We present closed-form expressions of unrefined instanton partition functions for gauge groups of type $BCD$ as sums over Young diagrams. For $mathrm{SO}(n)$ gauge groups, we provide a fivebrane web picture of our formula based on the vertex-operator formalism of the topological vertex with a new type called O-vertex for an O5-plane.
We compute the partition function for the exotic instanton system corresponding to D-instantons on D7 branes in Type I theory. We exploit the BRST structure of the moduli action and its deformation by RR background to fully localize the integration. The resulting prepotential describes non-perturbative corrections to the quartic couplings of the gauge field F living on the D7s. The results match perfectly those obtained in the dual heterotic theory from a protected 1-loop computation, thus providing a non-trivial test of the duality itself.
In the localization of 5-dimensional N = 1 super-Yang-Mills, contact-instantons arise as non-perturbative contributions. In this note, we revisit such configurations and discuss their generalizations. We propose for contact-instantons a cohomological theory whose BRST observables are invariants of the background contact geometry. To make the formalism more concrete, we study the moduli problem of contact- instanton, and we find that it is closely related to the eqiuivariant index of a canonical Dirac-Kohn operator associated to the geometry. An integral formula is given when the geometry is K-contact. We also discuss the relation to 5d N = 1 super-Yang- Mills, and by studying a contact-instanton solution canonical to the background geometry, we discuss a possible connection between N = 1 theory and contact homology. We also uplift the 5d theory a 6d cohomological theory which localizes to Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau instantons when placed on special geometry.
We consider the refined topological vertex of Iqbal et al, as a function of two parameters (x, y), and deform it by introducing Macdonald parameters (q, t), as in the work of Vuletic on plane partitions, to obtain a Macdonald refined topological vertex. In the limit q -> t, we recover the refined topological vertex of Iqbal et al. In the limit x -> y, we obtain a qt-deformation of the topological vertex of Aganagic et al. Copies of the vertex can be glued to obtain qt-deformed 5D instanton partition functions that have well-defined 4D limits and, for generic values of (q, t), contain infinite-towers of poles for every pole in the limit q -> t.
In this note we address the question whether one can recover from the vertex operator algebra associated with a four-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theory the deformation quantization of the Higgs branch of vacua that appears as a protected subsector in the three-dimensional circle-reduced theory. We answer this question positively if the UV R-symmetries do not mix with accidental (topological) symmetries along the renormalization group flow from the four-dimensional theory on a circle to the three-dimensional theory. If they do mix, we still find a deformation quantization but at different values of its period.
Recently, Gaiotto and Rapcak proposed a generalization of $W_N$ algebra by considering the symmetry at the corner of the brane intersection (corner vertex operator algebra). The algebra, denoted as $Y_{L,M,N}$, is characterized by three non-negative integers $L, M, N$. It has a manifest triality automorphism which interchanges $L, M, N$, and can be obtained as a reduction of $W_{1+infty}$ through a pit in the plane partition representation. Later, Prochazka and Rapcak proposed a representation of $Y_{L,M,N}$ in terms of $L+M+N$ free bosons through a generalization of Miura transformation, where they use the fractional power differential operators. In this paper, we derive a $q$-deformation of their Miura transformation. It gives the free field representation for $q$-deformed $Y_{L,M,N}$, which is obtained as a reduction of the quantum toroidal algebra. We find that the $q$-deformed version has a simpler structure than the original one because of the Miki duality in the quantum toroidal algebra. For instance, one can find a direct correspondence between the operators obtained by the Miura transformation and those of the quantum toroidal algebra. Furthermore, we can show that the screening charges of both the symmetries are identical.