D=3, N=8 conformal supergravity and the Dragon window

We give a superspace description of D=3, N=8 supergravity. The formulation is off-shell in the sense that the equations of motion are not implied by the superspace constraints (but an action principle is not given). The multiplet structure is unconventional, which we connect to the existence of a "Dragon window", that is modules occurring in the supercurvature but not in the supertorsion. According to Dragon's theorem this cannot happen above three dimensions. We clarify the relevance of this window for going on the conformal shell, and discuss some aspects of coupling to conformal matter.Comment: plain tex, 24 pp v2: minor change

Three-dimensional topologically gauged N=6 ABJM type theories

In this paper we construct the $\mathcal N=6$ conformal supergravity in three dimensions from a set of Chern-Simons-like terms one for each of the graviton, gravitino, and R-symmetry gauge field and then couple this theory to the $\mathcal N=6$ superconformal ABJM theory. In a first step part of the coupled Lagrangian for this topologically gauged ABJM theory is derived by demanding that all terms of third and second order in covariant derivatives cancel in the supersymmtry variation of the Lagrangian. To achieve this the transformation rules of the two separate sectors must be augmented by new terms. In a second step we analyze all terms in $\delta L$ that are of first order in covariant derivatives. The cancelation of these terms require additional terms in the transformation rules as well as a number of new terms in the Lagrangian. As a final step we check that all remaining terms in $\delta L$ which are bilinear in fermions cancel which means that the presented Lagrangian and transformation rules constitute the complete answer. In particular we find in the last step new terms in the scalar potential containing either one or no structure constant. The non-derivative higher fermion terms in $\delta L$ that have not yet been completely analyzed are briefly discussed.Comment: 26 pages, v.2 minor corrections, comment on relation to chiral gravity added

Impure Aspects of Supersymmetric Wilson Loops

We study a general class of supersymmetric Wilson loops operator in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory, obtained as orbits of conformal transformations. These loops are the natural generalization of the familiar circular Wilson-Maldacena operator and their supersymmetric properties are encoded into a Killing spinor that is not pure. We present a systematic analysis of their scalar couplings and of the preserved supercharges, modulo the action of the global symmetry group, both in the compact and in the non-compact case. The quantum behavior of their expectation value is also addressed, in the simplest case of the Lissajous contours: explicit computations at weak-coupling, through Feynman diagrams expansion, and at strong-coupling, by means of AdS/CFT correspondence, suggest the possibility of an exact evaluation.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figure

Higgsing M2 to D2 with gravity: N=6 chiral supergravity from topologically gauged ABJM theory

We present the higgsing of three-dimensional N=6 superconformal ABJM type theories coupled to conformal supergravity, so called topologically gauged ABJM theory, thus providing a gravitational extension of previous work on the relation between N M2 and N D2-branes. The resulting N=6 supergravity theory appears at a chiral point similar to that of three-dimensional chiral gravity introduced recently by Li, Song and Strominger, but with the opposite sign for the Ricci scalar term in the lagrangian. We identify the supersymmetry in the broken phase as a particular linear combination of the supersymmetry and special conformal supersymmetry in the original topologically gauged ABJM theory. We also discuss the higgsing procedure in detail paying special attention to the role played by the U(1) factors in the original ABJM model and the U(1) introduced in the topological gauging.Comment: 53 pages, Late

The BLG Theory in Light-Cone Superspace

The light-cone superspace version of the d=3, N=8 superconformal theory of Bagger, Lambert and Gustavsson (BLG) is obtained as a solution to constraints imposed by OSp(2,2|8) superalgebra. The Hamiltonian of the theory is shown to be a quadratic form of the dynamical supersymmetry transformation.Comment: 45 pages, v2: reference added, minor typos corrected, published versio

The gauge dual of Romans mass

We deform the recently proposed holographic duality between the ABJM N=6 Chern-Simons-matter theory and type IIA string theory in AdS4xCP3. We add a non-zero Romans mass F_0, whose dual we identify as the sum of the Chern-Simons levels for the two gauge groups. One can naturally identify four different theories, with different amounts of supersymmetry and of flavor symmetry.Comment: 26 pages. v4: Corrected the sign for the probe brane potentia

Massive type IIA string theory cannot be strongly coupled

Understanding the strong coupling limit of massive type IIA string theory is a longstanding problem. We argue that perhaps this problem does not exist; namely, there may be no strongly coupled solutions of the massive theory. We show explicitly that massive type IIA string theory can never be strongly coupled in a weakly curved region of space-time. We illustrate our general claim with two classes of massive solutions in AdS4xCP3: one, previously known, with N = 1 supersymmetry, and a new one with N = 2 supersymmetry. Both solutions are dual to d = 3 Chern-Simons-matter theories. In both these massive examples, as the rank N of the gauge group is increased, the dilaton initially increases in the same way as in the corresponding massless case; before it can reach the M-theory regime, however, it enters a second regime, in which the dilaton decreases even as N increases. In the N = 2 case, we find supersymmetry-preserving gauge-invariant monopole operators whose mass is independent of N. This predicts the existence of branes which stay light even when the dilaton decreases. We show that, on the gravity side, these states originate from D2-D0 bound states wrapping the vanishing two-cycle of a conifold singularity that develops at large N.Comment: 43 pages, 5 figures. v2: added reference

Critical solutions in topologically gauged N=8 CFTs in three dimensions

In this paper we discuss some special (critical) background solutions that arise in topological gauged ${\mathcal N}=8$ three-dimensional CFTs with SO(N) gauge group. These solutions solve the TMG equations (containing the parameters $\mu$ and $l$) for a certain set of values of $\mu l$ obtained by varying the number of scalar fields with a VEV. Apart from Minkowski, chiral round $AdS_3$ and null-warped $AdS_3$ (or Schr\"odinger(z=2)) we identify also a more exotic solution recently found in $TMG$ by Ertl, Grumiller and Johansson. We also discuss the spectrum, symmetry breaking pattern and the supermultiplet structure in the various backgrounds and argue that some properties are due to their common origin in a conformal phase. Some of the scalar fields, including all higgsed ones, turn out to satisfy three-dimensional singleton field equations. Finally, we note that topologically gauged ${\mathcal N}=6$ ABJ(M) theories have a similar, but more restricted, set of background solutions.Comment: 34 pages, v2: minor corrections, note about a new solution added in final section, v3: two footnotes adde