arXiv subjects

Pietro Benetti Genolini

Publications and source records attributed to Pietro Benetti Genolini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Airy functions from quantum M-theory

We show that Airy function partition functions for M2-brane theories may be derived from relative equivariant localization of quantum M-theory. The eleven-dimensional Chern--Simons coupling gives the cubic term in the grand potential, while the $X_8$ correction gives the charge shift. Fixing the M2-brane charge turns the localized M-theory path integral into an Airy integral. In this way we derive the ABJM result, its toric Calabi--Yau generalizations, and gravitational blocks for black holes and other spacetimes, up to the prefactor and non-perturbative corrections.

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arXiv2026

Odd-Dimensional Localization in Supergravity

We establish a localization principle for odd-dimensional supergravity theories containing Chern--Simons interactions. Our construction relies on combining an equivariant extension of the gauge-invariant part of the action with an equivariant completion of the Chern--Simons anomaly form $Φ^{(\text{anom})}$ to form a relative equivariant cohomology class. This leads to a universal fixed point formula for the on-shell action of supersymmetric solutions that is expressed in terms of $Φ^{(\text{anom})}$ and an equivariant Euler class. We illustrate the formalism in $D=11$ and $D=5$ supergravity, with applications including the supersymmetric Casimir energy and superconformal index of M5-branes, as well as black ring and black lens solutions.

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arXiv2026

Equivariant localization for $D=5$ gauged supergravity

We consider supersymmetric solutions of $D=5$ Euclidean gauged supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of vector multiplets. We consider solutions that admit both the R-symmetry Killing vector, $\mathcal{K}$, constructed as a bilinear in the Killing spinor, as well as an additional Killing vector $\ell$. Using $\ell$ to perform a dimensional reduction to $D=4$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity, we show how the $D=5$ on-shell action can be computed using equivariant localization. We illustrate the formalism with some examples, computing the supersymmetric Casimir energy and the supersymmetric index of the dual SCFT without using the explicit supergravity solutions.

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arXiv2026

Probing black holes with equivariant localization

We introduce equivariant localization as a method for computing the action of probe branes in supergravity backgrounds. We apply it to supersymmetric probe D3-branes in type IIB supersymmetric spacetimes obtained by uplifting the Kerr-Newman-AdS$_5$ black hole on a toric Sasaki-Einstein space. Depending on the cycles they wrap, such branes represent non-perturbative corrections to or defect operator insertions in the superconformal index of a large family of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ quiver superconformal field theories. The resulting action reduces to equivariant integrals and can be evaluated entirely from toric data.

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arXiv2026

Equivariant localization for higher derivative supergravity

Conformal supergravity provides an effective off-shell formalism to study higher derivative actions. We show that the $D=4$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ theory admits equivariantly closed forms. These may be used to compute closed-form expressions for supersymmetric observables in a general class of supergravity theories with higher derivative couplings, without any need to solve equations of motion. We discuss applications to holography, presenting results for on-shell actions that are conjecturally valid to all orders in the perturbative $1/N$ expansion.

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arXiv2026

The gravitational index and allowable complex metrics

We study the Kontsevich-Segal-Witten criterion for allowable complex metrics, in the context of the gravitational path integral corresponding to the supersymmetric index. In various theories of supergravity in asymptotically flat and asymptotically AdS space, the exponential growth of states of the corresponding microscopic index in string theory is known to be captured by complex saddle points of this path integral. We compare the KSW criterion for these complex saddles against constraints from geometric consistency and the convergence of microscopic indices for the same saddles. In all the situations we consider, we find that the three criteria precisely agree with each other.

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arXiv2026

Allowable complex metrics and the gravitational index of AdS$_5$ black holes

We discuss the Kontsevich-Segal-Witten criterion for the allowability of complex metrics, in the context of the gravitational path integral that calculates the supersymmetric index. We focus on the saddle points that capture the contribution of supersymmetric black holes in AdS$_5$ space. We show that, for such black holes with two independent angular momenta, the conditions imposed on the corresponding saddle point by the KSW criterion are equivalent to the ones arising from the convergence of the microscopic trace form of the supersymmetric index. This result adds to previous results establishing such an equivalence in other, simpler examples of the gravitational index in AdS space and flat space. Along the way, we give a practical algorithm for implementing the KSW criterion in terms of eigenvalues of certain matrices.

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arXiv2025

Introduction to black hole thermodynamics

These are the lecture notes for a course at the "Roberto Salmeron School in Mathematical Physics" held at the University of Brasilia in September 2025, to be published in the proceedings book "Modern topics in mathematical physics." The course provides a concise and biased introduction to black hole thermodynamics. It covers the laws of black hole mechanics, Hawking radiation, Euclidean quantum gravity methods, and AdS black holes.

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arXiv2025

Equivariant localization for $D=4$ gauged supergravity

We consider supersymmetric solutions of $D=4$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ Euclidean gauged supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of vector multiplets. Such solutions admit an R-symmetry Killing vector, $ξ$, constructed as a bilinear in the Killing spinor. The Killing spinor bilinears can also be used to construct polyforms that are equivariantly closed under the action of the equivariant exterior derivative $\mathrm{d}_ξ=\mathrm{d}-ξ\mathbin{\rule[.2ex]{.4em}{.03em}\rule[.2ex]{.03em}{.9ex}}\,$. This allows one to compute various flux integrals and the on-shell action using localization, without solving any supergravity equations, just assuming the supersymmetric solutions exist. The flux integrals allow one to obtain important UV-IR relations, relating fixed point data in the bulk to data on the asymptotic AdS boundary, allowing one to express the gravitational free energy in terms of boundary SCFT data. We illustrate the formalism with a number of examples, including classes of solutions which are unlikely to ever be constructed in closed form.

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arXiv2025

dS$_2$ Supergravity

We construct two-dimensional supergravity theories endowed with a positive cosmological constant, that admit de Sitter vacua. We consider the cases of $\mathcal{N}=1$ as well as $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry, and couple the supergravity to a superconformal field theory with the same amount of supersymmetry. Upon fixing a supersymmetric extension of the Weyl gauge, the theories are captured, at the quantum level, by supersymmetric extensions of timelike Liouville theory with $\mathcal{N}=1$ and $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry respectively. The theories exhibit good ultraviolet properties and are amenable to a variety of techniques such as systematic loop expansions and, in the $\mathcal{N}=2$ case, supersymmetric localization. Our constructions offer a novel path toward a precise treatment of the Euclidean gravitational path integral for de Sitter, and in turn, the Gibbons-Hawking entropy of the de Sitter horizon. We argue that the supersymmetric localization method applied to the $\mathcal{N}=2$ theory must receive contributions from boundary terms in configuration space. We also discuss how these theories overcome several obstructions that appear upon combining de Sitter space with supersymmetry.

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arXiv2025

Toric gravitational instantons in gauged supergravity

We introduce a general class of toric gravitational instantons in $D=4$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity, namely Euclidean supersymmetric solutions with $U(1)^2$ isometry. Such solutions are specified by a "supergravity labelled polytope", where the labels encode the 4-manifold topology, the choice of magnetic fluxes, and certain signs associated to the Killing spinor. Equivariant localization then allows us to write down the gravitational free energy for such a solution, assuming it exists, and study its properties. These results open the way for a systematic study of holography in this setting, where the dual large $N$ field theories are defined on the boundary 3-manifolds, which are (squashed) lens spaces $L(p,q)$ or generalizations with orbifold singularities.

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arXiv2025

Localization of the free energy in supergravity

We derive a general formula for the gravitational free energy of Euclidean supersymmetric solutions to $D=4$, $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity coupled to vector multiplet matter. This allows one to compute the free energy without solving any supergravity equations, just assuming the solutions exist. As well as recovering some known results in the literature with ease, we also present new supergravity results that match with holographically dual field theory computations.

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arXiv2024

Comments on Global Symmetries and Anomalies of $5d$ SCFTs

We study various aspects of global symmetries in five-dimensional superconformal field theories. Whenever a supersymmetry-preserving relevant deformation is available, the infrared gauge theory description might exhibit a finite order mixed 't Hooft anomaly between a $1$-form symmetry and the instantonic symmetry. This anomaly constrains the flavor symmetry group acting faithfully on the SCFT and the consistency of certain RG flows. As an additional example, we consider the instructive case of three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ SQED. Finally, we discuss the compatibility between conformal invariance and the presence of $1$-form and $2$-group global symmetries.

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arXiv2024

Localization and Attraction

We use equivariant localization to construct off-shell entropy functions for supersymmetric black holes in $\mathcal{N}=2$, $D=4$ gauged supergravity coupled to matter. This allows one to compute the black hole entropy without solving the supergravity equations of motion and provides a novel generalization of the attractor mechanism. We consider magnetically charged black holes in $AdS_4$ which have an $AdS_2\times M_2$ near horizon geometry, where $M_2$ is a sphere or a spindle, and we also obtain entropy functions for ungauged supergravity as a simple corollary. We derive analogous results for black strings and rings in $D=5$ supergravity which have an $AdS_3\times M_2$ near horizon geometry, and in this setting we derive an off-shell expression for the central charge of the dual $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$, $d=2$~SCFT.

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arXiv2024

Equivariant localization for AdS/CFT

We explain how equivariant localization may be applied to AdS/CFT to compute various BPS observables in gravity, such as central charges and conformal dimensions of chiral primary operators, without solving the supergravity equations. The key ingredient is that supersymmetric AdS solutions with an R-symmetry are equipped with a set of equivariantly closed forms. These may in turn be used to impose flux quantization and compute observables for supergravity solutions, using only topological information and the Berline--Vergne--Atiyah--Bott fixed point formula. We illustrate the formalism by considering $AdS_5\times M_6$ and $AdS_3\times M_8$ solutions of $D=11$ supergravity. As well as recovering results for many classes of well-known supergravity solutions, without using any knowledge of their explicit form, we also compute central charges for which explicit supergravity solutions have not been constructed.

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arXiv2023

Localizing Wrapped M5-branes and Gravitational Blocks

We consider $d=2$, $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ SCFTs that can arise from M5-branes wrapping four-dimensional, complex, toric manifolds and orbifolds. We use equivariant localization to compute the off-shell central charge of the dual supergravity solutions, obtaining a result which can be written as a sum of gravitational blocks and precisely agrees with a field theory computation using anomaly polynomials and $c$-extremization.

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arXiv2023

Equivariant localization in supergravity

We show that supersymmetric supergravity solutions with an R-symmetry Killing vector are equipped with a set of equivariantly closed forms. Various physical observables may be expressed as integrals of these forms, and then evaluated using the Berline-Vergne-Atiyah-Bott fixed point theorem. We illustrate with a variety of holographic examples, including on-shell actions, black hole entropies, central charges, and scaling dimensions of operators. The resulting expressions depend only on topological data and the R-symmetry vector, and hence may be evaluated without solving the supergravity equations.

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arXiv2023

Supersymmetric phases of AdS$_4$/CFT$_3$

We exhibit an infinite family of supersymmetric phases in the three-dimensional ABJM superconformal field theory and the dual asymptotically AdS$_4$ gravity. They are interpreted as partially deconfined phases which generalize the confined/pure AdS phase and deconfined/supersymmetric black hole phase. Our analysis involves finding a family of saddle-points of the superconformal index labelled by rational points (equivalently, roots of unity), separately in the bulk and boundary theories. In the ABJM theory we calculate the free energy of each saddle by the large-$N$ asymptotic expansion of the superconformal index to all orders in perturbation theory near the saddle-point. We find that this expansion terminates at finite order. In the gravitational theory we show that there is a corresponding family of solutions, constructed by orbifolding the eleven-dimensional uplift of the supersymmetric black hole. The on-shell gravitational action of each orbifold agrees with the free energy of the corresponding saddle in the SCFT. We find that there are two saddles in the ABJM theory with the same entropy as the supersymmetric black hole, corresponding to the two primitive fourth-roots of unity, which causes macroscopic oscillations in the microcanonical index.

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