Penn Arts & Sciences Logo

Math-Physics Joint Seminar

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 - 4:30pm

Mboyo Esole

Harvard University

Location

University of Pennsylvania

DRL 4 E 19

Motivated by M-theory compactification on elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds, we present a correspondence between networks of small resolutions for singular elliptic fibrations and Coulomb branches of five-dimensional N=1 gauge theories. While resolutions correspond to subchambers of the Coulomb branch, partial resolutions correspond to higher codimension loci at which the Coulomb branch intersects the Coulomb-Higgs branches. Flops between different resolutions are identified with reflections on the Coulomb branch. Physics aside, this correspondence provides an interesting link between elliptic fibrations and representation theory.