Magnetic quivers and line defects -- On a duality between 3d N=4 unitary and orthosymplectic quivers

TL;DR

This paper investigates dualities between different magnetic quiver theories describing the Higgs branch of 3d N=4 Sp(k) SQCD, providing evidence of IR duality through various tests including partition functions and line defects analysis.

Contribution

It demonstrates that unitary and orthosymplectic magnetic quivers are IR dual, supported by multiple tests and analysis of line defects, revealing a broader phenomenon of multiple magnetic quivers for the same Higgs branch.

Findings

Sphere partition functions match for dual theories

Supersymmetric indices agree, supporting IR duality

Line defect structures exhibit regularities consistent with duality

Abstract

Supersymmetric Sp(k) quantum chromodynamics with 8 supercharges in space-time dimensions 3 to 6 can be realised by two different Type II brane configurations in the presence of orientifolds. Consequently, two types of magnetic quivers describe the Higgs branch of the Sp(k) SQCD theory. This is a salient example of a general phenomenon: a given hyper-Kahler Higgs branch may admit several magnetic quiver constructions. It is then natural to wonder if these different magnetic quivers, which are described by 3d N=4 theories, are dual theories. In this work, the unitary and orthosymplectic magnetic quiver theories are subjected to a variety of tests, providing evidence that they are IR dual to each other. For this, sphere partition function and supersymmetric indices are compared. Also, we study half BPS line defects and find interesting regularities from the viewpoints of exact results, brane configurations, and one-form symmetry.