Redeeming Bad Theories

TL;DR

This paper provides a dual description of certain 3D superconformal theories with 'bad' monopole operators, revealing that these operators correspond to free fields and connecting to known duals from brane constructions.

Contribution

It introduces a Seiberg-like dual for 'bad' 3D superconformal theories, clarifying the nature of monopole operators and linking to brane-based dual descriptions.

Findings

Monopole operators are realized as free fields in the dual.

The dual theory matches previously known brane construction results.

Provides a consistent dual description for 'bad' theories.

Abstract

We give a Seiberg-like dual description of the interacting superconformal infrared fixed point of $\mathcal{N}=4$ gauge theory in three dimensions with vanishing Chern Simons level and $N_c\le N_f<2N_c$ fundamental flavors. These theories are known as "bad" theories due to the existence of unitarity violating monopole operators. We show that, in a dual description, all such operators are realized by free fields and the remainder theory is the Seiberg-like dual previously identified using the type IIB brane construction.