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Leonardo Rastelli

Publications and source records attributed to Leonardo Rastelli.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2012

Gauge Theories and Macdonald Polynomials

We study the N=2 four-dimensional superconformal index in various interesting limits, such that only states annihilated by more than one supercharge contribute. Extrapolating from the SU(2) generalized quivers, which have a Lagrangian description, we conjecture explicit formulae for all A-type quivers of class S, which in general do not have one. We test our proposals against several expected dualities. The index can always be interpreted as a correlator in a two-dimensional topological theory, which we identify in each limit as a certain deformation of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory. The structure constants of the topological algebra are diagonal in the basis of Macdonald polynomials of the holonomies.

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arXiv2012

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.

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arXiv2012

Spin Chains in N=2 Superconformal Theories: from the Z_2 Quiver to Superconformal QCD

In this paper we find preliminary evidence that N=2 superconformal QCD, the SU(N_c) SYM theory with N_f= 2 N_c fundamental hypermultiplets, might be integrable in the large N Veneziano limit. We evaluate the one-loop dilation operator in the scalar sector of the N=2 superconformal quiver with SU(N_c) X SU(N_{\check c}) gauge group, for N_c = N_{\check c}. Both gauge couplings g and \check g are exactly marginal. This theory interpolates between the Z_2 orbifold of N=4 SYM, which corresponds to \check g=g, and N=2 superconformal QCD, which is obtained for \check g -> 0. The planar one-loop dilation operator takes the form of a nearest-neighbor spin-chain Hamiltonian. For superconformal QCD the spin chain is of novel form: besides the color-adjoint fields ϕ^a_{b}, which occupy individual sites of the chain, there are "dimers" Q^a_{i} \bar Q^i_{b} of flavor-contracted fundamental fields, which occupy two neighboring sites. We solve the two-body scattering problem of magnon excitations and study the spectrum of bound states, for general \check g/g. The dimeric excitations of superconformal QCD are seen to arise smoothly for \check g -> 0 as the limit of bound wavefunctions of the interpolating theory. Finally we check the Yang-Baxter equation for the two-magnon S-matrix. It holds as expected at the orbifold point \check g = g. While violated for general \check g \neq g, it holds again in the limit \check g -> 0, hinting at one-loop integrability of planar N=2 superconformal QCD.

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arXiv2012

The Complete One-Loop Dilation Operator of N=2 SuperConformal QCD

We evaluate the full planar one-loop dilation operator of N=2 SuperConformal QCD, the SU(N_c) super Yang-Mills theory with N_f = 2 N_c fundamental hypermultiplets, in the flavor-singlet sector. Remarkably, the spin-chain Hamiltonian turns out to be completely fixed by superconformal symmetry, as in N=4 SYM. We present a more general calculation, for the superconformal quiver theory with SU(N_c)X SU(N_c) gauge group, which interpolates between N=2 SCQCD and the Z_2 orbifold of N=4 SYM; here symmetry fixes the Hamiltonian up to a single parameter, corresponding to the ratio of the two marginal gauge couplings.

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arXiv2011

The Complete One-loop Spin Chain of N =1 SQCD

We evaluate the complete planar one-loop dilation operator of N=1 Super QCD, at the large N Bank-Zaks fixed point near the upper edge of the superconformal window. The spin-chain Hamiltonian turns out to be entirely fixed by the constraints of superconformal symmetry, as in N=4 Super Yang-Mills and in N=2 SuperConformal QCD.

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arXiv2011

Holographic Uniformization

We derive and study supergravity BPS flow equations for M5 or D3 branes wrapping a Riemann surface. They take the form of novel geometric flows intrinsically defined on the surface. Their dual field-theoretic interpretation suggests the existence of solutions interpolating between an arbitrary metric in the UV and the constant-curvature metric in the IR. We confirm this conjecture with a rigorous global existence proof.

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arXiv2011

The 4d Superconformal Index from q-deformed 2d Yang-Mills

We identify the 2d topological theory underlying the N=2 4d superconformal index with an explicit model: q-deformed 2d Yang-Mills. By this route we are able to evaluate the index of some strongly-coupled 4d SCFTs, such as Gaiotto's T_N theories.

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arXiv2010

Twisted Magnons

We study spin chains for superconformal quiver gauge theories in the moduli space of N=2 orbifolds. Independent of integrability, which is generally broken, we use the centrally extended SU(2|2) symmetry of the magnons to fix their dispersion relations and two-body S-matrices, as functions of the exactly marginal couplings.

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arXiv2010

The Superconformal Index of the E_6 SCFT

We derive an integral representation for the superconformal index of the strongly-coupled N=2 superconformal field theory with E_6 flavor symmetry. The explicit expression of the index allows highly non-trivial checks of Argyres-Seiberg duality and of a class of S-dualities conjectured by Gaiotto.

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arXiv2010

Intersecting Flavor Branes

We consider an instance of the AdS/CFT duality where the bulk theory contains an open string tachyon, and study the instability from the viewpoint of the boundary field theory. We focus on the specific example of the AdS_5 X S^5 background with two probe D7 branes intersecting at general angles. For generic angles supersymmetry is completely broken and there is an open string tachyon between the branes. The field theory action for this system is obtained by coupling to N =4 super Yang-Mills two N =2 hyper multiplets in the fundamental representation of the SU(N) gauge group, but with different choices of embedding of the two N=2 subalgebras into N=4. On the field theory side we find a one-loop Coleman-Weinberg instability in the effective potential for the fundamental scalars. We identify a mesonic operator as the dual of the open string tachyon. By AdS/CFT, we predict the tachyon mass for small 't Hooft coupling (large bulk curvature) and confirm that it violates the AdS stability bound.

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arXiv2009

The Veneziano Limit of N=2 Superconformal QCD: Towards the String Dual of N=2 SU(N_c) SYM with N_f =2 N_c

We attack the long-standing problem of finding the AdS dual of N = 2 superconformal QCD, the N=2 super Yang Mills theory with gauge group SU(N_c) and N_f = 2 N_c fundamental hyper multiplets. The theory admits a Veneziano expansion of large N_c and large N_f, with N_f/N_c and lambda = g^2 N_c kept fixed. The topological structure of large N diagrams motivates a general conjecture: the flavor-singlet sector of a gauge theory in the Veneziano limit is dual to a closed string theory; single closed string states correspond to "generalized single-trace" operators, where adjoint letters and flavor-contracted fundamental/antifundamental pairs are stringed together in a closed chain. We look for the string dual of N = 2 superconformal QCD from two fronts. From the bottom-up, we perform a systematic analysis of the protected spectrum using superconformal representation theory. We also evaluate the one-loop dilation operator in the scalar sector, finding a novel spin chain. From the top-down, we consider the decoupling limit of known brane constructions. In both approaches, more insight is gained by viewing the theory as the degenerate limit of the N = 2 Z_2 orbifold of N = 4 SYM, as one of the two gauge couplings is tuned to zero. A consistent picture emerges. We conclude that the string dual is a sub-critical background with seven "geometric" dimensions, containing both an AdS_5 and an S^1 factor. The supergravity approximation is never entirely valid, even for large lambda, indeed the field theory has an exponential degeneracy of exactly protected states with higher spin, which must be dual to a sector of light string states.

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arXiv2009

A Spin Chain for the Symmetric Product CFT_2

We consider "gauge invariant" operators in Sym^N T^4, the symmetric product orbifold of N copies of the 2d supersymmetric sigma model with T^4 target. We discuss a spin chain representation for single-cycle operators and study their two point functions at large N. We perform systematic calculations at the orbifold point ("tree level"), where non-trivial mixing is already present, and some sample calculations to first order in the blow-up mode of the orbifold ("one loop").

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arXiv2009

Diagrams for Symmetric Product Orbifolds

We develop a diagrammatic language for symmetric product orbifolds of two-dimensional conformal field theories. Correlation functions of twist operators are written as sums of diagrams: each diagram corresponds to a branched covering map from a surface where the fields are single-valued to the base sphere where twist operators are inserted. This diagrammatic language facilitates the study of the large N limit and makes more transparent the analogy between symmetric product orbifolds and free non-abelian gauge theories. We give a general algorithm to calculate the leading large N contribution to four-point correlators of twist fields.

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arXiv2009

Extremal Correlators and Hurwitz Numbers in Symmetric Product Orbifolds

We study correlation functions of single-cycle chiral operators in the symmetric product orbifold of N supersymmetric four-tori. Correlators of twist operators are evaluated on covering surfaces, generally of different genera, where fields are single-valued. We compute some simple four-point functions and study how the sum over inequivalent branched covering maps splits under OPEs. We then discuss extremal n-point correlators, i.e. correlators of n-1 chiral and one anti-chiral operators. They obey simple recursion relations involving numbers obtained from counting branched covering maps with particular properties. In most cases we are able to solve explicitly the recursion relations. Remarkably, extremal correlators turn out to be equal to Hurwitz numbers.

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arXiv2009

S-duality and 2d Topological QFT

We study the superconformal index for the class of N=2 4d superconformal field theories recently introduced by Gaiotto. These theories are defined by compactifying the (2,0) 6d theory on a Riemann surface with punctures. We interpret the index of the 4d theory associated to an n-punctured Riemann surface as the n-point correlation function of a 2d topological QFT living on the surface. Invariance of the index under generalized S-duality transformations (the mapping class group of the Riemann surface) translates into associativity of the operator algebra of the 2d TQFT. In the A_1 case, for which the 4d SCFTs have a Lagrangian realization, the structure constants and metric of the 2d TQFT can be calculated explicitly in terms of elliptic gamma functions. Associativity then holds thanks to a remarkable symmetry of an elliptic hypergeometric beta integral, proved very recently by van de Bult.

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arXiv2009

Large N Field Theory and AdS Tachyons

In non-supersymmetric orbifolds of N =4 super Yang-Mills, conformal invariance is broken by the logarithmic running of double-trace operators -- a leading effect at large N. A tachyonic instability in AdS_5 has been proposed as the bulk dual of double-trace running. In this paper we make this correspondence more precise. By standard field theory methods, we show that the double-trace beta function is quadratic in the coupling, to all orders in planar perturbation theory. Tuning the double-trace coupling to its (complex) fixed point, we find conformal dimensions of the form 2 + i b, as formally expected for operators dual to bulk scalars that violate the stability bound. We also show that conformal invariance is broken in perturbation theory if and only if dynamical symmetry breaking occurs. Our analysis is applicable to a general large N field theory with vanishing single-trace beta functions.

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arXiv2008

Analytic Solutions for Marginal Deformations in Open String Field Theory

We develop a calculable analytic approach to marginal deformations in open string field theory using wedge states with operator insertions. For marginal operators with regular operator products, we construct analytic solutions to all orders in the deformation parameter. In particular, we construct an exact time-dependent solution that describes D-brane decay and incorporates all alpha' corrections. For marginal operators with singular operator products, we construct solutions by regularizing the singularity and adding counterterms. We explicitly carry out the procedure to third order in the deformation parameter.

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