Branes and mirror symmetry in N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions Original Research Article

We use brane configurations and SL(2, Z) symmetry of the type IIB string to construct mirror N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions. The mirror map exchanges Higgs and Coulomb branches, Fayet-Iliopoulos and mass parameters and U(1)R symmetries. Some quantities that are determined at the quantum level in one theory are determined at the classical level of the mirror. One such example is the complex structure of the Coulomb branch of one theory, which is determined quantum mechanically. It is mapped to the complex structure of the Higgs branch of the mirror theory, which is determined classically. We study the generation of N = 2 superpotentials by open D-string instantons in the brane configurations.