Related papers: Large N dualities and transitions in geometry

We construct N=1 supersymmetric theories on worldvolumes of D5 branes wrapped around 2-cycles of threefolds which are A-D-E fibrations over a plane. We propose large N duals as geometric transitions involving blowdowns of two cycles and…

We study Vafa's geometric transition from a brane setup in M-theory. In this transition D5 branes wrapped on P^1 cycles of a resolved conifold disappear and are replaced by fluxes on a deformed conifold. In the limit of small sized P^1, we…

We study S-dualities in analytically continued SL(2) Chern-Simons theory on a 3-manifold M. By realizing Chern-Simons theory via a compactification of a 6d five-brane theory on M, various objects and symmetries in Chern-Simons theory become…

It has been conjectured that 3d fermions minimally coupled to Chern-Simons gauge fields are dual to 3d critical scalars, also minimally coupled to Chern-Simons gauge fields. The large $N$ arguments for this duality can formally be used to…

We consider a twisted version of the four-dimensional N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge groups SU(2) and SO(3), and bare masses for two of its chiral multiplets, thereby breaking N=4 down to N=2. Using the wall-crossing…

These lectures study two correspondences between gauge theories and integrable many-body systems. The first arises from infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian reduction and relates gauge-theoretic dynamics directly to Calogero--Moser-type systems…

We consider the conformal field theory of N complex massless scalars in 2+1 dimensions, coupled to a U(N) Chern-Simons theory at level k. This theory has a 't Hooft large N limit, keeping fixed \lambda = N/k. We compute some correlation…

We study three dimensional N=2 supersymmetric QCD theories with O(N_c) gauge groups and with N_f chiral multiplets in the vector representation. We argue that for N_f < N_c-2 there is a runaway potential on the moduli space and no vacuum.…

We consider M-theory on compact spaces of G_2 holonomy constructed as orbifolds of the form (CY x S^1)/Z_2 with fixed point set \Sigma on the CY. This describes N=1 SU(2) gauge theories with b_1(\Sigma) chiral multiplets in the adjoint. For…

We review recent efforts to machine learn relations between knot invariants. Because these knot invariants have meaning in physics, we explore aspects of Chern-Simons theory and higher dimensional gauge theories. The goal of this work is to…

We study how non-invertible self-duality defects arise in theories with a holographic dual. We focus on the paradigmatic example of $\mathfrak{su}(N)$ $\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM. The theory is known to have non-invertible duality and triality…

We consider the large-N limit of \mathcal{N}=6 U(N) \times U(N) superconformal Chern-Simons (ABJM) theory with fixed level k, which is conjectured to be dual to M-theory on AdS4\times (S^7/Z_k) background. We point out that the so-called…

We consider the real topological string on certain non-compact toric Calabi-Yau three-folds X, in its physical realization describing an orientifold of type IIA on X with an O4-plane and a single D4-brane stuck on top. The orientifold can…

With two typical parent actions we have two kinds of dual worlds: i) one of which contains an electric as well as magnetic current, and ii) the other contains (generalized) Chern-Simons terms. All these fields are defined on a curved…

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…

By reinterpreting the familiar tools and ideas of M-theory model building, we show how a G2-manifold locally engineered to give rise to massless matter representations of an SU(5) grand unified model can be smoothly unfolded into a…

We show how a recently proposed large $N$ duality in the context of type IIA strings with ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry in 4 dimensions can be derived from purely geometric considerations by embedding type IIA strings in M-theory. The phase…

A Hamiltonian formulation of Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theories with $0\leq N\leq 4$ supersymmetry in terms of gauge-invariant variables is presented, generalizing earlier work on nonsupersymmetric gauge theories. Special attention is paid to…

We investigate the N=2 superconformal index for supersymmetric quiver Chern-Simons theories with large N gauge groups. After general arguments about the large N limit, we compute the first few terms in the series expansion of the index for…

We explore the phase structure of fermions in the U(N) Chern-Simons gauge theory in three dimensions using the large N limit where N is the number of colors and the fermions are taken to be in the fundamental representation of the U(N)…