Children's Drawings From Seiberg-Witten Curves

We derive the exact effective superpotential in 4d, N=1 supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theories with $N_A$ triplets and $2N_f$ doublets of matter superfields. We find the quantum vacua of these theories; the equations of motion (for $N_A=1$) can be reorganized into the singularity conditions of an elliptic curve. From the phase transition points to the Coulomb branch, we find the exact Abelian gauge couplings, $\tau$, for arbitrary bare masses and Yukawa couplings. We thus {\em d...

We develop a systematic method to describe the moduli space of vacua of four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ class ${\cal S}$ theories including Coulomb branch, Higgs branch and mixed branches. In particular, we determine the Higgs and mixed branch roots, and the dimensions of the Coulomb and Higgs components of mixed branches. They are derived by using generalized Hitchin's equations obtained from twisted compactification of 5d maximal Super-Yang-Mills, with local degrees of fre...

This talk gives an introduction into the subject of Seiberg-Witten curves and their relation to integrable systems. We discuss some motivations and origins of this relation and consider explicit construction of various families of Seiberg-Witten curves in terms of corresponding integrable models.

Gauging a discrete 0-form symmetry of a QFT is a procedure that changes the global form of the gauge group but not its perturbative dynamics. In this work, we study the Seiberg-Witten solution of theories resulting from the gauging of charge conjugation in 4d $\mathcal{N} = 2$ theories with $SU(N)$ gauge group and fundamental hypermultiplets. The basic idea of our procedure is to identify the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ action at the level of the SW curve and perform the quotient, and it ...

In these notes we attempt to give a pedagogical introduction to the work of Seiberg and Witten on S-duality and the exact results of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with and without matter. The first half is devoted to a review of monopoles in gauge theories and the construction of supersymmetric gauge theories. In the second half, we describe the work of Seiberg and Witten.

A new construction of BPS monodromies for 4d ${\mathcal N}=2$ theories of class S is introduced. A novel feature of this construction is its manifest invariance under Kontsevich-Soibelman wall crossing, in the sense that no information on the 4d BPS spectrum is employed. The BPS monodromy is encoded by topological data of a finite graph, embedded into the UV curve $C$ of the theory. The graph arises from a degenerate limit of spectral networks, constructed at maximal intersec...

We consider generic properties of the moduli space of vacua in $N=2$ supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory recently studied by Seiberg and Witten. We find, on general grounds, Picard--Fuchs type of differential equations expressing the existence of a flat holomorphic connection, which for one parameter (i.e. for gauge group $G=SU(2)$), are second order equations. In the case of coupling to gravity (as in string theory), where also ``gravitational'' electric and magnetic monopoles...

We describe a new technique for calculating instanton effects in supersymmetric gauge theories applicable on the Higgs or Coulomb branches. In these situations the instantons are constrained and a potential is generated on the instanton moduli space. Due to existence of a nilpotent fermionic symmetry the resulting integral over the instanton moduli space localizes on the critical points of the potential. Using this technology we calculate the one- and two-instanton contributi...

In this paper, we will apply the tools from number theory and modular forms to the study of the Seiberg-Witten theory. We will express the holomorphic functions $a, a_D$, which generate the lattice $Z=n_e a+n_m a_D, (n_e, n_m) \in \mathbb{Z}^2$ of central charges, in terms of the periods of the Legendre family of elliptic curves. Thus we will be able to compute the transformations of the quotient $a_D/a$ under the action of the modular group $\text{PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z})$. We wil...

We study various aspects of N=(2,2) supersymmetric non-Abelian gauge theories in two dimensions, with applications to string vacua. We compute the Witten index of SU(k) SQCD with N>0 flavors with twisted masses; the result is presented as the solution to a simple combinatoric problem. We further claim that the infra-red fixed point of SU(k) gauge theory with N massless flavors is non-singular if (k,N) passes a related combinatoric criterion. These results are applied to the s...