Children's Drawings From Seiberg-Witten Curves

N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories for all classical gauge groups, that is, for SU(N), SO(N), and Sp(N) is considered. The equations which define the Seiberg-Witten curve are proposed. In some cases they are solved. It is shown that for (almost) all models allowed by the asymptotic freedom the 1-instanton corrections which follows from these equations agree with the direct computations and with known results.

We give a classification and overview of the confining N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. For simplicity we consider only theories based on simple gauge groups and no tree-level superpotential. Classification of these theories can be done according to whether or not there is a superpotential generated for the confined degrees of freedom. The theories with the superpotential include s-confining theories and also theories where the gauge fields participate in the confining spec...

This is the introduction to the collection of review articles "Exact results on N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories". The first three sections are intended to give a general overview over the physical motivations behind this direction of research, and some of the developments that initiated this project. These sections are written for a broad audience of readers with interest in quantum field theory, assuming only very basic knowledge of supersymmetric gauge theories and string...

Families of hyper-elliptic curves which describe the quantum moduli spaces of vacua of $N=2$ supersymmetric $SO(N_c)$ gauge theories coupled to $N_f$ flavors of quarks in the vector representation are constructed. The quantum moduli spaces for $2N_f < N_c-1$ are determined completely by imposing $R$-symmetry, instanton corrections and the proper classical singularity structure. These curves are verified by residue calculations. The quantum moduli spaces for $2N_f\geq N_c-1$ t...

We present families of algebraic curves describing the moduli-space of $N\!=\!2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group $SO(2n)$. We test our curves by computing the weak coupling monodromies and the number of $N\!=\!1$ vacua.

Dessin d'enfants (French for children's drawings) serve as a unique standpoint of studying classical complex analysis under the lens of combinatorial constructs. A thorough development of the background of this theory is developed with an emphasis on the relationship of monodromy to Dessins, which serve as a pathway to the Riemann Hilbert problem. This paper investigates representations of Dessins by permutations, the connection of Dessins to a particular class of Riemann sur...

This is the first article in the collection of reviews "Exact results on N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories", ed. J. Teschner. It describes how large families of field theories with N=2 supersymmetry can be described by means of Lagrangian formulations, or by compactification from the six-dimensional theory with (2,0) supersymmetry on spaces of the form $M^4 \times C$, with C being a Riemann surface. The class of theories that can be obtained in this way is called class $\cal ...

We consider N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with a simple classical gauge group, one adjoint $\Phi, N_f$ pairs ($Q_i,\tilde{Q_i}$) of (fundamental, anti-fundamental) and a tree-level superpotential with terms of the Landau-Ginzburg form $\tilde{Q}_i\Phi^lQ_j$. The quantum moduli space of these models includes a Coulomb branch. We find hyperelliptic curves that encode the low energy effective gauge coupling for the groups SO(N_c) and USp(N_c) (the corresponding curve for SU(...

The Seiberg-Witten curve and differential for ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory, with a massive hypermultiplet in the adjoint representation of the gauge group, are analyzed in terms of the elliptic Calogero-Moser integrable system. A new parametrization for the Calogero-Moser spectral curves is found, which exhibits the classical vacuum expectation values of the scalar field of the gauge multiplet. The one-loop perturbative correction to the effective prepotenti...

A new method to obtain the Picard-Fuchs equations of effective $N = 2$ supersymmetric gauge theories in 4 dimensions is developed. It includes both pure super Yang-Mills and supersymmetric gauge theories with massless matter hypermultiplets. It applies to all classical gauge groups, and directly produces a decoupled set of second-order, partial differential equations satisfied by the period integrals of the Seiberg-Witten differential along the 1-cycles of the algebraic curve...