arXiv subjects

Philip C. Argyres

Publications and source records attributed to Philip C. Argyres.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Special Kähler geometries of $\mathcal{N}=4$ superYang-Mills

The low energy effective theory on the moduli space of vacua of 4d superYang-Mills (sYM) theory defines a special Kähler geometry. For simple sYM gauge algebras, $\mathfrak{g}$, we classify all compatible special Kähler structures by showing that they are in one-to-one correspondence with certain equivalence classes of integral symplectic representations of the Weyl group of $\mathfrak{g}$. We further demonstrate that, for principal Dirac pairing, these equivalence classes are in one-to-one correspondence with the S-duality orbits of the global structures of the corresponding $\mathfrak{g}$ sYM gauge theory, after a mistake in the field theory literature is corrected. This provides a low-energy test of S-duality. We also discuss twisted product geometries made from factors with special Kähler structures with non-principal Dirac pairings.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Complex crystallographic reflection groups and Seiberg-Witten integrable systems: rank 1 case

We consider generalisations of the elliptic Calogero--Moser systems associated to complex crystallographic groups in accordance to [1]. In our previous work [2], we proposed these systems as candidates for Seiberg--Witten integrable systems of certain SCFTs. Here we examine that proposal for complex crystallographic groups of rank one. Geometrically, this means considering elliptic curves $T^2$ with $\mathbb{Z}_m$-symmetries, $m=2,3,4,6$, and Poisson deformations of the orbifolds $(T^2\times\mathbb{C})/\mathbb{Z}_m$. The $m=2$ case was studied in [2], while $m=3,4,6$ correspond to Seiberg--Witten integrable systems for the rank 1 Minahan--Nemeshansky SCFTs of type $E_{6,7,8}$. This allows us to describe the corresponding elliptic fibrations and the Seiberg--Witten differential in a compact elegant form. This approach also produces quantum spectral curves for these SCFTs, which are given by Fuchsian ODEs with special properties.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Allowed Coulomb branch scaling dimensions of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFTs

A basic datum of a rank-$r$ $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theory (SCFT) is the $r$-tuple of its Coulomb branch scaling dimensions, i.e., the scaling dimensions of a set of special protected scalar operators whose vevs generate the coordinate ring of the Coulomb branch of the theory. It is well known that when the coordinate ring is freely generated these scaling dimensions can only take values in a small set of rational numbers. But there are further constraints on which $r$-tuples of these numbers can appear. The main aim of this work is to clarify what these are. Along the way we also compute explicitly the $r$-tuples of allowed scaling dimensions for theories of ranks $r = 2, 3, 4$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Completely (iso-)split scale-invariant Coulomb branch geometries are isotrivial

We show that scale-invariant special Kahler geometries whose generic r-complex-dimensional abelian variety fiber is isomorphic (completely split) or isogenous (completely iso-split) as a complex torus to the product of r one-dimensional complex tori have constant $τ^{ij}$ modulus on the Coulomb branch, i.e., are isotrivial. These simple results are useful in organizing the classification of scale-invariant special Kahler geometries, which, in turn, is relevant to the classification of possible 4-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric superconformal field theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Genus 2 Seiberg-Witten curves for rank 2 N=4 superYang-Mills theories

We determine new genus 2 Seiberg-Witten curves for four dimensional rank 2 absolute N=4 superYang-Mills theories using the automorphism twist approach. The conformal manifolds of these curves agree with those predicted by S-duality orbits of global structures, and we use this to identify which of the two S-duality orbits of the $so(5) \simeq sp(4)$ superYang-Mills theory the genus-2 curve corresponds to. We also compare the curves to earlier constructions of Seiberg-Witten curves for these theories as spectral curves of integrable systems. These spectral curves have genus greater than the rank, and so only give a Coulomb branch geometry upon projection to a sublattice of the homology lattice of the curves. We show how to determine the correct sublattice projection, and find that the integrable system curves do not apply to our theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Vertex algebra of extended operators in 4d N=2 superconformal field theories

We construct a class of extended operators in the cohomology of a pair of twisted Schur supercharges of 4d N=2 SCFTs. The extended operators are constructed from the local operators in this cohomology -- the Schur operators -- by a version of topological descent. They are line, surface, and domain wall world volume integrals of certain super descendants of Schur operators. Their world volumes extend in directions transverse to a spatial plane in Minkowski space-time. As operators in the cohomology of these twisted Schur supercharges, their correlators are (locally) meromorphic functions only of the positions where they intersect this plane. This implies the extended operators enlarge the vertex operator algebra of the Schur operators. We illustrate this enlarged vertex algebra by computing some extended-operator product expansions within a subalgebra of it for the free hypermultiplet SCFT.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Snowmass White Paper on SCFTs

Superconformal field theories (SCFTs) occupy a central role in the study of many aspects of quantum field theory. In this white paper for the Snowmass process we give a brief overview of aspects of SCFTs in $3\leq D \leq 6$ space-time dimensions, including classification efforts and some of the vast current research trends on the physical and mathematical structures generated by this rich class of physical theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

The rank 2 classification problem I: scale invariant geometries

In this first of a series of three papers we outline an approach to classifying 4d $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories at rank 2. The classification of allowed scale invariant $\mathcal{N}=2$ Coulomb branch geometries of dimension (or rank) greater than one is a famous open problem whose solution will greatly constrain the space of $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories. At rank 2 the problem is equivalent to finding all possible genus 2 Seiberg-Witten curves and 1-forms satisfying a special Kähler condition. This is tractable because regular genus 2 Riemann surfaces can be uniformly described as binary-sextic plane curves, and the Seiberg-Witten curves are families of such curves varying meromorphically over the two-dimensional base. There are also solutions consisting of families of degenerate genus-2 Riemann surfaces given by a bouquet of two elliptic curves which are described by a different set of curves. In this paper we set up and carry out the analysis of the generic case, i.e., those whose typical fiber is a regular genus-2 Riemann surface with no extended automorphism, and find the complete answer for polynomial coefficients.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

The rank 2 classification problem II: mapping scale-invariant solutions to SCFTs

This is the second of a series of papers outlining an approach to the classification of $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories at rank 2 via a systematic analysis of their Coulomb branches, mathematically described by special Kähler scale invariant geometries. Here we describe how to make the translation between geometry and field theory data. We apply this strategy to the special Kähler geometries found in the first paper of the series where we made strong simplifying assumptions on the form of the solutions. Remarkably, we find that our bottom-up classification strategy pays off even in this simplified setup. All scale invariant solutions in the first paper of the series have an interpretation as the Coulomb branch of at least one $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theory, many matching what is already known. But we also predict the existence of six new rank 2 theories, including an entire new set closed under renormalization group flow. We characterise and discuss in detail each one of these new $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories. To our knowledge none of them have known string theoretic or higher dimensional realisations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

The rank-2 classification problem III: curves with additional automorphisms

This is the third in a series of papers which outlines an approach to the classification of $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories at rank 2 via the study of their Coulomb branch geometries. Here we use the fact that the encoding of a Coulomb branch geometry as a Seiberg-Witten curve and 1-form enjoys a large reparametrisation invariance. While there is always a unique way to fix this invariance such that the curve and 1-form are single-valued over the Coulomb branch -- the "canonical frame" of the curve used in the first two papers in this series -- there are other useful frames in which the curve is single-valued but the 1-form is allowed to be multi-valued. In these frames, which we call "automorphism frames", the 1-form is periodic up to an automorphism twist. We argue that the multi-valuedness of the automorphism frame can simplify the computational complexity of finding new consistent scale invariant solutions. We demonstrate this in an example by using the automorphism frame to construct for the first time a genus 2 Seiberg-Witten curve for the $\mathcal{N}{=}4$ SU(3) superYang-Mills theory, a solution that is hard to find by other approaches.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Dirac pairings, one-form symmetries and Seiberg-Witten geometries

The Coulomb phase of a quantum field theory, when present, illuminates the analysis of its line operators and one-form symmetries. For 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ field theories the low energy physics of this phase is encoded in the special Kähler geometry of the moduli space of Coulomb vacua. We clarify how the information on the allowed line operator charges and one-form symmetries is encoded in the special Kähler structure. We point out the important difference between the lattice of charged states and the homology lattice of the abelian variety fibered over the moduli space, which, when principally polarized, is naturally identified with a choice of the lattice of mutually local line operators. This observation illuminates how the distinct S-duality orbits of global forms of $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories are encoded geometrically.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Classification of all $\mathcal{N}\geq 3$ moduli space orbifold geometries at rank 2

We classify orbifold geometries which can be interpreted as moduli spaces of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}\geq 3$ superconformal field theories up to rank 2 (complex dimension 6). The large majority of the geometries we find correspond to moduli spaces of known theories or discretely gauged version of them. Remarkably, we find 6 geometries which are not realized by any known theory, of which 3 have an $\mathcal{N}=2$ Coulomb branch slice with a non-freely generated coordinate ring, suggesting the existence of new, exotic $\mathcal{N}=3$ theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

The Singularity Structure of Scale-Invariant Rank-2 Coulomb Branches

We compute the spectrum of scaling dimensions of Coulomb branch operators in 4d rank-2 $\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories. Only a finite rational set of scaling dimensions is allowed. It is determined by using information about the global topology of the locus of metric singularities on the Coulomb branch, the special Kähler geometry near those singularities, and electric-magnetic duality monodromies along orbits of the $\rm\, U(1)_R$ symmetry. A set of novel topological and geometric results are developed which promise to be useful for the study and classification of Coulomb branch geometries at all ranks.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Towards a classification of rank $r$ $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs Part II: special Kahler stratification of the Coulomb branch

We study the stratification of the singular locus of four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ Coulomb branches. We present a set of self-consistency conditions on this stratification which can be used to extend the classification of scale-invariant rank 1 Coulomb branch geometries to two complex dimensions, and beyond. The calculational simplicity of the arguments presented here stems from the fact that the main ingredients needed -- the rank 1 deformation patterns and the pattern of inclusions of rank 2 strata -- are discrete topological data which satisfy strong self-consistency conditions through their relationship to the central charges of the SCFT. This relationship of the stratification data to the central charges is used here, but is derived and explained in a companion paper by one of the authors. We illustrate the use of these conditions by re-analyzing many previously-known examples of rank 2 SCFTs, and also by finding examples of new theories. The power of these conditions stems from the fact that for Coulomb branch stratifications a conjecturally complete list of physically allowed "elementary slices" is known. By contrast, constraining the possible elementary slices of symplectic singularities relevant for Higgs branch stratifications remains an open problem.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

On the moduli spaces of 4d $\mathcal{N} = 3$ SCFTs I: triple special Kähler structure

We initiate a systematic analysis of moduli spaces of vacua of four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFTs. Our analysis is based on the one hand on the properties of $\mathcal{N}=3$ chiral rings --- which we review in detail and contrast with chiral rings of theories with less supersymmetry --- and on the other hand on constraints coming from low-energy supersymmetry. This leads us to introduce a new type of geometric structure, which characterizes $\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFT moduli spaces, and that we call $triple\ special\ Kähler$ (TSK). A rank-$n$ TSK moduli space has complex dimension $3n$, and is singular at complex co-dimension 3 subspaces where charged states become massless. The structure of singularities defines a stratification of the TSK space in terms of lower-dimensional TSK manifolds.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Fundamental groups for torus link complements

For an arbitrary positive integer $n$ and a pair $(p, q)$ of coprime integers, consider $n$ copies of a torus $(p,q)$ knot placed parallel to each other on the surface of the corresponding auxiliary torus: we call this assembly a torus $n$-link. We compute economical presentations of knot groups for torus links using the groupoid version of the Seifert--van Kampen theorem. Moreover, the result for an individual torus $n$-link is generalized to the case of multiple "nested" torus links, where we inductively include a torus link in the interior (or the exterior) of the auxiliary torus corresponding to the previous link. The results presented here have been useful in the physics context of classifying moduli space geometries of four-dimensional ${\mathcal N}=2$ superconformal field theories.

math.GT↗

arXiv2018

Flavor symmetries and the topology of special Kähler structures at rank 1

We propose a method for determining the flavor charge lattice of the continuous flavor symmetry of rank-1 4d N = 2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) and IR free gauge theories from topological invariants of the special Kähler structure of the mass-deformed Coulomb branches (CBs) of the theories. The method is based on the middle homology of the total space of the elliptic fibration over the CB, and is a generalization of the F-theory string web description of flavor charge lattices. The resulting lattices, which we call 'string web lattices', contain not only information about the flavor symmetry of the SCFT but also additional information encoded in the lattice metric derived from the middle homology intersection form. This additional information clearly reflects the low energy electric and magnetic charges of BPS states on the CB, but there are other properties of the string web lattice metric which we have not been able to understand in terms of properties of the BPS spectrum. We compute the string web lattices of all rank-1 SCFTs and IR free gauge theories. We find agreement with results obtained by other methods, and find in a few cases that the string web lattice gives additional information on the flavor symmetry.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Coulomb branches with complex singularities

We construct 4d superconformal field theories (SCFTs) whose Coulomb branches have singular complex structures. This implies, in particular, that their Coulomb branch coordinate rings are not freely generated. Our construction also gives examples of distinct SCFTs which have identical moduli space (Coulomb, Higgs, and mixed branch) geometries. These SCFTs thus provide an interesting arena in which to test the relationship between moduli space geometries and conformal field theory data. We construct these SCFTs by gauging certain discrete global symmetries of $\mathcal N=4$ superYang-Mills (sYM) theories. In the simplest cases, these discrete symmetries are outer automorphisms of the sYM gauge group, and so these theories have lagrangian descriptions as $\mathcal N=4$ sYM theories with disconnected gauge groups.

hep-th↗