TBA equations for $SU(r+1)$ quantum Seiberg-Witten curve: higher-order Mathieu equation

Abstract

We develop the ODE/IM correspondence for the higher-order Mathieu equation arising from the quantum Seiberg-Witten curve of the pure $SU(r+1)$ ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. From the subdominant solutions, we construct the Q-/Y-systems and derive the corresponding TBA equations. The dependence of the moduli parameters is found to be encoded in the boundary conditions of the Y-functions at $\theta \to -\infty$. From these boundary data, we derive an analytic expression for the effective central charge, which also governs the subleading contribution in the large-$\theta$ expansion of the TBA equations. Finally, we compare the large-$\theta$ expansion of the Q-function derived from the TBA equations with that obtained from the WKB method, which yields analytic agreement at subleading order and precise numerical agreement at the higher-order corrections.