Related papers: Broken global symmetries and defect conformal mani…
The N = 2, 4 superconformal symmetry constraints in d = 4 for four point functions of chiral primary 1/2-BPS operators are derived. The operators are described by symmetric traceless tensors of the internal R-symmetry group. A substantial…
The two-point function of exactly marginal operators leads to a universal contribution to the trace anomaly in even dimensions. We study aspects of this trace anomaly, emphasizing its interpretation as a sigma model, whose target space M is…
The existence of an exactly marginal deformation in a conformal field theory is very special, but it is not well understood how this is reflected in the allowed dimensions and OPE coefficients of local operators. To shed light on this…
As in two and four dimensions, supersymmetric conformal field theories in three dimensions can have exactly marginal operators. These are illustrated in a number of examples with N=4 and N=2 supersymmetry. The N=2 theory of three chiral…
We study local quantum field theories in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, with boundary conditions that break some of the bulk isometries. Specifically, we focus on conformal defects and we prove that their spectrum supports a displacement…
We compute correlation functions of local operator insertions on the 1/2 BPS Wilson lines of N=4 Chern-Simons-matter theories in 3 dimensions. We study the algebra preserved by the defect CFT supported on the line, identify the…
The study of exactly marginal deformations of superconformal field theories is a topic that has received considerable attention due to their rich properties. We investigate the $\mathcal{N}=2$ preserving exactly marginal operators of 3d…
We systematically derive the consistency relations associated to the non-linearly realized symmetries of theories with spontaneously broken conformal symmetry but with a linearly-realized de Sitter subalgebra. These identities relate…
The decomposition of 4-point correlation functions into conformal partial waves is a central tool in the study of conformal field theory. We compute these partial waves for scalar operators in Minkowski momentum space, and find a…
We study symmetry-breaking line defects in the Wilson-Fisher theory with $O(2N+1)$ global symmetry near four dimensions and symmetry-preserving surface defects in a cubic model with $O(2N)$ global symmetry near six dimensions. We introduce…
In this paper we discuss the relationship between noninvertible topological operators, one-form symmetries, and decomposition of two-dimensional quantum field theories, focusing on two-dimensional orbifolds with and without discrete…
We derive superconformal partial waves for all scalar four-point functions on a super Grassmannian space Gr(m|n,2m|2n) for all m,n. This family of four-point functions includes those of all (arbitrary weight) half BPS operators in both N=4…
We initiate the study of intersecting surface operators/defects in four-dimensional quantum field theories (QFTs). We characterize these defects by coupled 4d/2d/0d theories constructed by coupling the degrees of freedom localized at a…
For a pseudo-Riemannian manifold $X$ and a totally geodesic hypersurface $Y$, we consider the problem of constructing and classifying all linear differential operators $\mathcal{E}^i(X) \to \mathcal{E}^j(Y)$ between the spaces of…
Surface operators in the 6d (2,0) theory at large $N$ have a holographic description in terms of M2 branes probing the AdS$_7 \times S^4$ M-theory background. The most symmetric, 1/2-BPS, operator is defined over a planar or spherical…
For a given conformal field theory (CFT), one can deform it via the addition of a marginal operator to the spectrum. In two dimensions, when the added operator has conformal weights $h=\bar{h}=1$, conformal symmetry is not broken and the…
We consider certain classes of operators in the exact conformal field theory SL(2,R) x SU(2) x U(1)^4 describing strings in an AdS(3) x S(3) x T4 geometry supported by Neveu--Schwarz 3-form fluxes. This background arises in the near-horizon…
Rapid progress has been made recently on symmetry breaking operators for real reductive groups. Based on Program A-C for branching problems (T.Kobayashi [Progr.Math.2015]), we illustrate a scheme of the classification of (local and…
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…
We use the embedding formalism to study correlation functions of a d-dimensional Euclidean CFT in the presence of a $q$ co-dimensional defect. The defect breaks the global conformal group $SO(d+1,1)$ into $SO(d-q+1,1) \times SO(q)$. We…