTs can be computed systematically from their geometric definition. Our procedure is tested in several 4d examples and applied to 2d theories obtained by wrapping D3-branes on a Riemann surface. In particular, we show how to analyze half-BPS regular punctures for 4d $\mathcal N = 4$ SYM on a Riemann surface. We discuss generalizations of this formalism to type IIB configurations with $F_3$, $H_3$ fluxes, as well as to F-theory setups.
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 explore the $\mathbb{Z}_{2,3,4,6}$ S-foldings of some 5d superconformal field theories from the $(p,q)$ 5-brane web perspective. The S-folding involves both a spatial quotient and an $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$ transformation on 5-branes simultaneously. The $\mathbb{Z}_{2,3,4,6}$ S-foldings are achieved by the insertion of the $D_4, E_6, E_7, E_8$ 7-branes, respectively. The deficit angles and monodromies of these 7-branes are exactly those necessary for the S-foldings. We explore the details of the S-folding process, especially the enhancement of global flavor symmetry in various simple ca…
We study the macroscopics of 2d $\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ SCFTs arising from F-theory constructions. The class of 2d SCFTs we consider live on black strings which are obtained by wrapping D3-branes on a curve in the base of a possibly singular elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefold. In addition, we allow the D3-branes to probe ALE or ALF spaces transversely. We compute anomaly coefficients of these SCFTs by determining Chern-Simons terms in the 3d action resulting from the reduction of 6d $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ supergravity on the compact space surrounding the black string. Essential contributions t…
We study the 't Hooft anomalies of four-dimensional superconformal field theories that arise from M5-branes wrapped on a punctured Riemann surface. In general there are two independent contributions to the anomalies. There is a bulk term obtained by integrating the anomaly polynomial of the world-volume theory on the M5-branes over the Riemann surface; this contribution knows about the punctures only through its dependence on the Euler characteristic of the surface. The second set of contributions comes from local data at the punctures; these terms are independent from the bulk data of the sur…
We study CFT data of 3-dimensional superconformal field theories (SCFTs) arising from wrapped two M5-branes on closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds. Via so-called 3d/3d correspondence, central charges of these SCFTs are related to a $SL(2)$ Chern-Simons (CS) invariant on the 3-manifolds. We give a rigorous definition of the invariant in terms of resurgence theory and a state-integral model for the complex CS theory. We numerically evaluate the central charges for several closed 3-manifolds with small hyperbolic volume. The computation suggests that the wrapped M5-brane systems give infinitely many di…
We construct Type IIB supergravity solutions with geometry $AdS_6\times S^2$ warped over a disc with two boundary points where 5-branes emerge and punctures with 7-brane monodromy. They describe $(p,q)$ 5-brane junctions with two groups of like-charged external 5-branes that are unconstrained by the $s$-rule and an additional group of constrained 5-branes. The dual 5d SCFTs include various theories discussed previously in the literature. We match SCFT operators with scaling dimension of $\mathcal O(N)$ with their representation in supergravity to support the proposed dualities.
This paper lays groundwork for the detailed study of the non-trivial renormalization group flow connecting supersymmetric fixed points in four dimensions using string theory on AdS spaces. Specifically, we consider D3-branes placed at singularities of Calabi-Yau threefolds which generalize the conifold singularity and have an ADE classification. The $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal theories dictating their low-energy dynamics are infrared fixed points arising from deforming the corresponding ADE $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories by mass terms for adjoint chiral fields. We probe the g…
We discuss the gravity duals of 4d N=2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) arising from the low-energy limit of brane configurations of D4-branes stretched between and intersecting NS5-branes and D6-branes. This gives rise to a product of SU(N_i) groups, with bi-fundamental matter between adjacent groups, and extra fundamental hypermultiplets. The most general configuration in 11d (or type IIA) supergravity that is dual to a 4d N=2 SCFT (when the dual of this SCFT is a weakly curved background) was written down by Gaiotto and Maldacena, but finding it explicitly involves solving a complicate…
We study M theory on $AdS_7 \times \RP^4$ corresponding to 6 dimensional SO(2N) $(0, 2)$ superconformal field theory on a circle which becomes 5 dimensional super Yang-Mills theory at low energies. For SU(N) (0,2) theory, a wrapped D4 brane on $§^4$ which is connected to a D4 brane on the boundary of $AdS_7$ by N fundamental strings can be interpreted as baryon vertex. For SO(2N) (0,2) theory, by using the property of homology of $\RP^4$, we classify various wrapping branes. Then we consider particles, strings, twobranes, domain walls and the baryon vertex in Type IIA string theory.
We analyze four-dimensional (4d) $N=1$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) obtained as deformations of 4d $N=2$ SCFTs on S-folds by tilting 7-branes. Geometric compatibility with the structures of S-folds constrains the forms of T-branes. As a result, brane monodromies are constrained. We also discuss two 4d $N=1$ theories on probe D3-branes, where the two theories behave identically in IR, but they originate from different theories in UV. Studying the global structure of their geometry is useful in constructing these two theories.
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.
In this talk we will review the construction of M2-brane SCFT's highlighting some novelties and the role of 3-algebras. Parts of our discussion will closely follow parts of arXiv:1203.3546. Next we will discuss M5-branes: the basics, the obstacles as well as various attempts to construct the associated SCFT and potential relations between M2-branes and M5-branes.
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 discuss thermodynamics of N M2-branes at strong coupling from the ABJM theory by employing the Smilga-Wiseman method, which explains the black Dp-brane thermodynamics from the maximally supersymmetric U(N) Yang-Mills theories through a field theory analysis. As a result we obtain the free energy of the ABJM theory ~N^{3/2}k^{1/2}T^3, which is consistent with the prediction from eleven-dimensional supergravity. We also estimate the free energy of N M5-branes by assuming some natural properties of the 6d superconformal field theory. Remarkably we obtain the free energy ~N^3T^6, which is consi…
Recent work on 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) has established an intricate correspondence between certain Higgs branch deformations and nilpotent orbits of flavor symmetry algebras associated with T-branes. In this paper, we return to the stringy origin of these theories and show that many aspects of these deformations can be understood in terms of simple combinatorial data associated with multi-pronged strings stretched between stacks of intersecting 7-branes in F-theory. This data lets us determine the full structure of the nilpotent cone for each semi-simple flavor symmetry algebr…
Recent work has established a uniform characterization of most 6D SCFTs in terms of generalized quivers with conformal matter. Compactification of the partial tensor branch deformation of these theories on a $T^2$ leads to 4D $\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFTs which are also generalized quivers. Taking products of bifundamental conformal matter operators, we present evidence that there are large R-charge sectors of the theory in which operator mixing is captured by a 1D spin chain Hamiltonian with operator scaling dimensions controlled by a perturbation series in inverse powers of the R-charge. We regula…
We provide a string theory embedding for N = 1 superconformal field theories defined by bipartite graphs inscribed on a disk. We realize these theories by exploiting the close connection with related N = 2 generalized (A_(k-1), A_(n-1)) Argyres-Douglas theories. The N = 1 theory is obtained from spacetime filling D5-branes wrapped on an algebraic curve and NS5-branes wrapped on special Lagrangians of C^2 which intersect along the BPS flow lines of the corresponding N = 2 Argyres-Douglas theory. Dualities of the N = 1 field theory follow from geometric deformations of the brane configuration wh…
We study M theory on $AdS_4 \times \RP^7$ corresponding to 3 dimensional ${\cal N}=8$ superconformal field theory which is the strong coupling limit of 3 dimensional super Yang-Mills theory. For SU(N) theory, a wrapped M5 brane on $\RP^5$ can be interpreted as baryon vertex. For $SO(N)/Sp(2N)$ theory, by using the property of (co-)homology of $\RP^7$, we classify various wrapping branes and consider domain walls and the baryon vertex.
Coincident M2 branes at a conical singularity are related to M theory on AdS_4 x X_7 for an appropriate 7 dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold X_7. For X_7=Q^{1,1,1}=(SU(2) x SU(2) x SU(2))/(U(1) x U(1)) which was found sometime ago, the infrared limit of the theory on N M2 branes was constructed recently. It is the SU(N) x SU(N) x SU(N) gauge theories with three series of chiral fields A_i, i=1,2 transforming in the (N, \bar{N},1) representation, B_j, j=1,2 transforming in the (1,N, \bar{N}) representation and C_k, k=1,2 transforming in the (\bar{N},1,N) representation. From the scalar Laplac…
We propose Type IIB 5-brane configurations that engineer the 6d $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SCFTs with $SO(N)$ gauge symmetry coupled to a single tensor multiplet on a circle, by considering RG flows on Higgs branches of $D$-type conformal matter theories. We test the brane systems against known Calabi-Yau threefolds for the 6d SCFTs on a circle. In addition we study a new RG flow involving Higgs vevs of scalar operators with Kaluza-Klein momentum along the circle. The new RG flow results in the 5-brane webs for the 6d SCFTs of $D_N$ gauge symmetry compactified on a circle with $Z_2$ outer-automorphis…
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。
Using the F-theory realization, we identify a subclass of 6d (1,0) SCFTs whose compactification on a Riemann surface leads to N = 1 4d SCFTs where the moduli space of the Riemann surface is part of the moduli space of the theory. In particular we argue that for a special case of these theories (dual to M5 branes probing ADE singularities), we obtain 4d N = 1 theories whose space of marginal deformations is given by the moduli space of flat ADE connections on a Riemann surface.
We examine the giant graviton expansions of the Coulomb and Higgs indices for the M2-brane SCFTs to find the closed-form expressions for the indices that encode the spectra of the $1/4$-BPS M5-brane giant gravitons and the $1/3$-BPS orbifold M5-brane giant gravitons. Consequently, we get exact forms of the twisted indices for the 6d $(2,0)$ theories describing a stack of $N$ M5-branes which generalize the unrefined indices. We confirm that they are also beautifully expanded with respect to the indices for the M2-brane giant gravitons which are obtained from the Coulomb and Higgs indices for th…
We study N=1 superconformal theories in four dimensions obtained wrapping M5 branes on a Riemann surface. We propose a method to determine from the spectral curve the scaling dimension of chiral operators in the SCFT. Whenever the R-symmetry has to be determined via a-maximization, our procedure allows us to determine the charge of chiral operators under the "trial" R-symmetry. Our proposal reduces to the correct prescription in the special case of N=2 theories of class S. We perform several consistency checks and apply our method to study some new SCFT's such as N=1 deformations of Argyres-Do…
6d SCFTs compactified on a circle can often be studied from nonperturbative 5d super-Yang-Mills theories, using instanton solitons. However, the 5d Yang-Mills theories with 6d UV fixed points frequently have too many hypermultiplet matters, which makes it difficult to use the ADHM techniques for instantons. With the examples of 6d $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SCFTs with $Sp(N)$ gauge symmetry and $2N+8$ fundamental hypermultiplets, we show that one can still make rigorous studies of these 5d-6d relations in the `fractional D-brane sectors'. We test the recently proposed 5d duals given by $Sp(N+1)$ gaug…
We study the central charges and levels of 2d $\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ superconformal field theories that are dual to four- and five-dimensional BPS black holes in compactifications of type IIB string theory on a K3 surface. They arise from wrapping a D3-brane on a curve $C$ inside K3 and have transverse space either an ALE or ALF space. These D3-branes have an AdS$_3 \times \mathrm{S}^3/ Γ$ near horizon geometry where $Γ$ is a discrete subgroup of $SU(2)$. We compute the central charges and levels of the 2d SCFTs both in the microscopic picture and from six-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ supergra…
