Abstract: |
N=4 linear quiver theories in 2+1 dimensions are classified into categories generally referred to as "good," "ugly," and "bad." In the simple case of U(Nc) gauge theories with Nf flavors, Nf>=2Nc theories are "good," Nf=2Nc-1 theory is "ugly," and Nf <= Nc < 2Nc-1 theories are "bad." There are suggestions that "bad" theories are not so bad, in that the system organizes itself into a product of interacting fixed point and a decoupled free sector. I will give an overview of how that narrative fits into the holographic perspective, and comment on the connection between the case where 0 <= Nf < Nc and systems exhibiting dynamical breaking of supersymmetry when N < 4. |