Bosonic string theory and superstring theory are briefly overviewed. Three dimensional field theories are similarly discussed, with a focus on effective $N=2$ supersymmetric theories. It is shown how to induced contributions to the Chern-Simons level of the low energy theory, by integrating out massive matter. Such effective field theories are then shown to arise from type IIB brane configurations based on the Hanany-Witten brane configuration. Strong-weak dualities are overviewed, leading to a discussion of the three dimensional strong-weak dualities: Aharony duality for theories with zero Chern-Simons level, and Giveon-Kutasov duality for theories with non-zero Chern-Simons level. In the results section, brane configurations corresponding to three-dimensional $N=2$ $U(N_{c})$ field theories with various numbers of flavour of massive matter are investigated. The resulting low energy field theories are explained, and the flows between Aharony and Giveon-Kutasov dualities are catalogued. Three dimensional $N=2$ effective field theories obtained through the inclusion of massive adjoint matter are also examined, with the flows between Aharony and Giveon-Kutasov dualities, again, catalogued. Finally, the significance of the results and the possibilities for future research, are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:706628 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Khan, Siraj |
| Publisher | University of Liverpool |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/2048419/ |
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