arXiv research

By exploiting standard facts about $N=1$ and $N=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, the Donaldson invariants of four-manifolds that admit a Kahler metric can be computed. The results are in agreement with available mathematical computations, and provide a powerful check on the standard claims about supersymmetric Yang…

We consider bosonic supersymmetric backgrounds of ten-dimensional conformal supergravity. Up to local conformal isometry, we classify the maximally supersymmetric backgrounds, determine their conformal symmetry superalgebras and show how they arise as near-horizon geometries of certain half-BPS backgrounds or as a plan…

We study the existence of monopole bound states saturating the BPS bound in N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. We describe how the existence of such bound states relates to the topology of index bundles over the moduli space of BPS solutions. Using an $L^2$ index theorem, we prove the existence of certain BPS stat…

The paper generalizes Yang-Mills theory to study four-manifold topology.

In four-dimensional gauge theory there exists a well-known correspondence between instantons and holomorphic curves, and a similar correspondence exists between certain octonionic instantons and triholomorphic curves. We prove that this latter correspondence stems from the dynamics of various dimensional reductions of …

Unified treatment of gauge theories and Yang-Mills theory duality.

We exhibit a transformation taking special Lagrangian submanifolds of a Calabi-Yau together with local systems to vector bundles over the mirror manifold with connections obeying deformed Hermitian-Yang-Mills equations. That is, the transformation relates supersymmetric A- and B-cycles. In this paper, we assume that th…

We show that the four derivative terms in the effective action of three-dimensional N=8 Yang-Mills theory are determined by supersymmetry. These terms receive both perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. Using our technique for constraining the effective action, we are able to determine the exact form of the eig…

Expanding on supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, this work focuses on cohomological field theory aspects.

In the context of D-dimensional Euclidean gravity, we define the natural generalisation to D-dimensions of the self-dual Yang-Mills equations, as duality conditions on the curvature 2-form of a Riemannian manifold. Solutions to these self-duality equations are provided by manifolds of SU(2), SU(3), G_2 and Spin(7) holo…

We study the path integral of a twisted $N=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory coupled with hypermultiplet having the bare mass. We explicitly compute the topological correlation functions for the $SU(2)$ theory on a compact oriented simply connected simple type Riemann manifold with $b_2^+ \geq 3$. As the corollaries,…

In these lectures we present a general introduction to topological quantum field theories. These theories are discussed in the framework of the Mathai-Quillen formalism and in the context of twisted N=2 supersymmetric theories. We discuss in detail the recent developments in Donaldson-Witten theory obtained from the ap…

We count the supersymmetric bound states of many distinct BPS monopoles in N=4 Yang-Mills theories and in pure N=2 Yang-Mills theories. The novelty here is that we work in generic Coulombic vacua where more than one adjoint Higgs fields are turned on. The number of purely magnetic bound states is again found to be cons…

The paper quantizes hybrid topological-holomorphic field theories on $\mathbb{R}^m imes \mathbb{C}^n$.

A family of new twistor string theories is constructed and shown to be free from world-sheet anomalies. The spectra in space-time are calculated and shown to give Einstein supergravities with second order field equations instead of the higher derivative conformal supergravities that arose from earlier twistor strings. …

On a five dimensional simply connected Sasaki-Einstein manifold, one can construct Yang-Mills theories coupled to matter with at least two supersymmetries. The partition function of these theories localises on the contact instantons, however the contact instanton equations are not elliptic. It turns out that these equa…

Unified solution to M-theory problems using super-exceptional geometry.

We construct ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on 4D manifolds with a Killing vector field with isolated fixed points. It turns out that for every fixed point one can allocate either instanton or anti-instanton contributions to the partition function, and that this is compatible with supersymmetry. The equi…

Universal functions derived for topological correlators in Yang-Mills theory.

Wilson loops in ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory correspond at strong coupling to extremal surfaces in $AdS_5$. We study a class of extremal surfaces known as special Legendrian submanifolds. The "hemisphere" corresponding to the circular Wilson loop is an example of a special Legendrian submanifold, and w…

Recent developments in the understanding of $N=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions suggest a new point of view about Donaldson theory of four manifolds: instead of defining four-manifold invariants by counting $SU(2)$ instantons, one can define equivalent four-manifold invariants by counting solution…

Categorifies Stokes coefficients in Chern-Simons theory models.

Supersymmetry is deeply related to division algebras. Nonabelian Yang-Mills fields minimally coupled to massless spinors are supersymmetric if and only if the dimension of spacetime is 3, 4, 6 or 10. The same is true for the Green-Schwarz superstring. In both cases, supersymmetry relies on the vanishing of a certain tr…

M-theory compactified on $G_2$-holonomy manifolds results in 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories coupled to gravity. In this paper we focus on the gauge sector of such compactifications by studying the Higgs bundle obtained from a partially twisted 7d super Yang-Mills theory on a supersymmetric three-cycle…

We consider euclidean D-branes wrapping around manifolds of exceptional holonomy in dimensions seven and eight. The resulting theory on the D-brane---that is, the dimensional reduction of 10-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory---is a cohomological field theory which describes the topology of the moduli space o…

Constructs BPS complexes and Chern--Simons theories from G-structures.

In this paper we study the holomorphic Euler characteristics of determinant line bundles on moduli spaces of rank 2 semistable sheaves on an algebraic surface X, which can be viewed as $K$-theoretic versions of the Donaldson invariants. In particular, if X is a smooth projective toric surface, we determine these invari…

Holomorphic supergravity theory simplifies anomaly cancellation in heterotic moduli.

We consider supersymmetric gauge theories with impurities in various dimensions. These systems arise in the study of intersecting branes. Unlike conventional gauge theories, the Higgs branch of an impurity theory can have compact directions. For models with eight supercharges, the Higgs branch is a hyperKahler manifold…

Study of 5D SYM theory on toric surfaces yields refined Vafa-Witten invariants.

We review localization techniques for functional integrals which have recently been used to perform calculations in and gain insight into the structure of certain topological field theories and low-dimensional gauge theories. These are the functional integral counterparts of the Mathai-Quillen formalism, the Duistermaa…

Quantum map counts BPS states in special theories.

We analyze the u-plane contribution to Donaldson invariants of a four-manifold X. For $b_2^+(X)>1$, this contribution vanishes, but for $b_2^+=1$, the Donaldson invariants must be written as the sum of a u-plane integral and an SW contribution. The u-plane integrals are quite intricate, but can be analyzed in great det…

We study knots in 3d Chern-Simons theory with complex gauge group $SL(N,\mathbb{C})$, in the context of its relation with 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ theory (the so-called 3d-3d correspondence). The defect has either co-dimension 2 or co-dimension 4 inside the 6d $(2,0)$ theory, which is compactified on a 3-manifold $\hat{M}$. …

We present a Donaldson-Witten type field theory in eight dimensions on manifolds with $Spin(7)$ holonomy. We prove that the stress tensor is BRST exact for metric variations preserving the holonomy and we give the invariants for this class of variations. In six and seven dimensions we propose similar theories on Calabi…

We study S-dualities in analytically continued SL(2) Chern-Simons theory on a 3-manifold M. By realizing Chern-Simons theory via a compactification of a 6d five-brane theory on M, various objects and symmetries in Chern-Simons theory become related to objects and operations in dual 2d, 3d, and 4d theories. For example,…

Survey on rigorous construction of supersymmetric path integral.

We construct rigid supersymmetric gauge theories on Riemannian five-manifolds. We follow a holographic approach, realizing the manifold as the conformal boundary of a six-dimensional bulk supergravity solution. This leads to a systematic classification of five-dimensional supersymmetric backgrounds with gravity duals. …

This study explores Kaluza-Klein reductions of new maximally supersymmetric backgrounds.

We argue that the relevant higher gauge group for the non-abelian generalization of the self-dual string equation is the string 2-group. We then derive the corresponding equations of motion and discuss their properties. The underlying geometric picture is a string structure, i.e. a categorified principal bundle with co…

Study finds modular classes help in proving Berezin volumes for supersymmetric theories.

Reformulated sigma models for complex Grassmannians using Gross-Neveu formalism.

This note revisits recent results regarding the geometry and moduli of solutions of the heterotic string on manifolds $Y$ with a $G_2$ structure. In particular, such heterotic $G_2$ systems can be rephrased in terms of a differential $\check {\cal D}$ acting on a complex $\checkΩ^*(Y , {\cal Q})$, where ${\cal Q}=T^*Y\…

A new formula connects supersymmetric path integrals to Chern-Simons theory.

Paper extends Simons theorem to $F$-Yang-Mills connections for instability.

New insights into 4d YM and 5d topological field theories with higher symmetries.

New principle for supersymmetric localization on Lie groups.

We show that the maximally supersymmetric pp-waves of IIB superstring and M-theories can be obtained as a Penrose limit of the supersymmetric AdS x S solutions. In addition we find that in a certain large tension limit, the geometry seen by a brane probe in an AdS x S background is either Minkowski space or a maximally…