Critical dimensions and small cycle dominance from all-orders asymptotics of $d$-matrix theory

Supersymmetric sectors of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory motivate the study of the partition function for the counting of gauge-invariant functions of $d=2,3$ matrices transforming under the adjoint action of $U(N)$. The partition function $\mathcal{Z}_d ( x)$ in the large $N$ limit has a known Hagedorn phase transition at $x = d^{-1}$ which provides a simple model for the phase structure of the thermal partition function of SYM. We study the all-orders asymptotic expansion of $\mathcal{Z}_d(x)$ based on a geometric picture of concentric circles of poles in the complex plane accumulating in a natural boundary at $|x| =1$. We find that the order by order structure has a precise combinatorial interpretation organized in terms of increasing cycle size of permutations arising in the enumeration of the invariants. We refer to this organization as small-cycle dominance, and find that it extends to refined versions of the partition functions depending on several complex variables. An analysis of the coefficients in the asymptotic expansion of $\mathcal{Z}_d(x)$ using the modular property of the Dedekind eta function reveals that the asymptotic expansion is actually convergent for $d\ge d_{ \rm crit } = 13$. A fermionic version of $\mathcal{Z}_d (x)$ has an analogous critical dimension of $d_{ \rm crit} = 7$. This distinction indicates that the partition functions of the matrix models can be completely reconstructed from their high-energy (UV) limit for $d\ge d_{ \rm crit}$ whereas additional input is required to reconstruct the exact coefficients of the low-energy (IR) expansion for $2\le d \le d_{ \rm crit } -1$.