Three-dimensional N = 2 gauge theories and degenerations of Calabi-Yau four-folds Original Research Article

Three-dimensional N = 2 gauge theories with arbitrary gauge group and fundamental flavors are engineered from degenerations of Calabi-Yau four-folds. We show how Coulomb and Higgs branches emerge in the geometric picture. The analysis of instanton generated superpotentials unravels interesting aspects of the five-brane effective action in M-theory.