New results on 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD and its 3d GLSM interpretation

Abstract

In this note, we review some new results we recently obtained about the infrared physics of 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD with a unitary gauge group, in particular in the presence of a non-zero Fayet-Iliopoulos parameter and with generic values of the Chern-Simons levels. We review the 3d GLSM (also known as 3d A-model) approach to the computation of the 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ twisted chiral ring of half-BPS lines. For particular values of the Chern-Simons levels, this twisted chiral ring has a neat interpretation in terms of the quantum K-theory (QK) of the Grassmannian manifold. We propose a new set of line defects of the 3d gauge theory, dubbed Grothendieck lines, which represent equivariant Schubert classes in the QK ring. In particular, we show that double Grothendieck polynomials, which represent the equivariant Chern characters of the Schubert classes, arise physically as Witten indices of certain quiver supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We also explain two distinct ways how to compute K-theoretic enumerative invariants using the 3d GLSM approach. \textit{This review article is a contribution to the proceedings of the GLSM@30 conference, which was held in May 2023 at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics.}