The large-$N$ limit of the 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal index

Abstract: We systematically analyze the large-$N$ limit of the superconformal index of $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal theories having a quiver description. The index of these theories is known in terms of unitary matrix integrals, which we calculate using the recently-developed technique of elliptic extension. This technique allows us to easily evaluate the integral as a sum over saddle points of an effective action in the limit where the rank of the gauge group is infinite. For a generic quiver theory under consideration, we find a special family of saddles whose effective action takes a universal form controlled by the anomaly coefficients of the theory. This family includes the known supersymmetric black hole solution in the holographically dual AdS$_5$ theories. We then analyze the index refined by turning on flavor chemical potentials. We show that, for a certain range of chemical potentials, the effective action again takes a universal cubic form that is controlled by the anomaly coefficients of the theory. Finally, we present a large class of solutions to the saddle-point equations which are labelled by group homomorphisms of finite abelian groups of order $N$ into the torus.