The resurgence of errors in the localization of 𝒩 = 2 superconformal Yang-Mills

A bstract We give a physical interpretation for the analytic continuation of the partition function of superconformal SU(2) 𝒩 = 2 gauge theory on the four-sphere to all values of the Yang-Mills coupling. We show that a well-motivated 2d construction associates two-dimensional unstable instantons to the 4d complex saddles which appear as singularities in the integrand of the supersymmetric localization expression. The construction is based on the chiral algebra subsector, and aligns with the alternative Higgs branch localization.