arXiv subjects

Fabio Marino

Publications and source records attributed to Fabio Marino.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Generalised Symmetries, Anomalies, and Maximal Branches of 3d Chern-Simons Matter Theories

The generalised symmetries, 't Hooft anomalies, and their interplay with maximal branches are analysed for linear unitary three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}\geq 3$ Chern-Simons Matter quiver theories realised in Type IIB brane configurations. The 1-form symmetry, its self-anomaly and its maximal anomaly-free subgroup are determined independently from Wilson-line screening and from the string lattice. Fractional monopole endpoints of the generating Gukov-Witten defect are used to extract the anomaly data, while centre charges of integer monopoles determine the faithful 0-form symmetry group, its connected cover and possible 2-group structures. Mixed anomalies with non-abelian 0-form factors are found to cancel in the linear unitary theories considered. The effect of 1-form gauging on maximal branches is related to frozen D3-brane sectors, which flow to Chern-Simons TQFTs whose anyonic lines obstruct the required defect endpoint. This yields a criterion for affected branches and implies that at most two can be affected simultaneously. In such a case, a magnetic-quiver extension by non-simply laced edges is proposed, wherein the 1-form symmetry and its mixed anomaly with the branch isometry are reproduced.

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arXiv2026

Algorithmic Dualization of Unitary Circular Quivers

We introduce a field-theoretic algorithm to find the $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ duality web of 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ circular quiver theories with unitary gauge groups, extending the algorithm for linear quivers. Although circular and linear quivers share the same local structure, the circular topology requires additional ingredients, which we formulate in terms of topological and baryonic QFT blocks, together with new $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ duality moves acting on them. For good circular quivers, this provides a field-theoretic derivation of mirror symmetry and extends it to the full $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ duality web. We then study bad circular quivers, distinguishing between local badness, associated with under-balanced gauge nodes, and global badness, arising from the circular topology itself. In particular, we analyze the magnetic and electric dual frames of globally bad circular quivers and provide additional evidence for the proposed duality by matching the Higgs branch index with the dual Coulomb branch index. The latter exhibits a structure reminiscent of permutation-group gauging and reveals a refined relation to the ADHM quiver, flowing to the $\mathcal{N}=8$ infrared fixed point.

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arXiv2026

Orthosymplectic Chern-Simons Matter Theories: Global Forms, Dualities, and Vacua

A magnetic quiver framework is proposed for studying maximal branches of 3d orthosymplectic Chern--Simons matter theories with $\mathcal{N} \geq 3$ supersymmetry, arising from Type IIB brane setups with O3 planes. These branches are extracted via brane moves, yielding orthosymplectic $\mathcal{N}=4$ magnetic quivers whose Coulomb branches match the moduli spaces of interest. Global gauge group data, inaccessible from brane configurations alone, are determined through supersymmetric indices, Hilbert series, and fugacity maps. The analysis is exploratory in nature and highlights several subtle features. In particular, magnetic quivers are proposed as predictions for the maximal branches in a range of examples.

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arXiv2025

Vacua, Symmetries, and Higgsing of Chern-Simons Matter Theories

Three-dimensional supersymmetric Chern-Simons Matter (CSM) theories typically preserve $ \mathcal{N}=3$ supersymmetry but can exhibit enhanced $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetry under special conditions. A detailed understanding of the moduli space of CSM theories, however, has remained elusive. This paper addresses this gap by systematically analysing the maximal branches of the moduli space of $\mathcal{N}=3$ and $\mathcal{N}=4$ CSM realised via Type IIB brane constructions. Firstly, for $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories with Chern-Simons levels equal $1$, the $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$ dualisation algorithm is employed to construct dual Lagrangian 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories without CS terms. This allows the full moduli space to be determined using quiver algorithms that compute Higgs and Coulomb branch Hasse diagrams and associated RG flows. Secondly, for $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories with CS-levels greater $1$, where $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$ dualisation does not yield CS-free Lagrangians, a new prescription is introduced to derive two magnetic quivers, $\mathsf{MQ}_A $ and $\mathsf{MQ}_B$, whose Coulomb branches capture the maximal A and B branches of the original $\mathcal{N}=4$ CSM theory. Applying the decay and fission algorithm to $ \mathsf{MQ}_{A/B}$ then enables the systematic analysis of A/B branch RG flows and their geometric structures. Thirdly, for $\mathcal{N}=3$ CSM theories, one magnetic quiver for each maximal (hyper-Kähler) branch is derived from the brane system. This provides an efficient and comprehensive characterisation of these previously scarcely studied features.

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arXiv2025

Probing bad theories with the dualization algorithm II

We continue our analysis of bad theories, focusing on quiver theories with bad unitary and special unitary gauge groups in three dimensions. By extending the dualization algorithm we prove that the partition function of bad linear quivers can be written as a distribution, given by a sum of terms involving a product of delta functions times the partition function of a good quiver theory. We describe in detail the good quiver theories appearing in the partition function of the bad theory and discuss the brane interpretation of our result. We also discuss in detail the lift of these theories to 4d quivers with symplectic gauge groups, in which our results can be recovered by studying the Higgsing triggered by the expectation value for certain chiral operators. The paper is accompanied by a Mathematica file which implements the algorithm for an arbitrary unitary bad linear quiver.

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arXiv2024

Probing bad theories with the dualization algorithm I

Recently an algorithm to build $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ duals, including mirror duals, of 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver theories and their 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ uplift has been introduced. In this work we use this new tool to study the so-called bad theories. Our approach allows us to determine exactly indices/partition functions for generic values of fugacities/real mass and FI parameters revealing their surprising feature: the 4d index/3d partition function of a bad theory behaves as a sum of distributions rather than an ordinary function of the deformation parameters. We focus on the bad SQCD, with $U(N_c)$ gauge group in 3d and $USp(2N_c)$ in 4d, while in an upcoming paper we will consider linear quivers which, in the 3d case, have both unitary and special unitary bad nodes.

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arXiv2024

Introduction to String Theory

These are the lecture notes of the introductory String Theory course held by one of the authors for the master program of Theoretical Physics at Turin University. The world-sheet approach to String Theory is pedagogically introduced in the framework of the bosonic string and of the superstring.

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arXiv2023

The $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ dualization algorithm at work

Recently an algorithm to dualize a theory into its mirror dual has been proposed, both for $3d$ $\mathcal{N}=4$ linear quivers and for their $4d$ $\mathcal{N}=1$ uplift. This mimics the manipulations done at the level of the Type IIB brane setup that engineers the $3d$ theories, where mirror symmetry is realized as $S$-duality, but it is enirely field-theoretic and based on the application of genuine infra-red dualities that implement the local action of $S$-duality on the quiver. In this paper, we generalize the algorithm to the full duality group, which is $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ in $3d$ and $PSL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ in $4d$. This also produces dualities for $3d$ $\mathcal{N}=3$ theories with Chern--Simons couplings, some of which have enhanced $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetry, and their new $4d$ $\mathcal{N}=1$ counterpart. In addition, we propose three ways to study the RG flows triggered by possible VEVs appearing at the last step of the algorithm, one of which uses a new duality that implements the Hanany--Witten move in field theory.

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