Modular constraints on superconformal field theories

Abstract

We constrain the spectrum of N = (1, 1) and N = (2, 2) superconformal field theories in two-dimensions by requiring the NS-NS sector partition function to be invariant under the Γθ congruence subgroup of the full modular group SL(2, ℤ). We employ semi-definite programming to find constraints on the allowed spectrum of operators with or without U(1) charges. Especially, the upper bounds on the twist gap for the noncurrent primaries exhibit interesting peaks, kinks, and plateau. We identify a number of candidate rational (S)CFTs realized at the numerical boundaries and find that they are realized as the solutions to modular differential equations associated to Γθ. Some of the candidate theories have been discussed by Höhn in the context of self-dual extremal vertex operator (super)algebra. We also obtain bounds for the charged operators and study their implications to the weak gravity conjecture in AdS3.