Related papers: Surface Operators in N=2 Abelian Gauge Theory
Surface operators in N=2 four-dimensional gauge theories are interesting half-BPS objects. These operators inherit the connection of gauge theory with the Liouville conformal field theory, which was discovered by Alday, Gaiotto and…
The 6d $\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ theory has natural surface operator observables, which are akin in many ways to Wilson loops in gauge theories. We propose a definition of a "locally BPS" surface operator and study its conformal anomalies, the…
We present here a careful study of the holographic duals of BPS surface operators in the 6d ${\cal N}=(2,0)$ theory. Several different classes of surface operators have been recently identified and each class has a specific calibration form…
Topological gauge theories in four dimensions which admit surface operators provide a natural framework for realizing homological knot invariants. Every such theory leads to an action of the braid group on branes on the corresponding moduli…
We study surface operators in the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with gauge groups SO(n) and Sp(2n). As recently shown by Gukov and Witten these theories have a class of rigid surface operators which are expected to be related by…
We study the dual descriptions recently discovered for the Seiberg-Witten theory in the presence of surface operators. The Nekrasov partition function for a four-dimensional N=2 gauge theory with a surface operator is believed equal to the…
We show that manifolds of fixed points, which are generated by exactly marginal operators, are common in N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory. We present a unified and simple prescription for identifying these operators, using tools similar to…
Recently, a duality between Liouville theory and four dimensional N=2 gauge theory has been uncovered by some of the authors. We consider the role of extended objects in gauge theory, surface operators and line operators, under this…
We consider the S-duality transformation of gauge invariant operators and states in $\mathcal{N}$ $=4$ SYM theory. The transformation is realized through an operator $ S $ which is the $ SL(2,Z) $ canonical transformation in loop space with…
For a general class of SO(4) symmetric backgrounds in type II-supergravity, we show that the action of non-Abelian T-duality can be described via consistent truncation to seven dimensional theories with seemingly massive modes. As such, any…
We discuss topological theories, arising from the general $\mathcal{N}=2$ twisted gauge theories. We initiate a program of their study in the Gromov-Witten paradigm. We re-examine the low-energy effective abelian theory in the presence of…
We investigate 1/2 BPS conformal surface operators in the Klebanov-Witten theory. These surface operators preserve certain parts of the conformal symmetry and R-symmetry as well as half of the supersymmetry. We propose the gravity dual of…
We present a summary of the progress made in the last few years on topological quantum field theory in four dimensions. In particular, we describe the role played by duality in the developments which led to the Seiberg-Witten invariants and…
This paper proves two theorems. The first of these simplifies and lends clarity to the previous characterizations of the invariant subspaces of $S$, the operator of multiplication by the coordinate function $z$, on…
In Ref. [arXiv:1005.4469], Alday and Tachikawa observed that the Nekrasov partition function of N=2 SU(2) superconformal gauge theories in the presence of fundamental surface operators can be associated to conformal blocks of a 2D CFT with…
We study twisted N=2 superconformal gauge theory on a product of two Riemann surfaces Sigma and C. The twisted theory is topological along C and holomorphic along Sigma and does not depend on the gauge coupling or theta-angle. Upon…
In this paper we continue the study of the superconformal index of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ theories of class $\mathcal{S}$ in the presence of surface defects. Our main result is the construction of an algebra of difference…
The A_{N - 1} (2, 0) superconformal theory has an observable associated with every two-cycle in six dimensions. We make a natural guess for the commutation relations of these operators, which reduces to the commutation relations of Wilson…
We discuss some of the analytic properties of lens space indices for 4d N=2 theories of class S. The S-duality properties of these theories highly constrain the lens space indices, and imply in particular that they are naturally acted upon…
We study 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on closed oriented Seifert manifold---circle bundles over an orbifold Riemann surface---, with a gauge group G given by a product of simply-connected and/or unitary Lie groups. Our…