Related papers: An N=2 Dual Pair and a Phase Transition
We study U(1) gauge theory on a 4d non-commutative torus, where two directions are non-commutative. Monte Carlo simulations are performed after mapping the regularized theory onto a U(N) lattice gauge theory in d=2. At intermediate coupling…
We study large $N$ phase transitions in $\mathcal{N}=2$ theories with gauge group $SU(N)$ and massive hypermultiplets in diverse representations. Using supersymmetric localization we identify cases where phase transitions occur. In…
We suggest that the extrinsic curvature and torsion of a bosonic string can be employed as variables in a two dimensional Landau-Ginzburg gauge field theory. Their interpretation in terms of the abelian Higgs multiplet leads to two…
In this review article, we review the recent developments in constructing string field theories that have been proposed, all of which correctly reproduce the correlation functions of two-dimensional string theory. These include: (a) free…
It has recently been proposed that certain nonsupersymmetric type II orbifolds have vanishing perturbative contributions to the cosmological constant. We show that techniques of Sen and Vafa allow one to construct dual type II descriptions…
The $1/N$ expansion of the weak coupling phase of two-dimensional QCD on a sphere is constructed. It is demonstrated that the phase transition from the weak to the strong coupling phase is induced by instantons. A double scaling limit of…
We study the supersymmetric partition function of {\cal N}= 4 super Yang-Mills with gauge group SU(N) on K3 in the large N, fixed g limit and show that it undergoes a first order phase transition at the S-duality invariant value of the…
We extend strong/weak coupling duality to string theories without spacetime supersymmetry, and focus on the case of the unique ten-dimensional, nonsupersymmetric, tachyon-free $SO(16)\times SO(16)$ heterotic string. We construct a…
This thesis presents several new insights on the interface between mathematics and theoretical physics, with a central role for fermions on Riemann surfaces. First of all, the duality between Vafa-Witten theory and WZW models is embedded…
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…
Using a $U$-duality symmetry of type II compactification on $T^4$ represented by triality action on the $T$-duality group, and applying the adiabatic argument we construct dual pairs of type II compactifications in lower dimensions. The…
We construct a family of exactly solvable spin models that illustrate a novel mechanism for fractionalization in topologically ordered phases, dubbed the string flux mechanism. The essential idea is that an anyon of a topological phase can…
We study the problem of a quantized elastic string in the presence of an impenetrable wall. This is a two-dimensional field theory of an N-component real scalar field $\phi$ which becomes interacting through the restriction that the…
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…
String theory appears to admit a group of discrete field transformations -- called $S$ dualities -- as exact non-perturbative quantum symmetries. Mathematically, they are rather analogous to the better-known $T$ duality symmetries, which…
In this article we review four-dimensional string vacua with N=2 space-time supersymmetry. In particular, we will discuss several aspects of the string-string duality between the heterotic string, compactified on $K3\times T^2$, and the…
In this paper we investigate the nature of the transition from Abelian to non-Abelian confinement (i.e. crossover vs. phase transition). To this end we consider the basic N=2 model where non-Abelian flux tubes (strings) were first found:…
We solve, using localization, for the large-N master field of N=2* super-Yang-Mills theory. From that we calculate expectation values of large Wilson loops and the free energy on the four-sphere. At weak coupling, these observables only…
The eigenvalues of Wilson loop matrices in SU(N) gauge theories in dimensions 2,3,4 at infinite N are supported on a small arc on the unit circle centered at $z=1$ for small loops, but expand to the entire unit circle for large loops. These…
We address non-perturbative effects and duality symmetries in $N=2$ heterotic string theories in four dimensions. Specifically, we consider how each of the four lines of enhanced gauge symmetries in the perturbative moduli space of $N=2$…