On the 5-point conformal block with a level 2 degenerate field insertion and its AGT dual

Abstract

In this paper, we develop and explore recursive methods to investigate the 2d CFT 5-point conformal block with a level 2 degenerate insertion, as well as its AGT dual, by solving the BPZ differential equation. First, we represent the solution of the differential equation as a double series expansion. On the 2-node quiver gauge theory side, this corresponds to the instanton series. We then demonstrate that the expansion coefficients are uniquely determined by a recursion relation. Inspired by the approach initiated in a paper by D. Gaiotto and J. Teschner, we partially resum this series and show that the result can be elegantly expressed in terms of a single hypergeometric function and its derivative. This new representation makes it straightforward to relate different asymptotic regions. As a by-product, this provides us a simple derivation of fusion and braiding coefficients.

We describe the subtle procedure of merging the degenerate field with the outgoing state, thereby obtaining a generic 4-point block, which on the gauge theory side corresponds to the partition function of SU(2) gauge theory with four massive hypermultiplets in the Ω-background.

Finally, we performed several nontrivial checks, which confirm our results.