Notes on 5d Partition Functions - I

Abstract

We continue the study of partition functions of 5d supersymmetric theories on manifolds taking the form of a twisted product $\mathcal{M}_3\times \Sigma_{\mathfrak{g}}$ with $\Sigma_{\mathfrak{g}}$ denoting a Riemann surface of genus $\mathfrak{g}$. The 5d theory compactified on $\Sigma_{\mathfrak{g}}$ leads to a novel class of 3d theories in IR, whose existence at large $N$ is expected from holography. Focussing on $\mathcal{M}_3$ being $S^2\times S^1$ without or with a topological twist on the 2-sphere leads to the superconformal index or topologically twisted index, respectively, for such a class of 3d theories. We discuss the large $N$ limit of these partition functions and find new relations between them and other well-known 5d partition functions, with interesting consequences for the 3d indices.