Exact superpotentials in N=1 theories with flavor and their matrix model formulation

In this brief note we show that the effective superpotential of an $SU(N_c)$ gauge theory with one adjoint coupled to $N_f$ quark fields is reproduced exactly in the corresponding matrix model by the one boundary contribution to the free energy. For $N_f\le N_c-1$ this is the well-known Affleck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential. For $N_f\ge N_c+1$ we present arguments leading to the conclusion that the dynamics of the theory is also reproduced by the matrix model. The validity of this exact functional agreement in the regime of large $N_f/N_c$, when the matrix planar graphs with multiple boundaries are not suppressed, leads us to conjecture that these graphs do not contribute to the matrix model effective action.