Program

Talk Information

Thiago Araujo " Integrable and conformal structures in flat space holography" 

In this talk I discuss properties of BMS-invariant theories and how they arise as field theories dual to asymptotically flat spacetimes

Hee-Joong Chung "Properties of the A-polynomial of a knot"

In this talk, I will review several physical and mathematical properties of the A-polynomial of a knot in S^3.

Dongmin Gang

1) The simplest 3d N=4 SCFT [Gang1.pdf]

I will propose a candidate for the minimal 3d N=4 SCFT with smallest stress-energy tensor central charge C_T.

The theory has a UV Lagrangian description, U(1) vector coupled to a single chiral with CS level -3/2, with manifest N=2 supersymmetry. 

Using the UV description, we compute the exact  C_T and F (S^3 free-energy) of the SCFT.

2) "3D index" as an order parameter for 3d N=2 gauge theories and 3-manifolds. [Gang2.pdf]

I will introduced a new topological invariant called "3D index" for closed 3-manifold M.

Using the new invariant,  we can determine

(1) whether the U(1)_K flavor symmetry in T^{DGG}[M,K] theory is enhanced to SU(2)/SO(3) or not  in IR,

(2) whether the 3-manifold M is hyperbolic or not. 

Here T^{DGG}[M,K] is the 3d gauge theory constructed by Dimofte-Gaitto-Gukov lablled by the choice of M and a knot K inside M. The theory has a U(1)_K flavor symmetry associated to the knot. 

Sergei Gukov "SUSY indices and topology"

Hee-Cheol Kim "On geometric classification of 5d SCFTs " [HCKim.pdf]

Seok Kim "On AdS black holes and deconfinement" [SKim.pdf]

Kimyeong Lee "Dualities and 5-brane webs for 5d rank 2 SCFTs " [KLee.pdf]

Sangmin Lee "2d (0,2) Gauge Theories: Brane Brick and Beyond" [SangminLee.pdf]

Sungjay Lee "Modular Constraints on (Super) Conformal Field Theories "

Taejin Lee "USES of String Field Theory" [TaejinLee.pdf]

I will introduce the covariant string field theories and the Polyakov string path integrals in the proper-time gauge. In the proper-time gauge, the string path integral can be written as integrals over the proper-times in a way similar to the Schwinger's proper time representation of Feynman integrals of quantum field theory. For this reason, it becomes feasible in the proper-time gauge to identify the field theoretical expressions of the string path integrals which depict multiple string scatterings.

I will discuss the four-massless-particle scattering amplitude in open string theory and the four-graviton scattering amplitude in the closed string theory. The covariant string field theories are useful to study the ultraviolet behavior and the entanglement entropy of strings which are quite different from their counterparts of point particles.

Wei Li "Supersymmetrizing the triangle of W algebra, affine Yangian and plane partition."

W symmetry underlies the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence with higher spin symmetry. There exists a useful triangle connecting W symmetry, affine Yangian, and plane partition representations. Further, this triangle can serve as the building block of new VOA's and affine Yangians. As an example, I will explain how to construct the N=2 version of this triangle, which gives rise to a new type of affine Yangian and its twin-plane partition representations.  

Kazunobu Maruyoshi "RG flows with enhanced infrared supersymmetry" [Maruyoshi.pdf]

In this talk, we study the RG flows of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric theories where the supersymmetry is enhanced to N=2 in the IR. This non-trivial RG flow is induced from an N=2 SCFT with non-Abelian flavor symmetry by adding an N=1 chiral multiplet transforming in the adjoint representation of the flavor symmetry with a superpotential coupling; and giving the nilpotent vev to the chiral multiplet, if the original SCFT and the vev satisfy certain conditions. In particular, we find RG flows from the deformed conformal SQCDs with gauge group SU(N) and Sp(N) to N=2 SCFTs of Argyres-Douglas type. With these ``Lagrangian descriptions," we study the chiral rings, the full superconformal indices and also the mechanism of the supersymmetry enhancement.

This talk is based on the collaboration with Prarit Agarwal, Emily Nardoni, and Jaewon Song, and arXiv:1606.05632, arXiv:1607.04281, arXiv:1610.05311.

Junchen Rong "Bootstrapping minimal N = 1 superconformal field theory in three dimensions" [Rong.pdf]

Antonio Sciarappa 

1)  “Wilson loops, Wilson surfaces and S-duality” [Sciarappa1.pdf]

In this talk I will discuss recent progress in the study of Wilson loops for five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories. As I will explain the construction of such observables is somehow indirect and requires considering systems of intersecting branes, from which it is possible to extract information about Wilson loops in tensor product representations. I will also discuss their six-dimensional analogue (aka Wilson surfaces) and show how these are mapped to five-dimensional Wilson loops under type IIB S-duality.

2)  “Supersymmetric gauge theories and elliptic integrable systems” [Sciarappa-2.pdf]

Jaewon Song "Landscape of Simple Superconformal Field Theories in 4d "

Christoph Uhlemann "Type IIB supergravity duals for 5d SCFTs" 

Part I: Warped AdS 6 solutions and 5-brane webs [Uhlemann-1.pdf]

Part II: Dualities, tests and applications [Uhlemann-2.pdf]

Piljin Yi "Witten, Cardy, and the Holonomy Saddle " [PYi.pdf]

This talk will explore topological invariants of susy gauge theories, with some emphasis on index-like quantities and the notion of holonomy saddles. We start with 1d refined Witten index computations where the twisted partition functions typically show rational, rather than integral, behavior. We will explain how this oddity is a blessing in disguise and propose a universal tool for extracting the truely enumerative Witten indices. In part, this finally put to the rest a two-decade-old bound state problems and resolve an old and critical conflict between Kac+Smilga and Staudacher/Pestun, circa 1999~2002, whereby the notion of H-saddles emerges and plays a crucial role.

More importantly, H-saddles prove to be universal features of supersymmetric gauge theories when the spacetime include a small circle: H-saddles are explored further for d=4, N=1 theories, with much ramifications on some recent claims on Cardyexponents of their partition functions.

Tutorial for Graduate students (Hee-Cheol Kim, in Korean) Calabi-Yau manifolds 

Student's presentation

Ki-Hong Lee "6d strings and exceptional instantons" [KihongLee.pdf]

June Nahmgoong "Quantum dynamics of 6d (2,0) theories on a circle" [Nahmgoong.pdf]

Moonju Hong "On non-Abelian T-duality for non-semisimple groups" [Hong.pptx]