Contributor info: Dr Nafiz Ishtiaque

Nafiz Ishtiaque, Yehao Zhou

SciPost Phys. 16, 052 (2024) · published 22 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We show that the phase spaces of a large family of line operators in 4d Chern-Simons theory with GL$_n$ gauge group are given by Cherkis bow varieties with $n$ crosses. These line operators are characterized by Hanany-Witten type brane constructions involving D3, D5, and NS5 branes in an $\Omega$-background. Linking numbers of the five-branes and mass parameters for the D3 brane theories determine the phase spaces and in special cases they correspond to vacuum moduli spaces of 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver theories. Examples include line operators that conjecturally create T, Q, and L-operators in integrable spin chains.

Nafiz Ishtiaque, Seyed Faroogh Moosavian, Surya Raghavendran, Junya Yagi

SciPost Phys. 13, 083 (2022) · published 5 October 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We present a correspondence between two-dimensional N=(2,2) supersymmetric gauge theories and rational integrable gl(m|n) spin chains with spin variables taking values in Verma modules. To explain this correspondence, we realize the gauge theories as configurations of branes in string theory and map them by dualities to brane configurations that realize line defects in four-dimensional Chern-Simons theory with gauge group GL(m|n). The latter configurations embed the superspin chains into superstring theory. We also provide a string theory derivation of a similar correspondence, proposed by Nekrasov, for rational gl(m|n) spin chains with spins valued in finite-dimensional representations.

Nafiz Ishtiaque, Seyed Faroogh Moosavian, Yehao Zhou

SciPost Phys. 9, 017 (2020) · published 5 August 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We propose a toy model for holographic duality. The model is constructed by embedding a stack of $N$ D2-branes and $K$ D4-branes (with one dimensional intersection) in a 6D topological string theory. The world-volume theory on the D2-branes (resp. D4-branes) is 2D BF theory (resp. 4D Chern-Simons theory) with $\mathrm{GL}_N$ (resp. $\mathrm{GL}_K$) gauge group. We propose that in the large $N$ limit the BF theory on $\mathbb{R}^2$ is dual to the closed string theory on $\mathbb R^2 \times \mathbb R_+ \times S^3$ with the Chern-Simons defect on $\mathbb R \times \mathbb R_+ \times S^2$. As a check for the duality we compute the operator algebra in the BF theory, along the D2-D4 intersection -- the algebra is the Yangian of $\mathfrak{gl}_K$. We then compute the same algebra, in the guise of a scattering algebra, using Witten diagrams in the Chern-Simons theory. Our computations of the algebras are exact (valid at all loops). Finally, we propose a physical string theory construction of this duality using a D3-D5 brane configuration in type IIB -- using supersymmetric twist and $\Omega$-deformation.