New N = 1 dualities from orientifold transitions Part I: Field theory

Abstract

We report on a broad new class of N = 1 gauge theory dualities which relate the worldvolume gauge theories of D3 branes probing di erent orientifolds of the same Calabi-Yau singularity. In this paper, we focus on the simplest example of these new dualities, arising from the orbifold singularity C 3=Z3. We present extensive checks of the duality, including anomaly matching, partial moduli space matching, matching of discrete symmetries, and matching of the superconformal indices between the proposed duals. We then present a related duality for the dP1 singularity, as well as dualities for the F0 and Y4,0 singularities, illustrating the breadth of this new class of dualities. In a companion paper, we show that certain infinite classes of geometries which include C 3=Z3 and dP1 all exhibit such dualities, and argue that their ten-dimensional origin is the SL(2;Z) self-duality of type IIB string theory.