12:45
Supersymmetric partition functions on Seifert manifolds from line defects
Abstract
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.]
Oxford Mathematician Heather Harrington has been awarded a Whitehead Prize by the London Mathematical Society (LMS) for her outstanding contributions to mathematical biology which have generated new biological insights using novel applications of topological and algebraic techniques.
Oxford Mathematician Karin Erdmann specializes in the areas of algebra known as representation theory (especially modular representation theory) and homological algebra (especially Hochschild cohomology). Here she discusses her latest work.