Chiral algebras and supersymmetric defects in four spacetime dimensions

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• Madalena Lemos (Durham University)
• Friday 10 October 2025, 10:00-11:30
• Seminar Room 2, Newton Institute.

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BID - Quantum field theory with boundaries, impurities, and defects

Four-dimensional superconformal field theories (SCFTs) with 16 (or more) supercharges admit a protected subsector captured by a two dimensional chiral algebra (the holomorphic sector of a 2d CFT , called vertex operator algebra in the mathematics literature), allowing to obtain exact results in these theories. Surface defects, with sufficient supersymmetry, that intersect the chiral algebra at a point appear as point-like operators in the chiral algebra. We will introduce the four-dimensional SCF Ts and their protected subsector, first without defects and then we describe how to introduce defects. We will discuss what four-dimensional observables in the presence of a defect are computable chiral algebra, and what the chiral algebra looks like in the presence of such defects.

This talk is part of the Isaac Newton Institute Seminar Series series.

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