= 2,1 field theories from threebranes in F-theoryAbstract
We consider field theories arising from a large number of D3-branes near singularities in F-theory. We study the theories at various conformal points, and compute, using their conjectured string theory duals, their large N spectrum of chiral primary operators. This includes, as expected, operators of fractional conformal dimensions for the theory at Argyres-Douglas points. Additional operators, which are charged under the (sometimes exceptional) global symmetries of these theories, come from the 7-branes. In the case of a D4 singularity we compare our results with field theory and find agreement for large N. Finally, we consider deformations away from the conformal points, which involve finding new supergravity solutions for the geometry produced by the 3-branes in the 7-brane background. We also discuss 3-branes in a general background.