Three-dimensional Gauge Theories Research Articles

Asymptotic $ \mathcal{W} $ -symmetries in three-dimensional higher-spin gauge theories

We discuss how to systematically compute the asymptotic symmetry algebras of generic three-dimensional bosonic higher-spin gauge theories in backgrounds that are asymptotically AdS. We apply these techniques to a one-parameter family of higher-spin gauge theories that can be considered as large N limits of SL(N) x SL(N) Chern-Simons theories, and we provide a closed formula for the structure constants of the resulting infinite-dimensional non-linear W-algebras. Along the way we provide a closed formula for the structure constants of all classical W_N algebras. In both examples the higher-spin generators of the W-algebras are Virasoro primaries. We eventually discuss how to relate our basis to a non-primary quadratic basis that was previously discussed in literature.

Zero-modes of non-Abelian solitons in three-dimensional gauge theories

We study non-Abelian solitons of the Bogomol'nyi type in (d = 2 + 1) supersymmetric Chern–Simons (CS) and Yang–Mills (YM) theory with a generic gauge group. In CS theory, we find topological, non-topological and semi-local (non-)topological vortices of non-Abelian kinds in unbroken, broken and partially broken vacua. We calculate the number of zero-modes using an index theorem and then we apply the moduli matrix formalism to realize the moduli parameters. For the topological solitons we exhaust all the moduli while we study several examples of the non-topological and semi-local solitons. We find that the zero-modes of the topological solitons are governed by the moduli matrix H0 only and those of the non-topological solitons are governed by both H0 and the gauge invariant field Ω. We prove local uniqueness of the master equation in the YM case and finally compare all results between the CS and YM theories.

AGT on the S-duality wall

Three-dimensional gauge theory T[G] arises on a domain wall between four-dimensional N=4 SYM theories with the gauge groups G and its S-dual G^L. We argue that the N=2^* mass deformation of the bulk theory induces a mass-deformation of the theory T[G] on the wall. The partition functions of the theory T[SU(2)] and its mass-deformation on the three-sphere are shown to coincide with the transformation coefficient of Liouville one-point conformal block on torus under the S-duality.

Charges of monopole operators in Chern-Simons Yang-Mills theory

We calculate the non-abelian R-charges of BPS monopole operators in three-dimensional gauge theories with N=3 supersymmetry. This class of models includes ABJM theory, the proposed gauge theory dual of M-theory on AdS_4 x S^7/Z_k, as a special case. In the UV limit of the N=3 theories the Yang-Mills coupling becomes weak and the monopole operators are described by classical backgrounds. This allows us to find their SU(2)_R charges in a one-loop computation which by virtue of the non-renormalization of non-abelian R-charges yields the exact result for any value of the coupling. The spectrum of SU(2)_R charges is found by quantizing the SU(2)/U(1) collective coordinate of the BPS background, whose dynamics is that of a charged particle on a sphere with a Wess-Zumino term representing a magnetic monopole at its center. If the Wess-Zumino coefficient is h, then the smallest possible SU(2)_R representation for BPS monopole operators has spin |h|/2. We find, in agreement with earlier proposals, that h is proportional to the sum of the U(1)_R charges of all the fermion fields weighted by the effective monopole charges determined by their gauge representations. The field content of ABJM theory is such that h=0. This proves for any Chern-Simons level k the existence of monopole operators which are singlets under all global symmetries and have vanishing scaling dimensions. These operators are essential for matching the spectrum of the ABJM theory with supergravity and for the supersymmetry enhancement to N=8.

Holographic flavor in 𝒩 = 4 gauge theories in 3d from wrapped branes

We study the addition of flavor to the gravity dual of = 4 three-dimensional gauge theories obtained by wrapping Nc D4-branes on a two-cycle of a non-compact Calabi-Yau two-fold. In this setup the flavor is introduced by adding another set of D4-branes that are extended along the non-compact directions of the Calabi-Yau which are normal to the cycle which the color branes wrap. The analysis is performed both in the quenched and unquenched approximations. In this latter case we compute the backreacted metric and we show that it reproduces the running of the gauge coupling. The meson spectrum and the behavior of Wilson loops are also discussed and the holographic realization of the Higgs branch is analyzed. Other aspects of this system studied are the entanglement entropy and the non-relativistic version of our backgrounds.

$S$-duality of boundary conditions in ${\mathcal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory

By analyzing brane configurations in detail, and extracting general lessons, we develop methods for analyzing S-duality of supersymmetric boundary conditions in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. In the process, we find that S-duality of boundary conditions is closely related to mirror symmetry of three-dimensional gauge theories, and we analyze the IR behavior of large classes of quiver gauge theories.

Three-dimensionalN=6superconformal field theories and their membrane dynamics

We analyze several aspects of the recent construction of three-dimensional conformal gauge theories by Aharony et al. in various regimes. We pay special attention to understanding how the M-theory geometry and interpretation can be extracted from the analysis of the field theory. We revisit the calculations of the moduli space of vacua and the complete characterization of chiral ring operators by analyzing the field theory compactified on a 2-sphere. We show that many of the states dual to these operators can be interpreted as D-brane states in the weak-coupling limit. Also, various features of the dual AdS geometry can be obtained by performing a strong coupling expansion around moduli space configurations, even though one is not taking the planar expansion. In particular, we show that at strong coupling the corresponding weak-coupling D-brane states of the chiral ring localize on particular submanifolds of the dual geometry that match the M-theory interpretation. We also study the massive spectrum of fields in the moduli space. We use this to investigate the dispersion relation of giant magnons from the field theory point of view. Our analysis predicts the exact functional form of the dispersion relation as a function of the world sheet momentum, independently of integrability assumptions, but not the exact form with respect to the 't Hooft coupling. We also get the dispersion relation of bound states of giant magnons from first principles, providing evidence for the full integrability of the corresponding spin chain model at strong 't Hooft coupling.

Anomaly cancellation in three-dimensional noncommutative gauge theories

The anomaly found by Callan and Harvey is shown to be cancelled in a three-dimensional noncommutative gauge theory coupled to a fermion with a mass function depending on one spatial coordinate (domain wall mass). This evaluation has been done for the fermion in the fundamental and adjoint representations of the gauge group in the limit of small noncommutativity θ parameter.

Classification of supersymmetric lattice gauge theories by orbifolding

We provide a general classification of supersymmetric lattice gauge theories that can be obtained from orbifolding of theories with four and eight supercharges. We impose at least one preserved supercharge on the lattice and Lorentz invariance in the naive continuum limit. Starting with four supercharges, we obtain one two-dimensional lattice gauge theory, identical to the one already given in the literature. Starting with eight supercharges, we obtain a unique three-dimensional lattice gauge theory and infinitely many two-dimensional lattice theories. They can be classified according to seven distinct groups, five of which have two preserved supercharges while the others have only one.

Integrable spin chains on the conformal moose: Script N = 1 superconformal gauge theories as six-dimensional string theories

We consider N=1, D=4 superconformal U(N)^{pq} Yang-Mills theories dual to AdS_5xS^5/Z_pxZ_q orbifolds. We construct the dilatation operator of this superconformal gauge theory at one-loop planar level. We demonstrate that a specific sector of this dilatation operator can be thought of as the transfer matrix for a two-dimensional statistical mechanical system, related to an integrable SU(3) anti-ferromagnetic spin chain system, which in turn is equivalent to a 2+1-dimensional string theory where the spatial slices are discretized on a triangular lattice. This is an extension of the SO(6) spin chain picture of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. We comment on the integrability of this N=1 gauge theory and hence the corresponding three-dimensional statistical mechanical system, its connection to three-dimensional lattice gauge theories, extensions to six-dimensional string theories, AdS/CFT type dualities and finally their construction via orbifolds and brane-box models. In the process we discover a new class of almost-BPS BMN type operators with large engineering dimensions but controllably small anomalous corrections.

Superconformal Chern–Simons Theories

We explore the possibilities for constructing lagrangian descriptions of three-dimensional superconformal classical gauge theories that contain a Chern-Simons term, but no kinetic term, for the gauge fields. Classes of such theories with = 1 and = 2 supersymmetry are found. However, interacting theories of this type with = 8 supersymmetry do not exist.

On the universality class of certain string theory hadrons

Exploiting the gauge/gravity correspondence we find the spectrum of hadronic-like bound states of adjoint particles with a large global charge in several confining theories. In particular, we consider an embedding of four-dimensional N = 1 supersymmetric Yang–Mills into IIA string theory, two classes of three-dimensional gauge theories and the softly broken version of one of them. In all cases we describe the low energy excitations of a heavy hadron with mass proportional to its global charge. These excitations include: the hadron's nonrelativistic motion, its stringy excitations and excitations corresponding to the addition of massive constituents. Our analysis provides ample evidence for the universality of such hadronic states in confining theories admitting supergravity duals. Besides, we find numerically a new smooth solution that can be thought of as a nonsupersymmetric deformation of G 2 holonomy manifolds.

Confinement-deconfinement and universal string effects from random percolation

The 't Hooft criterion leading to confinement out of a percolating cluster of central vortices suggests defining a novel three-dimensional gauge theory directly on a random percolation process. Wilson loop is viewed as a counter of topological linking with the random clusters. Beyond the percolation threshold large Wilson loops decay with an area law and show the universal shape effects due to flux tube fluctuations. Wilson loop correlators define a non-trivial glueball spectrum. The crumbling of the percolating cluster when one periodic direction narrows accounts for the finite temperature deconfinement, which belongs to 2D percolation universality class.

D-branes in topological membranes

It is shown how two-dimensional states corresponding to D-branes arise in orbifolds of topologically massive gauge and gravity theories. Brane vertex operators naturally appear in induced worldsheet actions when the three-dimensional gauge theory is minimally coupled to external charged matter and the orbifold relations are carefully taken into account. Boundary states corresponding to D-branes are given by vacuum wavefunctionals of the gauge theory in the presence of the matter, and their various constraints, such as the Cardy condition, are shown to arise through compatibility relations between the orbifold charges and bulk gauge invariance. We show that with a further conformally-invariant coupling to a dynamical massless scalar field theory in three dimensions, the brane tension is naturally set by the bulk mass scales and arises through dynamical mechanisms. As an auxilliary result, we show how to describe string descendent states in the three-dimensional theory through the construction of gauge-invariant excited wavefunctionals.

Numerical study of duality and universality in a frozen superconductor

The three-dimensional integer-valued lattice gauge theory, which is also known as a "frozen superconductor," can be obtained as a certain limit of the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductivity, and is believed to be in the same universality class. It is also exactly dual to the three-dimensional XY model. We use this duality to demonstrate the practicality of recently developed methods for studying topological defects, and investigate the critical behavior of the phase transition using numerical Monte Carlo simulations of both theories. On the gauge theory side, we concentrate on the vortex tension and the penetration depth, which map onto the correlation lengths of the order parameter and the Noether current in the XY model, respectively. We show how these quantities behave near the critical point, and that the penetration depth exhibits critical scaling only very close to the transition point. This may explain the failure of superconductor experiments to see the inverted XY model scaling.

Topological quantum memory

We analyze surface codes, the topological quantum error-correcting codes introduced by Kitaev. In these codes, qubits are arranged in a two-dimensional array on a surface of nontrivial topology, and encoded quantum operations are associated with nontrivial homology cycles of the surface. We formulate protocols for error recovery, and study the efficacy of these protocols. An order-disorder phase transition occurs in this system at a nonzero critical value of the error rate; if the error rate is below the critical value (the accuracy threshold), encoded information can be protected arbitrarily well in the limit of a large code block. This phase transition can be accurately modeled by a three-dimensional Z2 lattice gauge theory with quenched disorder. We estimate the accuracy threshold, assuming that all quantum gates are local, that qubits can be measured rapidly, and that polynomial-size classical computations can be executed instantaneously. We also devise a robust recovery procedure that does not require measurement or fast classical processing; however, for this procedure the quantum gates are local only if the qubits are arranged in four or more spatial dimensions. We discuss procedures for encoding, measurement, and performing fault-tolerant universal quantum computation with surface codes, and argue that these codes provide a promising framework for quantum computing architectures.

D-Brane probes of Special Holonomy Manifolds, and Dynamics of Script N = 1 Three-Dimensional Gauge Theories

Using D2-brane probes, we study various properties of M-theory on singular, non-compact manifolds of G_2 and Spin(7) holonomy. We derive mirror pairs of N=1 supersymmetric three-dimensional gauge theories, and apply this technique to realize exceptional holonomy manifolds as both Coulomb and Higgs branches of the D2-brane world-volume theory. We derive a ``G_2 quotient construction'' of non-compact manifolds which admit a metric of G_2 holonomy. We further discuss the moduli space of such manifolds, including the structure of geometrical transitions in each case. For completeness, we also include familiar examples of manifolds with SU(3) and Sp(2) holonomy, where some of the new ideas are clarified and tested.

Supersymmetric non-singular fractional D2-branes and NS-NS 2-branes

We obtain regular deformed D2-brane solutions with fractional D2-branes arising as wrapped D4-branes. The space transverse to the D2-brane is a complete Ricci-flat 7-manifold of G_2 holonomy, which is asymptotically conical with principal orbits that are topologically CP^3 or the flag manifold SU(3)/(U(1) x U(1)). We obtain the solution by first constructing an L^2 normalisable harmonic 3-form. We also review a previously-obtained regular deformed D2-brane whose transverse space is a different 7-manifold of G_2 holonomy, with principal orbits that are topologically S^3 x S^3. This describes D2-branes with fractional NS-NS 2-branes coming from the wrapping of 5-branes, which is supported by a non-normalisable harmonic 3-form on the 7-manifold. We prove that both types of solutions are supersymmetric, preserving 1/16 of the maximal supersymmetry and hence that they are dual to {\cal N}=1 three-dimensional gauge theories. In each case, the spectrum for minimally-coupled scalars is discrete, indicating confinement in the infrared region of the dual gauge theories. We examine resolutions of other branes, and obtain necessary conditions for their regularity. The resolution of many of these seems to lie beyond supergravity. In the process of studying these questions, we construct new explicit examples of complete Ricci-flat metrics.

Short range linear potential in 3D lattice compact QED

We study the static potential between electric charges in the finite temperature three-dimensional compact gauge theory on the lattice. We show that in the deconfinement phase at small separations between the charges the potential contains a linearly rising piece which goes over into the Coulomb potential as the distance between the charges is increased. The linear potential is due to the gas of magnetic dipoles which are realized as monopole–anti-monopole bound states.

Moduli space of twoU(1)instantons on noncommutativeR4andR3×S1

We employ the Afiyah-Drinfield-Hitchin-Manin method to derive the moduli space of two instantons in $U(1)$ gauge theory on a noncommutative space. We show by an explicit hyper-K\"ahler quotient construction that the relative metric of the moduli space of two instantons on ${R}^{4}$ is the Eguchi-Hanson metric and find a unique threshold bound state. For two instantons on ${R}^{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{S}^{1},$ otherwise known as calorons, we give the asymptotic metric and conjecture a completion. We further discuss the relationship of caloron moduli spaces of A, D, and E groups to the Coulomb branches of three-dimensional gauge theory. In particular, we show that the Coulomb branch of the $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ gauge group with a single massive adjoint hypermultiplet coincides with the above two caloron moduli space.