12:45
As we have learned over the last 10 years, many exact results for various observables in three-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric theories can be extracted from the computation of "supersymmetric partition functions" on curved three-manifold M_3, for instance on M_3= S^3 the three-sphere. Typically, such computations must be carried anew for each M_3 one might want to consider, and the technical difficulties mounts as the topology of M_3 gets more involved. In this talk, I will explain a different approach that allows us to compute the partition function on "almost" any half-BPS geometry. The basic idea is to relate different topologies by the insertion of certain half-BPS line defects, the "geometry-changing line operators." I will also explain how our formalism can be related to the Beem-Dimofte-Pasquetti holomorphic blocks. [Talk based on a paper to appear in a week, with Heeyeon Kim and Brian Willett.]