Related papers: Large N dualities and transitions in geometry
We study a matrix model obtained by dimensionally reducing Chern-Simon theory on S^3. We find that the matrix integration is decomposed into sectors classified by the representation of SU(2). We show that the N-block sectors reproduce SU(N)…
We summarize an explicit construction of a duality cycle for geometric transitions in type II and heterotic theories. We emphasize that the manifolds with torsion constructed with this duality cycle are crucial for understanding different…
We study a class of extremal transitions between topological distinct Calabi--Yau manifolds which have an interpretation in terms of the special massless states of a type II string compactification. In those cases where a dual heterotic…
Chern-Simons gauge theory is formulated on three dimensional $Z_2$ orbifolds. The locus of singular points on a given orbifold is equivalent to a link of Wilson lines. This allows one to reduce any correlation function on orbifolds to a sum…
Vafa-Witten (VW) theory is a topologically twisted version of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. S-duality suggests that the partition function of VW theory with gauge group SU(N) transforms as a modular form under duality…
The T-duality symmetries of a family of two-dimensional massive integrable field theories defined in terms of asymmetric gauged Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten actions modified by a potential are investigated. These theories are examples of…
We study topological gauge theories with N=(2,0) supersymmetry based on stable bundles on general Kahler 3-folds. In order to have a theory that is well defined and well behaved, we consider a model based on an extension of the usual…
Within the superfield approach, we consider the duality between the supersymmetric Maxwell-Chern-Simons and self-dual theories in three spacetime dimensions. Using a gauge embedding method, we construct the dual theory to the self-dual…
A five-dimensional Chern-Simons gravity theory based on the anti-de Sitter group SO(4,2) is argued to be a useful model in which to understand the details of holography and the relationship between generally covariant and dual local quantum…
Three dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories are often in a gapped phase, in which SUSY is spontaneously broken, if all the matter fields are massive and decoupled in the low energy. We study this phase in the large $N$ limit using the…
We have discovered that the gauge invariant observables of matrix models invariant under U($N$) form a Lie algebra, in the planar large-N limit. These models include Quantum Chromodynamics and the M(atrix)-Theory of strings. We study here…
In type IIB string theory, we consider fractional D3-branes in the orbifold background dual to four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We find the gravitational dual description of the generation of a non-trivial field theory…
The following two loosely connected sets of topics are reviewed in these lecture notes: 1) Gauge invariance, its treatment in field theories and its implications for internal symmetries and edge states such as those in the quantum Hall…
The duality cascade, and its dual description as string theory on the warped deformed conifold, brings together several sophisticated topics, some of which are not widely known. These lectures, which contain a number of previously…
We analyze in detail some properties of the worldsheet of the closed string theories suggested by Gopakumar to be dual to free large N SU(N) gauge theories (with adjoint matter fields). We use Gopakumar's prescription to translate the…
The large-N limit of gauge theories has been playing a crucial role in theoretical physics over the decades. Despite its importance, little is known outside the planar limit where the 't Hooft coupling $\lambda=g_{YM}^2N$ is fixed. In this…
In this thesis we elaborate on the three subjects of the title. We first show that supertubes exist and still preserve some supersymmetry in a large variety of curved backgrounds. Within the AdS/CFT correspondence we study the supersymmetry…
In this work, we present a new geometric transition in non-compact Calabi-Yau 4-folds, specifically for the cone over the 7d Sasaki-Einstein manifold $Q^{\scriptscriptstyle(1,1,1)}/\mathbb{Z}_{N}$. We discover a new smoothing of such…
We study a one-dimensional large-N U(N) gauge theory on a circle as a toy model of higher dimensional Yang-Mills theories at finite temperature. To investigate the profile of the thermodynamical potential in this model, we evaluate a…
These notes are intended to be a pedagogical introduction to higher-form symmetries, which are symmetries whose charged objects are extended operators supported on lines, surfaces, and etc. This subject has been one of the most popular and…