Redeeming Bad Theories

We give a Seiberg-like dual description of the interacting superconformal infrared fixed point of $\mathcal{N}=4$ gauge theory in three dimensions with vanishing Chern Simons level and $N_c\le N_f<2N_c$ fundamental flavors. These theories are known as "bad" theories due to the existence of unitarity violating monopole operators. We show that, in a dual description, all such operators are realized by free fields and the remainder theory is the Seiberg-like dual previously identified using the type IIB brane construction

Open and Closed String Worldsheets from Free Large N Gauge Theories with Adjoint and Fundamental Matter

We extend Gopakumar's prescription for constructing closed string worldsheets from free field theory diagrams with adjoint matter to open and closed string worldsheets arising from free field theories with fundamental matter. We describe the extension of the gluing mechanism and the electrical circuit analogy to fundamental matter. We discuss the generalization of the existence and uniqueness theorem of Strebel differentials to open Riemann surfaces. Two examples are computed of correlators containing fundamental matter, and the resulting worldsheet OPE's are computed. Generic properties of Gopakumar's construction are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures; typo corrected, section 2.2 clarifie

Supersymmetric Renyi Entropy

We consider 3d N>= 2 superconformal field theories on a branched covering of a three-sphere. The Renyi entropy of a CFT is given by the partition function on this space, but conical singularities break the supersymmetry preserved in the bulk. We turn on a compensating R-symmetry gauge field and compute the partition function using localization. We define a supersymmetric observable, called the super Renyi entropy, parametrized by a real number q. We show that the super Renyi entropy is duality invariant and reduces to entanglement entropy in the q -> 1 limit. We provide some examples.Comment: 39 pages, 4 figure

Generalized Indices for N=1\mathcal{N}=1 Theories in Four-Dimensions

We use localization techniques to calculate the Euclidean partition functions for $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories on four-dimensional manifolds $M$ of the form $S^1 \times M_3$, where $M_3$ is a circle bundle over a Riemann surface. These are generalizations of the $\mathcal{N}=1$ indices in four-dimensions including the lens space index. We show that these generalized indices are holomorphic functions of the complex structure moduli on $M$. We exhibit the deformation by background flat connections.Comment: 50 pages; typos corrected, references adde

Monopole operators from the 4−ϵ4-\epsilon expansion

Three-dimensional quantum electrodynamics with $N$ charged fermions contains monopole operators that have been studied perturbatively at large $N$. Here, we initiate the study of these monopole operators in the $4-\epsilon$ expansion by generalizing them to codimension-3 defect operators in $d = 4-\epsilon$ spacetime dimensions. Assuming the infrared dynamics is described by an interacting CFT, we define the "conformal weight" of these operators in terms of the free energy density on $S^2 \times \mathbb{H}^{2-\epsilon}$ in the presence of magnetic flux through the $S^2$, and calculate this quantity to next-to-leading order in $\epsilon$. Extrapolating the conformal weight to $\epsilon = 1$ gives an estimate of the scaling dimension of the monopole operators in $d=3$ that does not rely on the $1/N$ expansion. We also perform the computation of the conformal weight in the large $N$ expansion for any $d$ and find agreement between the large $N$ and the small $\epsilon$ expansions in their overlapping regime of validity.Comment: 45 pages, 3 figures, version accepted by journa

Exact results for supersymmetric abelian vortex loops in 2+1 dimensions

We define a class of supersymmetric defect loop operators in N = 2 gauge theories in 2 + 1 dimensions. We give a prescription for computing the expectation value of such operators in a generic N = 2 theory on the three-sphere using localization. We elucidate the role of defect loop operators in IR dualities of supersymmetric gauge theories, and write down their transformation properties under the SL(2, Z ) action on conformal theories with abelian global symmetries

Tests of Seiberg-like Dualities in Three Dimensions

We use localization techniques to study several duality proposals for supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions reminiscent of Seiberg duality. We compare the partition functions of dual theories deformed by real mass terms and FI parameters. We find that Seiberg-like duality for N = 3 Chern-Simons gauge theories proposed by Giveon and Kutasov holds on the level of partition functions and is closely related to level-rank duality in pure Chern-Simons theory. We also clarify the relationship between the Giveon-Kutasov duality and a duality in theories of fractional M2 branes and propose a generalization of the latter. Our analysis also confirms previously known results concerning decoupled free sectors in N = 4 gauge theories realized by monopole operators

Topologically twisted indices in five dimensions and holography

We provide a formula for the partition function of five-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories on $\mathcal{M}_4 \times S^1$, topologically twisted along $\mathcal{M}_4$ in the presence of general background magnetic fluxes, where $\mathcal{M}_4$ is a toric K\"ahler manifold. The result can be expressed as a contour integral of the product of copies of the K-theoretic Nekrasov's partition function, summed over gauge magnetic fluxes. The formula generalizes to five dimensions the topologically twisted index of three- and four-dimensional field theories. We analyze the large $N$ limit of the partition function and some related quantities for two theories: $\mathcal{N}=2$ SYM and the $\mathrm{USp}(2N)$ theory with $N_f$ flavors and an antisymmetric matter field. For $\mathbb{P}^1 \times \mathbb{P}^1 \times S^1$, which can be easily generalized to $\Sigma_{\mathfrak{g}_2} \times \Sigma_{\mathfrak{g}_1} \times S^1$, we conjecture the form of the relevant saddle point at large $N$. The resulting partition function for $\mathcal{N}=2$ SYM scales as $N^3$ and is in perfect agreement with the holographic results for domain walls in AdS$_7 \times S^4$. The large $N$ partition function for the $\mathrm{USp}(2N)$ theory scales as $N^{5/2}$ and gives a prediction for the entropy of a class of magnetically charged black holes in massive type IIA supergravity.Comment: 80 pages. v3: minor corrections, published versio

Localization and resummation of unstable instantons in 2d Yang-Mills

We compute the exact all-orders perturbative expansion for the partition function of 2d $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ Yang-Mills theory on closed surfaces around higher critical points. We demonstrate that the expansion can be derived from the lattice partition function for all genera using a distributional generalization of the Poisson summation formula. We then recompute the expansion directly, using a stationary phase version of supersymmetric localization. The result of localization is a novel effective action which is itself a distribution rather than a function of the supersymmetric moduli. We comment on possible applications to A-twisted models and their analogs in higher dimensions.Comment: 35 page