Abstract
We give a physical explanation of the Kontsevich-Soibelman wall-crossing formula for the BPS spectrum in Seiberg-Witten theories. In the process we give an exact description of the BPS instanton corrections to the hyperkähler metric of the moduli space of the theory on \({\mathbb R^3 \times S^1}\). The wall-crossing formula reduces to the statement that this metric is continuous. Our construction of the metric uses a four-dimensional analogue of the two-dimensional tt* equations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cecotti S., Fendley P., Intriligator K.A., Vafa C.: A new supersymmetric index. Nucl. Phys. B386, 405–452 (1992)
Seiberg N., Witten E.: Electric-magnetic duality, monopole condensation, and confinement in \({\mathcal N=2}\) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Nucl. Phys. B426, 19–52 (1994)
Seiberg N., Witten E.: Monopoles, duality and chiral symmetry breaking in \({\mathcal N=2}\) supersymmetric QCD. Nucl. Phys. B431, 484–550 (1994)
Denef, F., Moore, G.W.: “Split states, entropy enigmas, holes and halos.” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/0702146v2, 2007
Denef F.: Supergravity flows and D-brane stability. JHEP 08, 050 (2000)
Denef, F.: “On the correspondence between D-branes and stationary supergravity solutions of type II Calabi-Yau compactifications.” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/0010222v1, 2000
Kontsevich, M., Soibelman, Y.: “Stability structures, motivic Donaldson-Thomas invariants and cluster transformations.” http://arXiv.org/abs/0811.2435v1[math.AG], 2008
Garcia-Etxebarria I., Uranga A.M.: Non-perturbative superpotentials across lines of marginal stability. JHEP 0801, 033 (2008)
Ooguri H., Vafa C.: Summing up D-instantons. Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3296–3298 (1996)
Seiberg N., Shenker S.H.: Hypermultiplet moduli space and string compactification to three dimensions. Phys. Lett. B388, 521–523 (1996)
Cecotti S., Vafa C.: On classification of \({\mathcal N=2}\) supersymmetric theories. Commun. Math. Phys. 158, 569–644 (1993)
Seiberg, N., Witten, E.: “Gauge dynamics and compactification to three dimensions.” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/9607163v1, 1996
Cecotti S., Vafa C.: Topological-antitopological fusion. Nucl. Phys. B367, 359–461 (1991)
Karlhede A., Lindstrom U., Roček M.: Selfinteracting tensor multiplets in \({\mathcal N=2}\) superspace. Phys. Lett. B147, 297 (1984)
Lindstrom U., Rocek M.: New hyperkahler metrics and new supermultiplets. Commun. Math. Phys. 115, 21 (1988)
Lindstrom U., Rocek M.: Properties of hyperkahler manifolds and their twistor spaces. Commun. Math. Phys. 293, 257–278 (2010)
Kontsevich, M., Soibelman, Y.: “Affine structures and non-Archimedean analytic spaces.” In: The unity of mathematics, Vol. 244 of Progr. Math., Boston, MA: Birkhäuser Boston, 2006, pp. 321–385
Joyce, D.: “Holomorphic generating functions for invariants counting coherent sheaves on Calabi-Yau 3-folds.” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/0607039v1, 2006
Bridgeland, T., Toledano Laredo, V.: “Stability conditions and Stokes factors.” http://arXiv.org/abs/0801.3974v1[math.AG], 2008
Bridgeland T.: Stability conditions on triangulated categories. Ann. Math. (2) 166(2), 317–345 (2007)
Neitzke A., Pioline B., Vandoren S.: Twistors and black holes. JHEP 04, 038 (2007)
Losev A., Nekrasov N.A., Shatashvili S.L.: Issues in topological gauge theory. Nucl. Phys. B534, 549–611 (1998)
Losev, A., Nekrasov, N., Shatashvili, S.L.: “The freckled instantons.” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/9908204v2, 1999
Ooguri H., Vafa C., Verlinde E.P.: Hartle-Hawking wave-function for flux compactifications. Lett. Math. Phys. 74, 311–342 (2005)
Dorey N., Hollowood T.J., Tong D.: The BPS spectra of gauge theories in two and four dimensions. JHEP 05, 006 (1999)
Ritz A.: Superconformal R-charges and dyon multiplicities in N = 2 gauge theories. Phys. Rev. D75, 085008 (2007)
Alexandrov S., Pioline B., Saueressig F., Vandoren S.: Linear perturbations of quaternionic metrics - I. The Hyperkahler case. Lett. Math. Phys. 87, 225–265 (2009)
Lerche, W.: “Introduction to Seiberg-Witten theory and its stringy origin.” Prepared for CERN-Santiago de Compostela-La Plata Meeting on Trends in Theoretical Physics, CERN-Santiago de Compostela-La Plata, Argentina, 28 Apr - 6 May 1997
Freed D.S.: Special Kaehler manifolds. Commun. Math. Phys. 203, 31–52 (1999)
Witten, E.: “Dynamics of quantum field theory.” In: Quantum fields and strings: a course for mathematicians, Vol. 1, 2 (Princeton, NJ, 1996/1997), Providence, RI: Amer. Math. Soc., 1999, pp. 1119–1424
Bilal A., Ferrari F.: Curves of Marginal Stability and Weak and Strong-Coupling BPS Spectra in N = 2 Supersymmetric QCD. Nucl. Phys. B480, 589–622 (1996)
Bilal A., Ferrari F.: The Strong-Coupling Spectrum of the Seiberg-Witten Theory. Nucl. Phys. B469, 387–402 (1996)
Witten E.: Five-brane effective action in M-theory. J. Geom. Phys. 22, 103–133 (1997)
Freed, D.S.: “Dirac charge quantization and generalized differential cohomology.” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/0011220v2, 2001
Hopkins M.J., Singer I.M.: Quadratic functions in geometry, topology, and M-theory. J. Diff. Geom. 70, 329–452 (2005)
Belov, D., Moore, G.W.: “Holographic action for the self-dual field.,” http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-th/0605038v1, 2006
Hitchin N.J., Karlhede A., Lindstrom U., Roček M.: Hyperkähler metrics and supersymmetry. Commun. Math. Phys. 108, 535 (1987)
Hitchin, N.: “Hyper-Kähler manifolds.” Astérisque (1992), no. 206, Exp. No. 748, 3, 137–166. Séminaire Bourbaki, Vol. 1991/92
Dubrovin B.: Geometry and integrability of topological-antitopological fusion. Commun. Math. Phys. 152(3), 539–564 (1993)
Argyres P.C., Plesser M.R., Seiberg N.: The Moduli Space of N = 2 SUSY QCD and Duality in N = 1 SUSY QCD. Nucl. Phys. B471, 159–194 (1996)
Cecotti S., Vafa C.: Ising model and \({\mathcal N=2}\) supersymmetric theories. Commun. Math. Phys. 157, 139–178 (1993)
Argyres P.C., Douglas M.R.: New phenomena in SU(3) supersymmetric gauge theory. Nucl. Phys. B448, 93–126 (1995)
Argyres P.C., Plesser M.R., Seiberg N., Witten E.: New \({\mathcal N=2}\) Superconformal Field Theories in Four Dimensions. Nucl. Phys. B461, 71–84 (1996)
Seiberg N.: Naturalness versus supersymmetric nonrenormalization theorems. Phys. Lett. B318, 469–475 (1993)
Zamolodchikov A.B.: Thermodynamic Bethe ansatz in relativistic models. Scaling three state Potts and Lee-Yang models. Nucl. Phys. B342, 695–720 (1990)
Nekrasov, N.A., Shatashvili, S.L.: “Quantum integrability and supersymmetric vacua.” http://arXiv.org/abs/0901.4748v2[hep-th], 2009
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by A. Kapustin
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gaiotto, D., Moore, G.W. & Neitzke, A. Four-Dimensional Wall-Crossing via Three-Dimensional Field Theory. Commun. Math. Phys. 299, 163–224 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-010-1071-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-010-1071-2