arXiv subjects

Marina Moleti

Publications and source records attributed to Marina Moleti.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

D2-brane probes of non-toric cDV threefolds via monopole superpotentials

We develop a framework to construct worldvolume gauge theories on D2-branes probing compound Du Val (cDV) Calabi-Yau threefold singularities. By viewing these singularities as ADE surface fibrations over the complex $w$-plane, we encode their geometry in a Higgs field $\Phi(w)$. A D2-brane probe perceives $\Phi(w)$ as an $\mathcal{N}=2$ deformation of its 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ affine Dynkin quiver gauge theory via polynomial and monopole superpotential terms. By exploiting 3d mirror symmetry, we obtain an effective theory that correctly reproduces the quiver-collapsing mechanism known in the mathematical literature. We present several examples, including non-toric and non-resolvable cases.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Non-toric 5d SCFTs from Reid's Pagoda

We construct new families of non-toric 5d SCFTs via abelian orbifolds of the Reid Pagoda, including a surprising infinite family of rank-1 theories, that evade all known classifications. Using the McKay correspondence, we derive their BPS quivers and superpotentials. The hallmark of these theories is a novel sector we dub Pagoda matter, whose vacuum expectation values obstruct the Kaehler moduli. This mechanism freezes the gauge coupling to infinite value, precluding a weak-coupling limit and rendering the theories intrinsically strongly coupled. Finally, we interpret these results as 5d SCFTs deformed by non-constant flavor backgrounds.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Universal flops of length 1 and 2 from D2-branes at surface singularities

We study families of deformed ADE surfaces by probing them with a D2-brane in Type IIA string theory. The geometry of the total space $X$ of such a family can be encoded in a scalar field $\Phi$, which lives in the corresponding ADE algebra and depends on the deformation parameters. The superpotential of the probe three dimensional (3d) theory incorporates a term that depends on the field $\Phi$. By varying the parameters on which $\Phi$ depends, one generates a family of 3d theories whose moduli space always includes a geometric branch, isomorphic to the deformed surface. By fibering this geometric branch over the parameter space, the total space $X$ of the family of ADE surfaces is reconstructed. We explore various cases, including when $X$ is the universal flop of length $\ell=1,2$. The effective theory, obtained after the introduction of $\Phi$, provides valuable insights into the geometric features of $X$, such as the loci in parameter space where the fiber becomes singular and, more notably, the conditions under which this induces a singularity in the total space. By analyzing the monopole operators in the 3d theory, we determine the charges of certain M2-brane states arising in M-theory compactifications on $X$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Probing 7-branes on Orbifolds

D3 branes in the vicinity of an E6, E7, or E8 stack of 7-branes in flat space are known to host at low energy a famous class of strongly-coupled N = 2 superconformal field theories featuring exceptional global symmetry. What if, instead, the 7-branes wrap an orbifold? We give a systematic characterization of such theories in the case of C2/Zn, and determine their main properties, like global symmetries, spectra of Coulomb-branch operators, and patterns of Higgs-branch flows. We put forward a set of rules to construct their magnetic quivers, which directly generalize what happens in the perturbative case, and later derive them using the duality with M5 branes probing M9 walls.

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