An Infinite Family of Non-Rational VOAs from Strongly Coupled 4d Higgsless SCFTs

Abstract

We study an infinite family of strongly coupled four-dimensional $\mathcal N=2$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) distinguished by a trivial Higgs branch, known as the $(A_2,D_{3m+1})$ Argyre-Douglas theories. We propose that their associated vertex operator algebras (VOAs) are the doublet algebras $\mathcal A(4m+2)$, an infinite family of non-rational vertex operator superalgebras with a remarkably simple strong generating set of only three fields. We provide several highly nontrivial checks of this proposal. In particular, we reproduce the four-dimensional conformal anomalies $a$ and $c$ from the VOA and analytically prove the exact equality between the Schur index of the SCFT and the supercharacter of the VOA. A key ingredient is a diagonal-gauging realization of the $(A_2,D_{3m+1})$ theories in terms of two simpler building blocks, which makes the Schur-index computation tractable. Remarkably, we find that the resulting Schur index of the $(A_2,D_{3m+1})$ theory coincides with that of $\mathcal N=4$ $SU(2)$ Super-Yang-Mills theory, up to an overall prefactor and an appropriate identification of fugacities. We also discuss a generalization to the two-parameter family $(A_{2s},D_{(2s+1)m+1})$, whose members likewise have trivial Higgs branches and admit diagonal-gauging realizations. A particularly interesting subfamily is $(A_{2s},D_{2s+2})$, for which the four-dimensional conformal anomalies coincide, $a=c$. Our results reveal a systematic connection between Higgsless SCFTs, diagonal gauging, and strongly finite but non-rational vertex operator algebras.