We study N=(0,2) deformed (2,2) two-dimensional sigma models. Such heterotic models were discovered previously on the world sheet of non-Abelian strings supported by certain four-dimensional N=1 theories. We study geometric aspects and holomorphic properties of these models, and derive a number of exact expressions for the beta functions in terms of the anomalous dimensions analogous to the NSVZ beta function in four-dimensional Yang-Mills. Instanton calculus provides a straightforward method for the derivation. The anomalous dimensions are calculated up to two loops implying that one of the beta functions is explicitly known up to three loops. The fixed point in the ratio of the couplings found previously at one loop is not shifted at two loops. We also consider the N=(0,2) supercurrent supermultiplet (the so-called hypercurrent) and its anomalies, as well as the Konishi anomaly. This gives us another method for finding exact $beta$ functions. We prove that despite the chiral nature of the models under consideration quantum loops preserve isometries of the target space.
In arXiv:0905.3629 we described a new class of N=2 topological amplitudes that depends both on vector and hypermultiplet moduli. Here we find that this class is actually a particular case of much more general topological amplitudes which appear at higher loops in heterotic string theory compactified on K3 x T^2. We analyze their effective field theory interpretation and derive particular (first order) differential equations as a consequence of supersymmetry Ward identities and the 1/2-BPS nature of the corresponding effective action terms. In string theory the latter get modified due to anomalous world-sheet boundary contributions, generalizing in a non-trivial way the familiar holomorphic and harmonicity anomalies studied in the past. We prove by direct computation that the subclass of topological amplitudes studied in arXiv:0905.3629 forms a closed set under these anomaly equations and that these equations are integrable.
We study chiral anomalies in $mathcal N=(0, 1)$ and $(0, 2)$ two-dimensional minimal sigma models defined on generic homogeneous spaces $G/H$. Such minimal theories contain only (left) chiral fermions and in certain cases are inconsistent because of incurable anomalies. We explicitly calculate the anomalous fermionic effective action and show how to remedy it by adding a series of local counter-terms. In this procedure, we derive a local anomaly matching condition, which is demonstrated to be equivalent to the well-known global topological constraint on $p_1(G/H)$. More importantly, we show that these local counter-terms further modify and constrain curable chiral models, some of which, for example, flow to nontrivial infrared superconformal fixed point. Finally, we also observe an interesting relation between $mathcal N=(0, 1)$ and $(0, 2)$ two-dimensional minimal sigma models and supersymmetric gauge theories. This paper generalizes and extends the results of our previous publication arXiv:1510.04324.
We derive exact formulae for the partition function and the expectation values of Wilson/t Hooft loops, thus directly checking their S-duality transformations. We focus on a special class of N=2 gauge theories on S^4 with fundamental matter. In particular we show that, for a specific choice of the masses, the matrix model integral defining the gauge theory partition function localizes around a finite set of critical points where it can be explicitly evaluated and written in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. From the AGT perspective the gauge theory partition function, evaluated with this choice of masses, is viewed as a four point correlator involving the insertion of a degenerated field. The well known simplicity of the degenerated correlator reflects the fact that for these choices of masses only a very restrictive type of instanton configurations contributes to the gauge theory partition function.
Following recent work on GLSM localization, we work out curvature couplings for rigidly supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models with superpotential for general target spaces, describing both ordinary and twisted chiral superfields on round two-sphere worldsheets. We briefly discuss why, unlike four-dimensional theories, there are no constraints on Kahler forms in these theories. We also briefly discuss general issues in topological twists of such theories.
We conjecture that $W$ gravity can be interpreted as the gauge theory of $phi$ diffeomorphisms in the space of dimensionally-reduced $D=2+2$ $SU^*(infty)$ Yang-Mills instantons. These $phi$ diffeomorphisms preserve a volume-three form and are those which furnish the correspondence between the dimensionally-reduced Plebanski equation and the KP equation in $(1+2)$ dimensions. A supersymmetric extension furnishes super-$W$ gravity. The Super-Plebanski equation generates self-dual complexified super gravitational backgrounds (SDSG) in terms of the super-Plebanski second heavenly form. Since the latter equation yields $N=1~D=4~SDSG$ complexified backgrounds associated with the complexified-cotangent space of the Riemannian surface, $(T^*Sigma)^c$, required in the formulation of $SU^*(infty)$ complexified Self-Dual Yang-Mills theory, (SDYM ); it naturally follows that the recently constructed $D=2+2~N=4$ SDSYM theory- as the consistent background of the open $N=2$ superstring- can be embedded into the $N=1~SU^*(infty)$ complexified Self-Dual-Super-Yang-Mills (SDSYM) in $D=3+3$ dimensions. This is achieved after using a generalization of self-duality for $D>4$. We finally comment on the the plausible relationship between the geometry of $N=2$ strings and the moduli of $SU^*(infty)$ complexified SDSYM in $3+3$ dimensions.