Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics

Volume 18 (2014)

Number 1

$\mathcal{N} = 2$ quantum field theories and their BPS quivers

Pages: 27 – 127

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4310/ATMP.2014.v18.n1.a2

Authors

Murad Alim (Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)

Sergio Cecotti (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy)

Clay Córdova (Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)

Sam Espahbodi (Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)

Ashwin Rastogi (Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)

Cumrun Vafa (Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)

Abstract

We explore the relationship between four-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 2$ quantum field theories and their associated BPS quivers. For a wide class of theories including super-Yang-Mills theories, Argyres-Douglas models, and theories defined by M5-branes on punctured Riemann surfaces, there exists a quiver which implicitly characterizes the field theory. We study various aspects of this correspondence including the quiver interpretation of flavor symmetries, gauging, decoupling limits, and field theory dualities. In general a given quiver describes only a patch of the moduli space of the field theory, and a key role is played by quantum mechanical dualities, encoded by quiver mutations, which relate distinct quivers valid in different patches. Analyzing the consistency conditions imposed on the spectrum by these dualities results in a powerful and novel mutation method for determining the BPS states. We apply our method to determine the BPS spectrum in a wide class of examples, including the strong coupling spectrum of super-Yang-Mills with an ADE gauge group and fundamental matter, and trinion theories defined by M5-branes on spheres with three punctures.

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Published 9 October 2014