Partition functions of 𝒩 = 1 gauge theories on S2 × ℝ𝜀2 and duality

Abstract

We compute the partition functions of [Formula: see text] gauge theories on [Formula: see text] using supersymmetric localization. The path integral reduces to a sum over vortices at the poles of [Formula: see text] and at the origin of [Formula: see text]. The exact partition functions allow us to test Seiberg duality beyond the supersymmetric index. We propose the [Formula: see text] partition functions on the [Formula: see text]-background, and show that the Nekrasov partition functions can be recovered from these building blocks.