Wilson loops in antisymmetric representations from localization in supersymmetric gauge theories

Abstract

Large-N phase transitions occurring in massive N=2 theories can be probed by Wilson loops in large antisymmetric representations. The logarithm of the Wilson loop is effectively described by the free energy of a Fermi distribution and exhibits second-order phase transitions (discontinuities in the second derivatives) as the size of representation varies. We illustrate the general features of antisymmetric Wilson loops on a number of examples where the phase transitions are known to occur: N=2 SQCD with various mass arrangements and N=2* theory. As a byproduct we solve planar N=2 SQCD with three independent mass parameters. This model has two effective mass scales and undergoes two phase transitions.

19 pages, 5 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Three-point functions in a $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal gauge theory and their strong-coupling limit
• Phases of five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories
• Antisymmetric Wilson loops in N = 4 SYM: from exact results to non-planar corrections
• Dynamical quantum phase transitions from random matrix theory
• Large $N$ limits of supersymmetric quantum field theories: A pedagogical overview