Related papers: A strange relationship between 2d CFT and 4d gauge…

We introduce a family of dualities between certain non-supersymmetric self-dual gauge theories on a large class of $4d$ self-dual asymptotically flat backgrounds, and the large $N$ limit of an independently defined $2d$ chiral defect CFT.…

According to a recent classification of 6d (1,0) theories within F-theory there are only six "pure" 6d gauge theories which have a UV superconformal fixed point. The corresponding gauge groups are $SU(3),SO(8),F_4,E_6,E_7$, and $E_8$. These…

We compute bulk 3- and 4-point tachyon correlators in the 2d Liouville gravity with non-rational matter central charge c<1, following and comparing two approaches. The continuous CFT approach exploits the action on the tachyons of the…

Chiral gauge theories can be defined in four-dimensional Anti de Sitter space, but AdS boundary conditions explicitly break the chiral symmetry in a specific, well defined manner, which in turns results in an anomalous Ward identity. When…

We study 2d $SU(N)$ QCD with an adjoint Dirac fermion. Assuming that the IR limit of the massless theory is captured by a WZW coset CFT, we show that this CFT can be decomposed into a sum of distinct CFTs, each representing a superselection…

We compute exactly the partition function of two dimensional N=(2,2) gauge theories on S^2 and show that it admits two dual descriptions: either as an integral over the Coulomb branch or as a sum over vortex and anti-vortex excitations on…

We classify 5d N=1 gauge theories carrying a simple gauge group that can arise by mass-deforming 5d SCFTs and 6d SCFTs (compactified on a circle, possibly with a twist). For theories having a 6d UV completion, we determine the tensor branch…

A correspondence between closed strings in their high-temperature Hagedorn phase and asymptotically de Sitter (dS) space is established. We identify a thermal, conformal field theory (CFT) whose partition function is, on the one hand, equal…

Gauge origami is a generalized supersymmetric gauge theory defined on several intersecting space-time components. It provides a systematic way to consider generalizations of instantons. In this thesis, we explore the gauge origami system in…

In this note we expose some surprising connections between string theory and statistical inference. We consider a large collective of agents sweeping out a family of nearby statistical models for an M-dimensional manifold of statistical…

Infrared modifications of gravity have been proposed over the years as potentially useful phenomenological models. Massive (multi)-gravity is an interesting class of such theories. The true nature and the ultimate consistency of many of…

Generalized global symmetries, in particular non-invertible and categorical symmetries, have become a focal point in the recent study of quantum field theory (QFT). In this paper, we investigate aspects of symmetry topological field…

In this note, we explore the relation between crossing symmetry and modular invariance in conformal field theory and S-duality in gauge theory. It is shown that partition functions of different S dual theories of N=2 SU(2) gauge theory with…

We discuss the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry in Quantum Chromodynamics by considering gluonic instanton configurations in the partition function. It is shown that in order to obtain nontrivial fermionic correlators in a two…

We describe general methods for determining higher-form symmetry groups of known 5d and 6d superconformal field theories (SCFTs), and 6d little string theories (LSTs). The 6d theories can be described as supersymmetric gauge theories in 6d…

A candidate for the confining string of gauge theories is constructed via a representation of the ultraviolet divergences of quantum field theory by a closed string dilaton insertion, computed through the soft dilaton theorem. The resulting…

We propose a set of novel expansions of Nekrasov's instanton partition functions. Focusing on 5d supersymmetric pure Yang-Mills theory with unitary gauge group on $\mathbb{C}^2_{q,t^{-1}} \times \mathbb{S}^1$, we show that the instanton…

We discuss walking behavior in gauge theories and weak first-order phase transitions in statistical physics. Despite appearing in very different systems (QCD below the conformal window, the Potts model, deconfined criticality) these two…

We discuss the properties of four-point functions in the context of the correspondence between a classical supergravity theory in the bulk of the Anti de Sitter space and quantum conformal field theory at the boundary. The contribution to a…

In arXiv:1906.11820 and arXiv:1907.05404 we proposed an approach based on graphs to characterize 5d superconformal field theories (SCFTs), which arise as compactifications of 6d $\mathcal{N}= (1,0)$ SCFTs. The graphs, so-called combined…