Work

Framed defects in ABJ and ABJM theories

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate the role of framing in a family of 1 / 24 Bogomol’nyi–Prasad–Sommerfield (BPS) Wilson loops in Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-(Maldacena) theory, which define flows between 1 / 6 BPS and the 1 / 2 BPS superconformal fixed points. We analyze in perturbation theory how framing affects both the expectation values of these operators and the correlation functions of local insertions on the defect, as well as its interplay with renormalization group flow and the g -theorem. We obtain a nontrivial identity between the one-point function of the defect stress tensor and a Q -exact correlator, which establishes a direct link between scale, superconformal invariance, cohomological equivalence and framing. This analysis confirms that framing one preserves supersymmetry and cohomological equivalence of operators at the quantum level, establishing a precise match with localization predictions. Finally, we propose a holographic interpretation of framing at strong coupling, identifying it with a coupling to the background B -field in the dual string theory.

Source: Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

DOI: 10.1103/kfvl-4mgs

Authors: Marco S. Bianchi, Luigi Castiglioni, Silvia Penati, Marcia Tenser, Diego Trancanelli