Superconformal Chern-Simons Theories from del Pezzo Geometries

Abstract

We present an explicit expression for the grand potential of the U(N)^3 superconformal Chern-Simons theory with the Chern-Simons levels being (k,0,-k). From the viewpoint of the Newton polygon, it is expected that the grand potential is given by the free energy of the topological string theory on the local D_5 del Pezzo geometry, though the explicit identification was a puzzle for years. We show how the expectation is realized explicitly. As a bonus, we can also study the Z_2 orbifold of this theory and find the grand potential is now given in terms of the local E_7 del Pezzo geometry.