Exact operator map from strong coupling to free fields: Beyond Seiberg-Witten theory

Abstract

In quantum field theory (QFT) above two spacetime dimensions, one is usually only able to construct exact operator maps from the ultraviolet (UV) to the infrared (IR) of strongly coupled renormalization group (RG) flows for the most symmetry-protected observables. Famous examples include maps of chiral rings in 4d \CN = 2 supersymmetry. In this letter, we construct the first non-perturbative UV/IR map for less protected operators: starting from a particularly simple" UV strongly coupled non-Lagrangian 4d \CN = 2 QFT, we show that a universal non-chiral quarter-BPS ring can be mapped exactly and bijectively to the IR. In particular, strongly coupled UV dynamics governing infinitely many null states manifest in the IR via Fermi statistics of free gauginos. Using the concept of arc space, this bijection allows us to compute the exact UV Macdonald index in the IR.