Related papers: Conformal Invariance = Finiteness and Beta Deforme…

We argue that a large class of N=2 Chern-Simons-matter theories in three dimensions have a continuous family of exact IR fixed points described by suitable quartic superpotentials, based on holomorphy. The entire family exists in the…

These lectures give a basic introduction to $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory and the integrability of its planar spectral problem as seen from the perspective of a recent development, namely the application of integrability techniques in the…

We show that the results for the soft couplings in supersymmetric gauge theories recently derived via the superconformal anomaly are equivalent to results obtained earlier from a consideration of exact RG-invariant trajectories. We give a…

There is a widely held belief that conformal field theories (CFTs) require zero beta functions. Nevertheless, the work of Jack and Osborn implies that the beta functions are not actually the quantites that decide conformality, but until…

We present a gauge theory of the conformal group in four spacetime dimensions with a non-vanishing torsion. In particular, we allow for a completely antisymmetric torsion, equivalent by Hodge duality to an axial vector whose presence does…

In non-supersymmetric orbifolds of N =4 super Yang-Mills, conformal invariance is broken by the logarithmic running of double-trace operators -- a leading effect at large N. A tachyonic instability in AdS_5 has been proposed as the bulk…

The implications of restricted conformal invariance under conformal transformations preserving a plane boundary are discussed for general dimensions $d$. Calculations of the universal function of a conformal invariant $\xi$ which appears in…

Making use of the exact solutions of the $N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories we construct new classes of superconformal field theories (SCFTs) by fine-tuning the moduli parameters and bringing the theories to critical points. SCFTs we have…

We consider deformations of bounded complexes of modules for a profinite group G over a field of positive characteristic. We prove a finiteness theorem which provides some sufficient conditions for the versal deformation of such a complex…

We show how to use D and NS fivebranes in Type IIB superstring theory to construct large classes of finite N=1 supersymmetric four dimensional field theories. In this construction, the beta functions of the theories are directly related to…

Within the background field approach, all two-loop sunset vacuum diagrams, which occur in the Coulomb branch of N = 2 superconformal theories(including N = 4 SYM), obey the BPS condition m_3 = m_1 + m_2, where the masses are generated by…

We consider the renormalisation of a softly-broken supersymmetric theory with singlet fields and a superpotential with a linear term. We show that there exist exact beta-functions for both the linear term in the superpotential and the…

All-loop Finite Unified Theories (FUTs) are very interesting N=1 supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) realising an old field theory dream, and moreover have a remarkable predictive power due to the required reduction of couplings.…

In N=2 superconformal field theories the Kahler potential is known to be tree level exact. The beta-deformation of N=4 SU(N) SYM reduces the amount of supersymmetry to N=1, allowing for non-trivial, superconformal loop corrections to the…

We revisit two longstanding puzzles in supersymmetric gauge theories. The first concerns the question of the holomorphy of the coupling, and related to this the possible definition of an exact (NSVZ) beta function. The second concerns…

We investigate various perturbative properties of the deformed N=4 SYM theory. We carry out a three-loops calculation of the chiral matter superfield propagator and derive the condition on the couplings for maintaining finiteness at this…

Higher order conformal perturbation theory is studied for theories with and without boundaries. We identify systematically the universal quantities in the beta function equations, and we give explicit formulae for the universal coefficients…

In two dimensions, it is well known that the scale invariance can be considered as conformal invariance. However, there is no solid proof of this equivalence in four or higher dimensions. We address this issue in the context of 4d…

We consider the double scaling limit of $\beta$-deformed planar N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM), which has been argued to be conformal and integrable. It is a special point in the three-parameter space of double-scaled…

Reduction of couplings in supersymmetric GUTs is achieved by searching for renormalization group invariant (RGI) relations among couplings which hold beyond the unification scale. Finiteness is due to the fact that there exist RGI relations…