skip to main content


Title: A cubic deformation of ABJM: the squashed, stretched, warped, and perturbed gets invaded
A bstract A superpotential deformation that is cubic in one of the chiral superfields of ABJM makes the latter theory flow into a new $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 superconformal phase. This is holographically dual to a warped AdS 4 × w S 7 solution of M-theory equipped with a squashed and stretched metric on S 7 . We determine the spectrum of spin-2 operators of the cubic deformation at low energies by computing the spectrum of Kaluza-Klein (KK) gravitons over the dual AdS 4 solution. We calculate, numerically, the complete graviton spectrum and, analytically, the spectrum of gravitons that belong to short multiplets. We also use group theory to assess the structure of the full KK spectrum, and conclude that $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 supermultiplets cannot be allocated KK level by KK level. This phenomenon, usually referred to as “space invaders scenario”, is also known to occur for another AdS 4 solution based on a different squashed S 7 .  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1720364
NSF-PAR ID:
10253215
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of High Energy Physics
Volume:
2020
Issue:
10
ISSN:
1029-8479
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. A bstract A holographic duality was recently established between an $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 non-geometric AdS 4 solution of type IIB supergravity in the so-called S-fold class, and a three- dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) defined as a limit of $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 super-Yang-Mills at an interface. Using gauged supergravity, the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 conformal manifold (CM) of this CFT has been assessed to be two-dimensional. Here, we holographically characterise the large- N operator spectrum of the marginally-deformed CFT. We do this by, firstly, providing the algebraic structure of the complete Kaluza-Klein (KK) spectrum on the associated two-parameter family of AdS4 solutions. And, secondly, by computing the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 super-multiplet dimensions at the first few KK levels on a lattice in the CM, using new exceptional field theory techniques. Our KK analysis also allows us to establish that, at least at large N , this $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 CM is topologically a non-compact cylindrical Riemann surface bounded on only one side. 
    more » « less
  2. A bstract We study modular invariants arising in the four-point functions of the stress tensor multiplet operators of the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 SU( N ) super-Yang-Mills theory, in the limit where N is taken to be large while the complexified Yang-Mills coupling τ is held fixed. The specific four-point functions we consider are integrated correlators obtained by taking various combinations of four derivatives of the squashed sphere partition function of the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 ∗ theory with respect to the squashing parameter b and mass parameter m , evaluated at the values b = 1 and m = 0 that correspond to the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 theory on a round sphere. At each order in the 1 /N expansion, these fourth derivatives are modular invariant functions of ( τ, $$ \overline{\tau} $$ τ ¯ ). We present evidence that at half-integer orders in 1 /N , these modular invariants are linear combinations of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series, while at integer orders in 1 /N , they are certain “generalized Eisenstein series” which satisfy inhomogeneous Laplace eigenvalue equations on the hyperbolic plane. These results reproduce known features of the low-energy expansion of the four-graviton amplitude in type IIB superstring theory in ten-dimensional flat space and have interesting implications for the structure of the analogous expansion in AdS 5 × S 5 . 
    more » « less
  3. null (Ed.)
    Abstract We present a non-supersymmetric deformation of probe branes describing conformal defects of codimension two in AdS/CFT. The worldvolume of the probe branes is deformed from AdS p × S 1 embedded in an AdS p +2 × ℳ D  −  p  − 2 background to an embedding of Janus form, which uses an AdS p− 1 slicing of AdS p and in which the brane bends along the slicing coordinate. In field theory terms this realizes conformal interfaces on codimension- two defects. We discuss these “Janus on the brane” solutions for AdS 3 × S 1 D3-branes in the AdS 5 × S 5 solution of Type IIB, realizing interfaces on surface defects in $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 SYM, and show that similar solutions exist for probe branes in AdS p +2 × S 9 −p vacua of M-theory and in the AdS 6 × S 4 solution of massive Type IIA. 
    more » « less
  4. null (Ed.)
    A bstract Vacua of different gaugings of D = 4 $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 8 supergravity that preserve the same supersymmetries and bosonic symmetry tend to exhibit the same universal mass spectrum within their respective supergravities. For AdS 4 vacua in gauged supergravities that arise upon consistent truncation of string/M-theory, we show that this universality is lost at higher Kaluza-Klein levels. However, universality is still maintained in a milder form, at least in the graviton sector: certain sums over a finite number of states remain universal. Further, we derive a mass matrix for Kaluza-Klein gravitons which is valid for all the AdS 4 vacua in string/M-theory that uplift from the gaugings of D = 4 $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 8 supergravity that we consider. The mild universality of graviton mass sums is related to the trace of this mass matrix. 
    more » « less
  5. A bstract Three-dimensional $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 superconformal field theories contain 1d topological sectors consisting of twisted linear combinations of half-BPS local operators that can be inserted anywhere along a line. After a conformal mapping to a round three-sphere, the 1d sectors are now defined on a great circle of S 3 . We show that the 1d topological sectors are preserved under the squashing of the sphere. For gauge theories with matter hypermultiplets, we use supersymmetric localization to derive an explicit description of the topological sector associated with the Higgs branch. Furthermore, we find that the dependence of the 1d correlation functions on the squashing parameter b can be removed after appropriate rescalings. One can introduce real mass and Fayet-Iliopolous parameters that, after appropriate rescalings, modify the 1d theory on the squashed sphere precisely as they do on the round sphere. In addition, we also show that when a generic 3d $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 theory is deformed by real mass parameters, this deformation translates into a universal deformation of the corresponding 1d theory. 
    more » « less