611 research outputs found
Exceptional Indices
Recently a prescription to compute the superconformal index for all theories
of class S was proposed. In this paper we discuss some of the physical
information which can be extracted from this index. We derive a simple
criterion for the given theory of class S to have a decoupled free component
and for it to have enhanced flavor symmetry. Furthermore, we establish a
criterion for the "good", the "bad", and the "ugly" trichotomy of the theories.
After interpreting the prescription to compute the index with non-maximal
flavor symmetry as a residue calculus we address the computation of the index
of the bad theories. In particular we suggest explicit expressions for the
superconformal index of higher rank theories with E_n flavor symmetry, i.e. for
the Hilbert series of the multi-instanton moduli space of E_n.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, v2: minor correction
On a modular property of N=2 superconformal theories in four dimensions
In this note we discuss several properties of the Schur index of N=2
superconformal theories in four dimensions. In particular, we study modular
properties of this index under SL(2,Z) transformations of its parameters.Comment: 23 page, 2 figure
Constraints on chiral operators in N=2 SCFTs
Open Access, © The Authors. Article funded by SCOAP3.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (
CC-BY 4.0
), which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited
Hilbert Series for Moduli Spaces of Two Instantons
The Hilbert Series (HS) of the moduli space of two G instantons on C^2, where
G is a simple gauge group, is studied in detail. For a given G, the moduli
space is a singular hyperKahler cone with a symmetry group U(2) \times G, where
U(2) is the natural symmetry group of C^2. Holomorphic functions on the moduli
space transform in irreducible representations of the symmetry group and hence
the Hilbert series admits a character expansion. For cases that G is a
classical group (of type A, B, C, or D), there is an ADHM construction which
allows us to compute the HS explicitly using a contour integral. For cases that
G is of E-type, recent index results allow for an explicit computation of the
HS. The character expansion can be expressed as an infinite sum which lives on
a Cartesian lattice that is generated by a small number of representations.
This structure persists for all G and allows for an explicit expressions of the
HS to all simple groups. For cases that G is of type G_2 or F_4, discrete
symmetries are enough to evaluate the HS exactly, even though neither ADHM
construction nor index is known for these cases.Comment: 53 pages, 9 tables, 24 figure
Birtamimab plus standard of care in light-chain amyloidosis: the phase 3 randomized placebo-controlled VITAL trial
Amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis is a rare, typically fatal disease characterized by the accumulation of misfolded immunoglobulin light chains (LCs). Birtamimab is an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody designed to neutralize toxic LC aggregates and deplete insoluble organ-deposited amyloid via macrophage-induced phagocytosis. VITAL was a phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of birtamimab + standard of care (SOC) in 260 newly diagnosed, treatment-naive patients with AL amyloidosis. Patients received 24 mg/kg IV birtamimab + SOC or placebo + SOC every 28 days. The primary composite end point was the time to all-cause mortality (ACM) or centrally adjudicated cardiac hospitalization ≥91 days after the first study drug infusion. The trial was terminated early after an interim futility analysis; there was no significant difference in the primary composite end point (hazard ratio [HR], 0.826; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.574-1.189; log-rank P = .303). A post hoc analysis of patients with Mayo stage IV AL amyloidosis, those at the highest risk of early mortality, showed significant improvement in the time to ACM with birtamimab at month 9 (HR, 0.413; 95% CI, 0.191-0.895; log-rank P = .021). At month 9, 74% of patients with Mayo stage IV AL amyloidosis treated with birtamimab and 49% of those given placebo survived. Overall, the rates of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and serious TEAEs were generally similar between treatment arms. A confirmatory phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of birtamimab in patients with Mayo stage IV AL amyloidosis (AFFIRM-AL; NCT04973137) is currently enrolling. The VITAL trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02312206
Dynamical Mean-Field Theory within an Augmented Plane-Wave Framework: Assessing Electronic Correlations in the Iron Pnictide LaFeAsO
We present an approach that combines the local density approximation (LDA)
and the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) in the framework of the
full-potential linear augmented plane waves (FLAPW) method. Wannier-like
functions for the correlated shell are constructed by projecting local orbitals
onto a set of Bloch eigenstates located within a certain energy window. The
screened Coulomb interaction and Hund's coupling are calculated from a
first-principle constrained RPA scheme. We apply this LDA+DMFT implementation,
in conjunction with continuous-time quantum Monte-Carlo, to study the
electronic correlations in LaFeAsO. Our findings support the physical picture
of a metal with intermediate correlations. The average value of the mass
renormalization of the Fe 3d bands is about 1.6, in reasonable agreement with
the picture inferred from photoemission experiments. The discrepancies between
different LDA+DMFT calculations (all technically correct) which have been
reported in the literature are shown to have two causes: i) the specific value
of the interaction parameters used in these calculations and ii) the degree of
localization of the Wannier orbitals chosen to represent the Fe 3d states, to
which many-body terms are applied. The latter is a fundamental issue in the
application of many-body calculations, such as DMFT, in a realistic setting. We
provide strong evidence that the DMFT approximation is more accurate and more
straightforward to implement when well-localized orbitals are constructed from
a large energy window encompassing Fe-3d, As-4p and O-2p, and point out several
difficulties associated with the use of extended Wannier functions associated
with the low-energy iron bands. Some of these issues have important physical
consequences, regarding in particular the sensitivity to the Hund's coupling.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, published versio
M5-branes from gauge theories on the 5-sphere
We use the 5-sphere partition functions of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories
to explore the (2,0) superconformal theory on S^5 x S^1. The 5d theories can be
regarded as Scherk-Schwarz reductions of the 6d theory along the circle. In a
special limit, the perturbative partition function takes the form of the
Chern-Simons partition function on S^3. With a simple non-perturbative
completion, it becomes a 6d index which captures the degeneracy of a sector of
BPS states as well as the index version of the vacuum Casimir energy. The
Casimir energy exhibits the N^3 scaling at large N. The large N index for U(N)
gauge group also completely agrees with the supergravity index on AdS_7 x S^4.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, v4: ref added, clarified weak/strong coupling
behaviors of large N free energy, minor improvements, version to be published
in JHE
On instantons as Kaluza-Klein modes of M5-branes
Instantons and W-bosons in 5d maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory
arise from a circle compactification of the 6d (2,0) theory as Kaluza-Klein
modes and winding self-dual strings, respectively. We study an index which
counts BPS instantons with electric charges in Coulomb and symmetric phases. We
first prove the existence of unique threshold bound state of (noncommutative)
U(1) instantons for any instanton number, and also show that charged instantons
in the Coulomb phase correctly give the degeneracy of SU(2) self-dual strings.
By studying SU(N) self-dual strings in the Coulomb phase, we find novel
momentum-carrying degrees on the worldsheet. The total number of these degrees
equals the anomaly coefficient of SU(N) (2,0) theory. We finally show that our
index can be used to study the symmetric phase of this theory, and provide an
interpretation as the superconformal index of the sigma model on instanton
moduli space.Comment: 54 pages, 2 figures. v2: references added, figure improved, added
comments on self-dual string anomaly, added new materials on the symmetric
phase index, other minor correction
Gray matter injury associated with periventricular leukomalacia in the premature infant
Neuroimaging studies indicate reduced volumes of certain gray matter regions in survivors of prematurity with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). We hypothesized that subacute and/or chronic gray matter lesions are increased in incidence and severity in PVL cases compared to non-PVL cases at autopsy. Forty-one cases of premature infants were divided based on cerebral white matter histology: PVL (n = 17) with cerebral white matter gliosis and focal periventricular necrosis; diffuse white matter gliosis (DWMG) (n = 17) without necrosis; and
Bootstrapping the superconformal index with surface defects
The analytic properties of the N = 2 superconformal index are given a
physical interpretation in terms of certain BPS surface defects, which arise as
the IR limit of supersymmetric vortices. The residue of the index at a pole in
flavor fugacity is interpreted as the index of a superconformal field theory
without this flavor symmetry, but endowed with an additional surface defect.
The residue can be efficiently extracted by acting on the index with a
difference operator of Ruijsenaars-Schneider type. By imposing the
associativity constraints of S-duality, we are then able to evaluate the index
of all generalized quiver theories of type A, for generic values of the three
superconformal fugacities, with or without surface defects.Comment: 60 pages, 7 figure
- …