Low-Energy Dynamics of 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ $G_2$ Supersymmetric Gauge Theory

Abstract: We study a three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric $G_2$ gauge theory with and without fundamental matters. We find that a classical Coulomb branch of the moduli space of vacua is partly lifted by monopole-instantons and the quantum Coulomb moduli space would be described by a complex one-dimensional space. Depending on the number of the matters in a fundamental representation, the low-energy dynamics of the theory shows various phases like s-confinement or quantum merging of the Coulomb and the Higgs branches. We also investigate superconformal indices as an independent check of our analysis.