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We undertake a detailed study of the gaugings of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory by its intrinsic charge conjugation 0-form and centre 1-form global symmetries, elucidating their higher algebraic and geometric structures, as well as the meaning of dual lower form symmetries. Our derivations of orbifold gauge theories make use of a combination of standard continuum path integral methods, networks of topological defects, and techniques from higher gauge theory. We provide a unified description of higher and lower form gauge fields for a $p$-form symmetry in the geometric setting of $p$-gerbes, and derive reverse orbifolds by the dual $(-1)$-form symmetries. We identify those orbifolds in which charge conjugation symmetry is spontaneously broken, and relate the breaking to mixed anomalies involving $(-1)$-form symmetries. We extend these considerations to gaugings by the non-invertible 1-form symmetries of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory by introducing a notion of generalized $\theta$-angle., Comment: 55 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; v2: minor changes and additions, references added

We construct a large family of quantum mechanical systems that give rise to an emergent type III$_1$ von Neumann algebra in the large $N$ limit. Their partition functions are matrix integrals that appear in the study of various gauge theories. We calculate the real-time, finite temperature correlation functions in these systems and show that they are described by an emergent type III$_1$ von Neumann algebra at large $N$. The spectral density underlying this algebra is computed in closed form in terms of the eigenvalue density of a discrete matrix model. Furthermore, we explain how to systematically promote these theories to systems with a Hagedorn transition, and show that a type III$_1$ algebra only emerges above the Hagedorn temperature. Finally, we empirically observe in examples a correspondence between the space of states of the quantum mechanics and Calabi--Yau manifolds., Comment: 83 pages + appendices, 23 figures

The accessibility of the Hawking-Page transition in AdS$_5$ through a 1d Heisenberg spin chain is demonstrated. We use the random matrix formulation of the Loschmidt echo for a set of spin chains, and randomize the ferromagnetic spin interaction. It is shown that the thermal Loschmidt echo, when averaged, detects the predicted increase in entropy across the Hawking-Page transition. This suggests that a 1d spin chain exhibits characteristics of black hole physics in 4+1 dimensions. We show that this approach is equally applicable to free fermion systems with a general dispersion relation., Comment: 5+13 pages, 2+3 figures. v2: minor improvements, references added, published version

Quiver theories constitute an important class of supersymmetric gauge theories with well-defined holographic duals. Motivated by holographic duality, we use localisation on $S^d$ to study long linear quivers at large-N. The large-N solution shows a remarkable degree of universality across dimensions, including $d = 4$ where quivers are genuinely superconformal. In that case we upgrade the solution of long quivers to quivers of any length., Comment: 50 pages plus appendices. Some references added

We use a combination of AdS/CFT and supersymmetric localization to study codimension-2 defects in 5d SCFTs and their gauge theory deformations. The 5d SCFTs are engineered by $(p,q)$ 5-brane webs, with defects realized by D3-branes ending on the 5-brane webs. We obtain the defect free energies and find that gauge theory descriptions of the combined 5d/3d systems can be connected to the UV defect SCFTs through a form of F-maximization which extremizes over different gauge theory defects. This leads to a match between the defect free energies obtained from supersymmetric localization in the gauge theories on the one hand and string theory results on the other. We extend this match to defect RG flows., Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures; v2: references added, published version

We enlarge the dictionary between matrix models for long linear quivers preserving eight supercharges in $d=5$ and $d=3$ and type IIB supergravity backgrounds with AdS$_{d+1}$ factors. We introduce mass deformations of the field theory that break the quiver into a collection of interacting linear quivers, which are decoupled at the end of the RG flow. We find and solve a Laplace problem in supergravity which realises these deformations holographically. The free energy and expectation values of antisymmetric Wilson loops are calculated on both sides of the proposed duality, finding agreement. Our matching procedure sheds light on the F-theorem in five dimensions., Comment: 46 pages plus appendices. Various figures. Some improvements and references added. SciPost Physics version

We study five-dimensional ${\cal N}=1$ Superconformal Field Theories of the linear quiver type. These are deformed by a relevant operator, corresponding to a homogeneous mass term for certain matter fields. The free energy is calculated at arbitrary values of the mass parameter. After a careful regularisation procedure, the result can be put in correspondence with a calculation in the supergravity dual background. The F-theorem is verified for these flows, both in field theory and in supergravity. This letter presents some of the results in the companion paper arXiv:2211.13240., Comment: Seven pages, two figures. v2: Minor improvements and references added. v3: Clarifications added, published version

We uncover a novel dynamical quantum phase transition, using random matrix theory and its associated notion of planar limit. We study it for the isotropic XY Heisenberg spin chain. For this, we probe its real-time dynamics through the Loschmidt echo. This leads to the study of a random matrix ensemble with a complex weight, whose analysis requires novel technical considerations, that we develop. We obtain three main results: 1) There is a third order phase transition at a rescaled critical time, that we determine. 2) The third order phase transition persists away from the thermodynamic limit. 3) For times below the critical value, the difference between the thermodynamic limit and a finite chain decreases exponentially with the system size. All these results depend in a rich manner on the parity of the number of flipped spins of the quantum state conforming the fidelity., Comment: v2: 60 pages, 18 figures, published version

We establish and develop a correspondence between certain crystal bases (Kashiwara crystals) and the Coulomb branch of three-dimensional $ \mathcal{N} =4 $ gauge theories. The result holds for simply-laced, non-simply laced and affine quivers. Two equivalent derivations are given in the non-simply laced case, either by application of the axiomatic rules or by folding a simply-laced quiver. We also study the effect of turning on real masses and the ensuing simplification of the crystal. We present a multitude of explicit examples of the equivalence. Finally, we put forward a correspondence between infinite crystals and Hilbert spaces of theories with isolated vacua., Comment: ii+60 pages, many figures. v2: minor improvements. v3: clarifications and references added, published version

We give expansions of reproducing kernels of the Christoffel-Darboux type in terms of Schur polynomials. For this, we use evaluations of averages of characteristic polynomials and Schur polynomials in random matrix ensembles. We explicitly compute new Schur averages, such as the Schur average in a $q$-Laguerre ensemble, and the ensuing expansions of random matrix kernels. In addition to classical and $q$-deformed cases on the real line, we use extensions of Dotsenko-Fateev integrals to obtain expressions for kernels on the complex plane. Moreover, a known interplay between Wronskians of Laguerre polynomials, Painlev\'e tau functions and conformal block expansions is discussed in relationship to the Schur expansion obtained., Comment: 26 pages. v2: minor revision, references added. Published version

Five-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories with gauge group $U(N)$, $SU(N)$, $USp(2N)$ and $SO(N)$ are studied at large rank through localization on a large sphere. The phase diagram of theories with fundamental hypermultiplets is universal and characterized by third order phase transitions, with the exception of $U(N)$, that shows both second and third order transitions. The phase diagram of theories with adjoint or (anti-)symmetric hypermultiplets is also determined and found to be universal. Moreover, Wilson loops in fundamental and antisymmetric representations of any rank are analyzed in this limit. Quiver theories are discussed as well. All the results substantiate the $\mathcal{F}$-theorem., Comment: ii+56 pages, 20 figures. v2: references added. v3: clarifications and references added, published version

We study a unitary matrix model with Gross-Witten-Wadia weight function and determinant insertions. After some exact evaluations, we characterize the intricate phase diagram. There are five possible phases: an ungapped phase, two different one-cut gapped phases and two other two-cut gapped phases. The transition from the ungapped phase to any gapped phase is third order, but the transition between any one-cut and any two-cut phase is second order. The physics of tunneling from a metastable vacuum to a stable one and of different releases of instantons is discussed. Wilson loops, $\beta$-functions and aspects of chiral symmetry breaking are investigated as well. Furthermore, we study in detail the meromorphic deformation of a general class of unitary matrix models, in which the integration contour is not anchored to the unit circle. The ensuing phase diagram is characterized by symplectic singularities and captured by a Hasse diagram., Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures. v2: minor changes, published version

We show that the Riemannian Gaussian distributions on symmetric spaces, introduced in recent years, are of standard random matrix type. We exploit this to compute analytically marginals of the probability density functions. This can be done fully, using Stieltjes-Wigert orthogonal polynomials, for the case of the space of Hermitian matrices, where the distributions have already appeared in the physics literature. For the case when the symmetric space is the space of $m \times m$ symmetric positive definite matrices, we show how to efficiently compute by evaluating Pfaffians at specific values of $m$. Equivalently, we can obtain the same result by constructing specific skew orthogonal polynomials with regards to the log-normal weight function (skew Stieltjes-Wigert polynomials). Other symmetric spaces are studied and the same type of result is obtained for the quaternionic case. Moreover, we show how the probability density functions are a particular case of diffusion reproducing kernels of the Karlin-McGregor type, describing non-intersecting Brownian motions, which are also diffusion processes in the Weyl chamber of Lie groups., Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables. v2: Some improvements made; published version

We derive the $T\overline{T}$-perturbed version of two-dimensional $q$-deformed Yang-Mills theory on an arbitrary Riemann surface by coupling the unperturbed theory in the first order formalism to Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity. We show that the $T\overline{T}$-deformation results in a breakdown of the connection with a Chern-Simons theory on a Seifert manifold, and of the large $N$ factorization into chiral and anti-chiral sectors. For the $U(N)$ gauge theory on the sphere, we show that the large $N$ phase transition persists, and that it is of third order and induced by instantons. The effect of the $T\overline{T}$-deformation is to decrease the critical value of the 't Hooft coupling, and also to extend the class of line bundles for which the phase transition occurs. The same results are shown to hold for $(q,t)$-deformed Yang-Mills theory. We also explicitly evaluate the entanglement entropy in the large $N$ limit of Yang-Mills theory, showing that the $T\overline{T}$-deformation decreases the contribution of the Boltzmann entropy., Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures; v2: typos corrected, references added; v3: minor corrections; Final version published in JHEP

We study several quiver Chern-Simons-matter theories on the three-sphere, combining the matrix model formulation with a systematic use of Mordell's integral, computing partition functions and checking dualities. We also consider Wilson loops in ABJ(M) theories, distinguishing between typical (long) and atypical (short) representations and focusing on the former. Using the Berele-Regev factorization of supersymmetric Schur polynomials, we express the expectation value of the Wilson loops in terms of sums of observables of two factorized copies of $U(N)$ pure Chern-Simons theory on the sphere. Then, we use the Cauchy identity to study the partition functions of a number of quiver Chern-Simons-matter models and the result is interpreted as a perturbative expansion in the parameters $t_j = - e^{2 \pi m_j}$, where $m_j$ are the masses. Through the paper, we incorporate different generalizations, such as deformations by real masses and/or Fayet-Iliopoulos parameters, the consideration of a Romans mass in the gravity dual, and adjoint matter., Comment: i+65 pages, 21 figures, v2: minor typos corrected

We study two types of random matrix ensembles that emerge when considering the same probability measure on partitions. One is the Meixner ensemble with a hard wall and the other are two families of unitary matrix models, with weight functions that can be interpreted as characteristic polynomial insertions. We show that the models, while having the same exact evaluation for fixed values of the parameter, may present a different phase structure. We find phase transitions of the second and third order, depending on the model. Other relationships, via direct mapping, between the unitary matrix models and continuous random matrix ensembles on the real line, of Cauchy-Romanovski type, are presented and studied both exactly and asymptotically. The case of orthogonal and symplectic groups is studied as well and related to Wronskians of Chebyshev polynomials, that we evaluate at large $N$., Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures. v2: some explanations and references added, final version

We revisit the duality between five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and deformations of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory from a new perspective. We give a unified treatment of supersymmetric gauge theories in three and five dimensions using cohomological localization techniques and the Atiyah-Singer index theorem. We survey various known results in a unified framework and provide simplified derivations of localization formulas, as well as various extensions including the case of irregular Seifert fibrations. We describe the reductions to four-dimensional gauge theories, and give an extensive description of the dual two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory when the three-dimensional part of the geometry is a squashed three-sphere, including its extension to non-zero area, and a detailed analysis of the resulting matrix model. The squashing parameter $b$ yields a further deformation of the usual $q$-deformation of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory, which for rational values $b^2=p/s$ yields a new correspondence with Chern-Simons theory on lens spaces $L(p,s)$., Comment: 57 pages; v2: minor corrections and changes; Final version to be published in JHEP

We study supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories on the three-sphere, with massive matter and Fayet-Iliopoulos parameter, showing second order phase transitions for the non-Abelian theory, extending a previous result for the Abelian theory. We study both partition functions and Wilson loops and also discuss the case of different $R$-charges. Two interpretations of the partition function as eigenfunctions of the $A_{1} $ and free $A_{N-1}$ hyperbolic Calogero-Moser integrable model are given as well., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures

We explain and exploit the random matrix formulation of the Loschmidt echo for the XX spin chain, valid for multiple domain wall initial states and also for a XX spin chain generalized with additional interactions to more neighbours. For models with interactions decaying as $e^{-\alpha \left\vert l-j\right\vert }/\left\vert l-j\right\vert ^{p+1}$, with $p$ integer or natural number and $\alpha \geq 0$, we show that there are third order phase transitions in a double scaling limit of the complex-time Loschmidt echo amplitudes. For the long-range version of the chain, we use an exact result for Toeplitz determinants with a pure Fisher-Hartwig singularity, to obtain exactly the Loschmidt echo for complex times and discuss the associated Stokes phenomena. We also study the case of a finite chain for one of the generalized XX models., Comment: v2: several improvements made, final version; 37 pages, 8 figures

We study the partition function of a $T \overline{T}$-deformed version of Yang-Mills theory on the two-sphere. We show that the Douglas-Kazakov phase transition persists for a range of values of the deformation parameter, and that the critical area is lowered. The transition is of third order and also induced by instantons, whose contributions we characterize., Comment: I+24 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor corrections, published version

We study the phase transitions of three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ $U(N)$ Chern-Simons theory on $\mathbb{S}^3$ with a varied number of massive fundamental hypermultiplets and with a Fayet-Iliopoulos parameter. We characterize the various phase diagrams in the decompactification limit, according to the number of different mass scales in the theory. For this, we extend the known solution of the saddle-point equations to the setting where the one cut solution is characterized by asymmetric intervals. We then study the large $N$ limit of Wilson loops in antisymmetric representations, with the additional scaling corresponding to the variation of the size of the representation. We give explicit expressions, both with and without FI terms, and study $1/R$ corrections for the different phases. These corrections break the perimeter law behavior, as they introduce a scaling with the size of the representation. We show how the phase transitions of the Wilson loops can either be of first or second order and determine the underlying mechanism in terms of the eventual asymmetry of the support of the solution of the saddle-point equation, at the critical points., Comment: ii+49 pages, 6 figures. v2: one reference added. v3: some sections shortened; results, references and a table added; final published version

The Langmann-Szabo-Zarembo (LSZ) matrix model is a complex matrix model with a quartic interaction and two external matrices. The model appears in the study of a scalar field theory on the non-commutative plane. We prove that the LSZ matrix model computes the probability of atypically large fluctuations in the Stieltjes-Wigert matrix model, which is a $q$-ensemble describing $U(N)$ Chern-Simons theory on the three-sphere. The correspondence holds in a generalized sense: depending on the spectra of the two external matrices, the LSZ matrix model either describes probabilities of large fluctuations in the Chern-Simons partition function, in the unknot invariant or in the two-unknot invariant. We extend the result to supermatrix models, and show that a generalized LSZ supermatrix model describes the probability of atypically large fluctuations in the ABJ(M) matrix model., Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures. v2: A correction made and several new results added; title changed. v3: Presentation reorganized, new results and references added, final version