Related papers: Higgsing towards E-strings

We study the properties of classical vortex solutions in a non-Abelian gauge theory. A system of two adjoint Higgs fields breaks the SU(2) gauge symmetry to $Z_2$, producing 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles trapped on cosmic strings, termed…

We consider N=2 moose/quiver gauge theories corresponding to N_1 D3-branes at a C^2/Z_{N_2} singularity in the ``large moose'' limit where N_1 and N_2 are scaled to infinity together. In the dual holographic description, this scaling gives…

A solution to the infinite coupling problem for N=2 conformal supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions is presented. The infinitely-coupled theories are argued to be interacting superconformal field theories (SCFTs) with weakly…

The supergravity dual of superconformal anomaly in a four-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theory is investigated. We consider a well-established dual correspondence between the ${\cal N}=1$ $SU(N+M)\times SU(N)$ supersymmetric gauge theory…

During the last ten years, intriguing dualities between gauge and string theory have been found and explored. They provide a novel window on strongly coupled gauge physics, including QCD-like models. Based on a short historical review of…

We perform a topological-holomorphic twist of $\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric gauge theory on a four-manifold of the form $M_4=\Sigma_1 \times \Sigma_2$ with Riemann surfaces $\Sigma_{1,2}$, and unravel the mathematical implications of its…

In recent scans of 4D F-theory geometric models, it was shown that a dominant majority of the base geometries only support SU(2), $G_2$, $F_4$ and $E_8$ gauge groups. Moreover, most of these gauge groups are shown to couple to strongly…

We propose a string theory realization of three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver gauge theories with special unitary gauge groups. This is most easily understood in type IIA string theory with D4-branes wrapped on holomorphic curves in…

We construct a 6D supergravity theory which emerges as intermediate step in the compactification of the heterotic string to the supersymmetric standard model in four dimensions. The theory has N=2 supersymmetry and a gravitational sector…

Different compactifications of six-dimensional string theory on $M_4 \times T^2$ are considered. Particular attention is given to the roles of the reduced modes as the $S$ and $T$ fields. It is shown that there is a discrete group of…

Using geometric engineering in the context of type II strings, we obtain exact solutions for the moduli space of the Coulomb branch of all N=2 gauge theories in four dimensions involving products of SU gauge groups with arbitrary number of…

These lectures give an introduction to the novel duality relating type IIB string theory in a maximally supersymmetric plane-wave background to N=4, d=4, U(N) Super Yang-Mills theory in a particular large N and large R-charge limit due to…

We analyze the moduli spaces near N=4 supersymmetric AdS4 vacua of string theory by combining and comparing various approaches: (a) the known exact solutions of Type IIB string theory with localized 5-brane sourcees, (b) the holographically…

This thesis is focused on supersymmetric objects in gauged supergravities and their interpretation in string theory. Three particular theories are considered and analyzed: matter-coupled $d=4, 5$ abelian gauged supergravities with 8…

Maximally supersymmetric SO(10) and SU(6) unified theories are constructed on the orbifold T^2/(Z_2 x Z'_2), with one length scale R_5 taken much larger than the other, R_6. The effective theory below 1/R_6 is found to be the highly…

We review exact results obtained for R^4 couplings in maximally supersymmetric type II string theories. These couplings offer a privileged scene to understand the rules of semiclassical calculus in string theory. Upon expansion in weak…

We study flux tubes on Higgs branches with curved geometry in supersymmetric gauge theories. As a first example we consider N=1 QED with one flavor of charges and with Higgs branch curved by adding a Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) term. We show that…

We delineate a procedure to classify 6d N=(1,0) gauge theories composed, in part, of a semi-simple gauge group and hypermultiplets. We classify these theories by requiring that they satisfy some consistency conditions. The primary…

We study M5 branes by considering the selfdual strings parallel to a plane. With the internal oscillation frozen, each selfdual string gives a 5d SYM field. All selfdual strings together give a 6d field with 5 scalars, 3 gauge degrees of…

We describe configurations of 5-branes and 7-branes which realize, when compactified on a circle, new isolated four-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories recently constructed by Gaiotto. Our diagrammatic method allows to easily…