Refined 3D index
Abstract
We introduce a refined version of the 3D index for 3-manifolds, building on the construction of the 3D gauge theory by Dimofte-Gaiotto-Gukov and Gang-Yonekura. The refined index is a superconformal index of equipped with additional gradings that capture enhanced flavor symmetries of the effective theory. Our construction is based on a Dehn surgery presentation of in terms of an ideally triangulated link complement . We derive an explicit infinite-sum formula for the refined index and provide nontrivial checks in representative examples, supporting its invariance under changes of triangulation, Dehn surgery presentation, and other auxiliary data. As a strictly stronger invariant, the refined index enables finer distinctions among 3-manifolds and among distinct IR phases of the associated gauge theories. We also introduce a computational tool, \textsc{Refined Index Calculator}, for its explicit evaluation.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.17449,
title = {Refined 3D index},
author = {Dongmin Gang and Kibok Jeong and Taeyoon Kim and Soochang Lee},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.17449},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
66 pages (+ appendices), 5 figures