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A bstract There is a well-known map from 4d $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) to 2d vertex operator algebras (VOAs). The 4d Schur index corresponds to the VOA vacuum character, and must be a solution with integral coefficients of a modular differential equation. This suggests a classification program for 4d $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 SCFTs that starts with modular differential equations and proceeds by imposing all known constraints that follow from the 4d → 2d map. This program becomes fully algorithmic once one specifies the order of the modular differential equation and the rank (complex dimension of the Coulomb branch) of the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 theory. As a proof of concept, we apply the algorithm to the study of rank-two $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 SCFTs whose Schur indices satisfy a fourth-order untwisted modular differential equation. Scanning over a large number of putative cases, only 15 satisfy all of the constraints imposed by our algorithm, six of which correspond to known 4d SCFTs. More sophisticated constraints can be used to argue against the existence of the remaining nine cases. Altogether, this indicates that our knowledge of such rank-two SCFTs is surprisingly complete. 

A bstract We derive explicit formulae to compute the a and c central charges of four dimensional $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) directly from Coulomb branch related quantities. The formulae apply at arbitrary rank. We also discover general properties of the low-energy limit behavior of the flavor symmetry of $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 SCFTs which culminate with our $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 UV-IR simple flavor condition . This is done by determining precisely the relation between the integrand of the partition function of the topologically twisted version of the 4d $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 SCFTs and the singular locus of their Coulomb branches. The techniques developed here are extensively applied to many rank-2 SCFTs, including new ones, in a companion paper. This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the countless black lives taken by US police forces and still awaiting justice. Our hearts are with our colleagues of color who suffer daily the consequences of this racist world. 

A bstract We study the stratification of the singular locus of four dimensional $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 Coulomb branches. We present a set of self-consistency conditions on this stratification which can be used to extend the classification of scale-invariant rank 1 Coulomb branch geometries to two complex dimensions, and beyond. The calculational simplicity of the arguments presented here stems from the fact that the main ingredients needed — the rank 1 deformation patterns and the pattern of inclusions of rank 2 strata — are discrete topological data which satisfy strong self-consistency conditions through their relationship to the central charges of the SCFT. This relationship of the stratification data to the central charges is used here, but is derived and explained in a companion paper [1] by one of the authors. We illustrate the use of these conditions by re-analyzing many previously-known examples of rank 2 SCFTs, and also by finding examples of new theories. The power of these conditions stems from the fact that for Coulomb branch stratifications a conjecturally complete list of physically allowed “elementary slices” is known. By contrast, constraining the possible elementary slices of symplectic singularities relevant for Higgs branch stratifications remains an open problem. 

We give a non-technical summary of the classification program, very dear to the hearts of both authors, of four dimensional N = 2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) based on the study of their Coulomb branch geometries. We outline the main ideas behind this program, review the most important results thus far obtained [1–15], and the prospects for future results. This contribution will appear in the volume the Pollica perspective on the (super)-conformal world but we decided to also make it available separately in the hope that it could be useful to those who are interested in obtaining a quick grasp of this rapidly developing program. 

We initiate a systematic analysis of moduli spaces of vacua of four dimensional =3 SCFTs. Our analysis is based on the one hand on the properties of =3 chiral rings --- which we review in detail and contrast with chiral rings of theories with less supersymmetry --- and on the other hand on constraints coming from low-energy supersymmetry. This leads us to introduce a new type of geometric structure, which characterizes =3 SCFT moduli spaces, and that we call triple special Kähler (TSK). A rank-n TSK moduli space has complex dimension 3n, and is singular at complex co-dimension 3 subspaces where charged states become massless. The structure of singularities defines a stratification of the TSK space in terms of lower-dimensional TSK manifolds.