Book review: no more generating knowledge for its own sake, research creativity is the new frontier

As technological creativity, corporate research, and talent flows become more important than ever, Globalization and Technocapitalism explores the manner in which globalisation acquires new contextual features that will become central to the macro-social dynamics of 21st century societies. Nathalie Mitev recognises the book is not for a broad readership but argues that any invested reader will find many rewarding insights. Globalization and Technocapitalism: The Political Economy of Corporate Power and Technological Domination. Luis Suarez-Villa. Ashgate. 2012

Toda 3-Point Functions From Topological Strings

We consider the long-standing problem of obtaining the 3-point functions of Toda CFT. Our main tools are topological strings and the AGT-W relation between gauge theories and 2D CFTs. In arXiv:1310.3841 we computed the partition function of 5D $T_N$ theories on $S^4 \times S^1$ and suggested that they should be interpreted as the three-point structure constants of q-deformed Toda. In this paper, we provide the exact AGT-W dictionary for this relation and rewrite the 5D $T_N$ partition function in a form that makes taking the 4D limit possible. Thus, we obtain a prescription for the computation of the partition function of the 4D $T_N$ theories on $S^4$, or equivalently the undeformed 3-point Toda structure constants. Our formula, has the correct symmetry properties, the zeros that it should and, for $N=2$, gives the known answer for Liouville CFT.Comment: 51 pages, 6 figure

2D CFT blocks for the 4D class Sk\mathcal{S}_k theories

This is the first in a series of papers on the search for the 2D CFT description of a large class of 4D $\mathcal{N} = 1$ gauge theories. Here, we identify the 2D CFT symmetry algebra and its representations, namely the conformal blocks of the Virasoro/W-algebra, that underlie the 2D theory and reproduce the Seiberg-Witten curves of the $\mathcal{N} = 1$ gauge theories. We find that the blocks corresponding to the SU(N) $\mathcal{S}_k$ gauge theories involve fields in certain non-unitary representations of the $W_{kN}$ algebra. These conformal blocks give a prediction for the instanton partition functions of the 4D $\mathcal{N} = 1$ SCFTs of class $\mathcal{S}_k$.Comment: 42 pages,5 figure

Exact Bremsstrahlung and Effective Couplings

We calculate supersymmetric Wilson loops on the ellipsoid for a large class of $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT using the localization formula of Hama and Hosomichi. From them we extract the radiation emitted by an accelerating heavy probe quark as well as the entanglement entropy following the recent works of Lewkowycz-Maldacena and Fiol-Gerchkovitz-Komargodski. Comparing our results with the $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM ones, we obtain interpolating functions $f(g^2)$ such that a given $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT observable is obtained by replacing in the corresponding $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM result the coupling constant by $f(g^2)$. These "exact effective couplings" encode the finite, relative renormalization between the $\mathcal{N}=2$ and the $\mathcal{N}=4$ gluon propagator, they interpolate between the weak and the strong coupling. We discuss the range of their applicability.Comment: 16 pages, 10 pages appendices, 4 figures. v2, journal versio

Bootstrapping pentagon functions

In PRL 116 (2016) no.6, 062001, the space of planar pentagon functions that describes all two-loop on-shell five-particle scattering amplitudes was introduced. In the present paper we present a natural extension of this space to non-planar pentagon functions. This provides the basis for our pentagon bootstrap program. We classify the relevant functions up to weight four, which is relevant for two-loop scattering amplitudes. We constrain the first entry of the symbol of the functions using information on branch cuts. Drawing on an analogy from the planar case, we introduce a conjectural second-entry condition on the symbol. We then show that the information on the function space, when complemented with some additional insights, can be used to efficiently bootstrap individual Feynman integrals. The extra information is read off of Mellin-Barnes representations of the integrals, either by evaluating simple asymptotic limits, or by taking discontinuities in the kinematic variables. We use this method to evaluate the symbols of two non-trivial non-planar five-particle integrals, up to and including the finite part.Comment: 24 pages + 3 pages of appendices, 2 figures, 3 tables, 4 ancillary files, added references and corrected typos, published versio

The Tetrahedron Zamolodchikov Algebra and the AdS5 x S5 S-matrix

The S-matrix of the $AdS_5 \times S^5$ string theory is a tensor product of two centrally extended su(2|2) S-matrices, each of which is related to the R-matrix of the Hubbard model. The R-matrix of the Hubbard model was first found by Shastry, who ingeniously exploited the fact that, for zero coupling, the Hubbard model can be decomposed into two XX models. In this article, we review and clarify this construction from the AdS/CFT perspective and investigate the implications this has for the $AdS_5 \times S^5$ S-matrix.Comment: 41 pages, 1 table, revised version, published in Communications in Mathematical Physics (2017

On correlation functions of BPS operators in 3d3d N=6\mathcal{N}=6 superconformal theories

We introduce a novel harmonic superspace for $3d$ $\mathcal{N}=6$ superconformal field theories that is tailor made for the study of correlation functions of BPS operators. We calculate a host of two- and three-point functions in full generality and put strong constraints on the form of four-point functions of some selected BPS multiplets. For the four-point function of $\frac{1}{2}$-BPS operators we obtain the associated Ward identities by imposing the absence of harmonic singularities. The latter imply the existence of a solvable subsector in which the correlator becomes topological. This mechanism can be explained by cohomological reduction with respect to a special nilpotent supercharge.Comment: 41 pages, v2: typos corrected, references adde

Composite Operators in the Twistor Formulation of N=4\mathcal{N}=4 SYM Theory

We incorporate gauge-invariant local composite operators into the twistor-space formulation of $\mathcal{N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills theory. In this formulation, the interactions of the elementary fields are reorganized into infinitely many interaction vertices and we argue that the same applies to composite operators. To test our definition of the local composite operators in twistor space, we compute several corresponding form factors, thereby also initiating the study of form factors using the position twistor-space framework. Throughout this letter, we use the composite operator built from two identical complex scalars as a pedagogical example; we treat the general case in a follow-up paper.Comment: letter, 5 pages, 1 figur

Strategic partnerships in business: critical success factors

Nowadays, companies apply strategic partnerships as a preferred tool in their organizational strategies for growth. At the core of cooperation lies the mutual benefit. Various motives drive firms towards reactive or proactive behavior in formation of strategic partnerships. The formation process includes three stages - preparation, implementation and assessment of the aliance. Despite the increasing number of strategic alliances worldwide, a significant part of strategic partnerships in business practice are unsuccessful. The aim of the article is to analyze and evaluate the critical success factors of strategic partnerships in business through the prism of the motives and the process of their formation. The research methods used in the paper are literary review and comparative analysis