Supersymmetric Observables from Surface Defect Anomalies in 4d and 6d SCFTs

Abstract

We study the contributions of half-BPS surface defects to supersymmetric Casimir energy and the universal logarithmic term of supersymmetric Rényi entropy in four- and six-dimensional SCFTs. Using equivariant integration of defect anomaly polynomials and its extension to supersymmetric Rényi backgrounds, we obtain closed expressions for these observables in terms of defect 't Hooft anomalies. For Gukov--Witten defects preserving transverse rotations in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 4$ super Yang--Mills theories, both observables depend on a single R-symmetry anomaly. For $\mathcal{N} = (0, 4)$ defects in six-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = (1, 0)$ theories, additional terms arise from the gravitational anomaly. We provide complementary checks using chiral algebras, five-dimensional localization, and holographic probe branes at large $N$, while localized chiral fermions reproduce the gravitational-anomaly contributions. The framework also recovers Wilson-surface results in six-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = (2, 0)$ theories.