Rozansky–Witten Theory, Localised Then Tilted

The paper has two parts, in the first part, we apply the localisation technique to the Rozansky–Witten theory on compact hyperkähler targets. We do so via first reformulating the theory as some supersymmetric sigma-model. We obtain the exact formula for the partition function with Wilson loops on $$S^1\times \Sigma _g$$ S 1 × Σ g and the lens spaces, the results match with earlier computations using Feynman diagrams on K3. The second part is motivated by a very curious paper (Gukov in J Geom Phys 168, 104311, 2021), where the equivariant index formula for the dimension of the Hilbert space of the Rozansky–Witten theory is interpreted as a kind of Verlinde formula. In this interpretation, the fixed points of the target hyperkähler geometry correspond to certain ‘states’. We extend the formalism of part one to incorporate equivariance on the target geometry. For certain non-compact hyperkähler geometry, we can apply the tilting theory to the derived category of coherent sheaves, whose objects label the Wilson loops, allowing us to pick a basis for the latter. We can then compute the fusion products in this basis and we show that the objects that have diagonal fusion rules are intimately related to the fixed points of the geometry. Using these objects as basis to compute the dimension of the Hilbert space leads back to the Verlinde formula, thus answering the question that motivated the paper.

The static force from generalized Wilson loops using gradient flow

We explore a novel approach to compute the force between a static quark-antiquark pair with the gradient flow algorithm on the lattice. The approach is based on inserting a chromoelectric field in a Wilson loop. The renormalization issues, associated with the finite size of the chromoelectric field on the lattice, can be solved with the use of gradient flow. We compare numerical results for the flowed static potential to our previous measurement of the same observable without a gradient flow.

Wilson loop correlators in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 superconformal quivers

We complete the program of [1] about perturbative approaches for $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 superconformal quiver theories in four dimensions. We consider several classes of observables in presence of Wilson loops, and we evaluate them with the help of supersymmetric localization. We compute Wilson loop vacuum expectation values, correlators of multiple coincident Wilson loops and one-point functions of chiral operators in presence of them acting as superconformal defects. We extend this analysis to the most general case considering chiral operators and multiple Wilson loops scattered in all the possible ways among the vector multiplets of the quiver. Finally, we identify twisted and untwisted observables which probe the orbifold of AdS5 × S5 with the aim of testing possible holographic perspectives of quiver theories in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2.

Entanglement entropy and edge modes in topological string theory. Part II. The dual gauge theory story

This is the second in a two-part paper devoted to studying entanglement entropy and edge modes in the A model topological string theory. This theory enjoys a gauge-string (Gopakumar-Vafa) duality which is a topological analogue of AdS/CFT. In part 1, we defined a notion of generalized entropy for the topological closed string theory on the resolved conifold. We provided a canonical interpretation of the generalized entropy in terms of the q-deformed entanglement entropy of the Hartle-Hawking state. We found string edge modes transforming under a quantum group symmetry and interpreted them as entanglement branes. In this work, we provide the dual Chern-Simons gauge theory description. Using Gopakumar-Vafa duality, we map the closed string theory Hartle-Hawking state to a Chern-Simons theory state containing a superposition of Wilson loops. These Wilson loops are dual to closed string worldsheets that determine the partition function of the resolved conifold. We show that the undeformed entanglement entropy due to cutting these Wilson loops reproduces the bulk generalized entropy and therefore captures the entanglement underlying the bulk spacetime. Finally, we show that under the Gopakumar-Vafa duality, the bulk entanglement branes are mapped to a configuration of topological D-branes, and the non-local entanglement boundary condition in the bulk is mapped to a local boundary condition in the gauge theory dual. This suggests that the geometric transition underlying the gauge-string duality may also be responsible for the emergence of entanglement branes.

Bootstrapping octagons in reduced kinematics from A2 cluster algebras

Multi-loop scattering amplitudes/null polygonal Wilson loops in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 super-Yang-Mills are known to simplify significantly in reduced kinematics, where external legs/edges lie in an 1 + 1 dimensional subspace of Minkowski spacetime (or boundary of the AdS3 subspace). Since the edges of a 2n-gon with even and odd labels go along two different null directions, the kinematics is reduced to two copies of G(2, n)/T ∼ An−3. In the simplest octagon case, we conjecture that all loop amplitudes and Feynman integrals are given in terms of two overlapping A2 functions (a special case of two-dimensional harmonic polylogarithms): in addition to the letters v, 1 + v, w, 1 + w of A1 × A1, there are two letters v − w, 1 − vw mixing the two sectors but they never appear together in the same term; these are the reduced version of four-mass-box algebraic letters. Evidence supporting our conjecture includes all known octagon amplitudes as well as new computations of multi-loop integrals in reduced kinematics. By leveraging this alphabet and conditions on first and last entries, we initiate a bootstrap program in reduced kinematics: within the remarkably simple space of overlapping A2 functions, we easily obtain octagon amplitudes up to two-loop NMHV and three-loop MHV. We also briefly comment on the generalization to 2n-gons in terms of A2 functions and beyond.

5d/6d Wilson loops from blowups

We generalize Nakajima-Yoshioka’s blowup formula to calculate the partition functions counting the spectrum of bound states to half-BPS Wilson loop operators in 5d (and 6d) supersymmetric field theories. The partition function in the presence of a Wilson loop operator on the Ω-background is factorized when put on the blowup $$ \hat{\mathbb{C}} $$ ℂ ̂ 2 into two Wilson loop partition functions under the localization. This structure provides a set of blowup equations for Wilson loop operators. We explain how to formulate the blowup equations and solve them to compute the partition functions of Wilson loop operators. We test this idea by explicitly calculating the Wilson loop partition functions in various 5d/6d field theories and comparing them against known results and expected dualities.

Localization and duality for ABJM latitude Wilson loops

We investigate several aspects of BPS latitude Wilson loops in gauge theories in three dimensions with $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N ≥ 4 supersymmetry. We derive a matrix model for the bosonic latitude Wilson loop in ABJM using supersymmetric localization, and show how to extend the computation to more general Chern-Simons-matter theories. We then define latitude type Wilson and vortex loop operators in theories without Chern-Simons terms, and explore a connection to the recently derived superalgebra defining local Higgs and Coulomb branch operators in these theories. Finally, we identify a BPS loop operator dual to the bosonic latitude Wilson loop which is a novel bound state of Wilson and vortex loops, defined using a worldvolume supersymmetric quantum mechanics.

Exact 1/N expansion of Wilson loop correlators in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory

Supersymmetric circular Wilson loops in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory are discussed starting from their Gaussian matrix model representations. Previous results on the generating functions of Wilson loops are reviewed and extended to the more general case of two different loop contours, which is needed to discuss coincident loops with opposite orientations. A combinatorial formula representing the connected correlators of multiply wound Wilson loops in terms of the matrix model solution is derived. Two new results are obtained on the expectation value of the circular Wilson loop, the expansion of which into a series in 1/N and to all orders in the ’t Hooft coupling λ was derived by Drukker and Gross about twenty years ago. The connected correlators of two multiply wound Wilson loops with arbitrary winding numbers are calculated as a series in 1/N. The coefficient functions are derived not only as power series in λ, but also to all orders in λ by expressing them in terms of the coefficients of the Drukker and Gross series. This provides an efficient way to calculate the 1/N series, which can probably be generalized to higher-point correlators.