Universal RG Flows Across Dimensions and Holography

We study RG flows between superconformal field theories living in different spacetime dimensions which exhibit universal properties, independent of the details of the UV and IR theories. In particular, when the UV and IR theories are both even-dimensional we establish exact universal relations between their conformal anomaly coefficients. We also provide strong evidence for similar relations between appropriately defined free energies for RG flows between odd-dimensional theories in the large $N$ limit. Holographically, these RG flows across dimensions are described by asymptotically AdS black branes in a gauged supergravity theory, which we exhibit explicitly. We also discuss the uplift of these solutions to string and M-theory and comment on how the entropy of such black branes is captured by the dual field theory.Comment: 64 pages, 2 figures; v2: additional comments and references, typos fixe

On gauged linear sigma models with torsion

We study a broad class of two dimensional gauged linear sigma models (GLSMs) with off-shell N=(2,2) supersymmetry that flow to nonlinear sigma models (NLSMs) on noncompact geometries with torsion. These models arise from coupling chiral, twisted chiral, and semichiral multiplets to known as well as to a new N=(2,2) vector multiplet, the constrained semichiral vector multiplet (CSVM). We discuss three kinds of models, corresponding to torsionful deformations of standard GLSMs realizing Kahler, hyperkahler, and Calabi-Yau manifolds. The (2,2) supersymmetry guarantees that these spaces are generalized Kahler. Our analysis of the geometric structure is performed at the classical level, but we also discuss quantum aspects such as R-symmetry anomalies. We provide an explicit example of a generalized Kahler structure on the conifold.Comment: 39 pages, 1 figure. v2: References adde

Non-toric Cones and Chern-Simons Quivers

We obtain an integral formula for the volume of non-toric tri-Sasaki Einstein manifolds arising from nonabelian hyperkahler quotients. The derivation is based on equivariant localization and generalizes existing formulas for Abelian quotients, which lead to toric manifolds. The formula is particularly valuable in the context of AdS$_{4}\times Y_{7}$ vacua of M-theory and their field theory duals. As an application, we consider 3d $\mathcal N=3$ Chern-Simons theories with affine ADE quivers. While the $\widehat A$ series corresponds to toric $Y_{7}$, the $\widehat D$ and $\widehat E$ series are non-toric. We compute the volumes of the corresponding seven-manifolds and compare to the prediction from supersymmetric localization in field theory, finding perfect agreement. This is the first test of an infinite number of non-toric AdS$_4$/CFT$_3$ dualities.Comment: 2+24 pages. v2: Minor improvements to the text. Matches published versio

Deformations of T1,1T^{1,1} as Yang-Baxter sigma models

We consider a family of deformations of T^{1,1} in the Yang-Baxter sigma model approach. We first discuss a supercoset description of T^{1,1}, which makes manifest the full symmetry of the space and leads to the standard Sasaki-Einstein metric. Next, we consider three-parameter deformations of T^{1,1} by using classical r-matrices satisfying the classical Yang-Baxter equation (CYBE). The resulting metric and NS-NS two-form agree exactly with the ones obtained via TsT transformations, and contain the Lunin-Maldacena background as a special case. It is worth noting that for AdS_5 x T^{1,1}, classical integrability for the full sector has been argued to be lost. Hence our result indicates that the Yang-Baxter sigma model approach is applicable even for non-integrable cosets. This observation suggests that the gravity/CYBE correspondence can be extended beyond integrable cases.Comment: 21 pages, no figure, LaTeX, v2:clarifications and references added, v3:minor corrections, further clarifications adde

Bound states of spinning black holes in five dimensions

We find and study supergravity BPS bound states of five-dimensional spinning black holes in asymptotically flat spacetime. These solutions follow from multi-string solutions in six-dimensional minimal supergravity and can be uplifted to F-theory or M-theory. We analyze the regularity conditions and work out the example of a bound state of two black holes in detail. The bound state is supported by fluxes through nontrivial topologies exterior to the horizons and KK momentum. Furthermore, we determine the entropy and compare with other macroscopic BPS solutions.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures; typos corrected, minor changes in section 2.