119106510
Holographic correlators for general gauge mediation
A bstractWe use holographic techniques to compute two-point functions of operators belonging to a conserved current supermultiplet in theories which break supersymmetry at strong coupling. These are the relevant quantities one has to compute in models of gauge mediation to determine the soft spectrum in supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model (SSM). Such holographic approach can be used for diverse gravitational backgrounds, but here we focus, for definiteness, on asymptotically AdS backgrounds. After presenting the general framework, we apply our formulas to two explicit examples which differ by the nature of the SSM gauginos, which have Dirac or Majorana masses, corresponding to models that respectively preserve or break R-symmetry.
16559651
N=2 cascade revisited and the enhancon bearings
Supergravity backgrounds with varying fluxes generated by fractional branes at nonisolated Calabi-Yau singularities had escaped a precise dual field theory interpretation so far. In the present work, considering the prototypical example of such models, the CxC{sup 2}/Z{sub 2} orbifold, we propose a solution for this problem, and show that the known cascading solution corresponds to a vacuum on the Coulomb branch of the corresponding quiver gauge theory involving a sequence of strong coupling transitions reminiscent of the baryonic root of N=2 supersymmetric quantum chromodynamics . We also find a slight modification of this cascading vacuum which upon mass deformation is expected to flow to the Klebanov-Strassler cascade. Finally, we discuss an infinite class of vacua on the Coulomb branch whose renormalization group flows include infinitely coupled conformal regimes, and explain their gravitational manifestation in terms of new geometric structures that we dub enhancon bearings. Repulson-free backgrounds dual to all the vacua we analyze are explicitly provided.
119203512
Dynamical completions of generalized O’Raifeartaigh models
A bstractWe present gauge theory completions of Wess-Zumino models admitting supersymmetry breaking vacua with spontaneously broken R-symmetry. Our models are simple deformations of generalized ITIY models, a supersymmetric theory with gauge group Sp(N), N +1 flavors plus singlets, with a modified tree level superpotential which explicitly breaks (part of) the global symmetry. Depending on the nature of the deformation, we obtain effective O’Raifeartaigh-like models whose pseudomoduli space is locally stable in a neighborhood of the origin of field space, or in a region not including it. Hence, once embedded in direct gauge mediation scenarios, our models can give low energy spectra with either suppressed or unsuppressed gaugino mass.
11360961
Fractional branes and N=1 gauge theories
We discuss fractional D3-branes on the orbifold C^3/Z_2*Z_2. We study the open and the closed string spectrum on this orbifold. The corresponding N=1 theory on the brane has, generically, a U(N_1)*U(N_2)*U(N_3)*U(N_4) gauge group with matter in the bifundamental. In particular, when only one type of brane is present, one obtains pure N=1 Yang-Mills. We study the coupling of the branes to the bulk fields and present the corresponding supergravity solution, valid at large distances. By using a probe analysis, we are able to obtain the Wilsonian beta-function for those gauge theories that possess some chiral multiplet. Although, due to the lack of moduli, the probe technique is not directly applicable to the case of pure N=1 Yang-Mills, we point out that the same formula gives the correct result also for this case.
788391
New results for AdS/CFT and beyond
We report on some recent results within the string/gauge theory correspondence, both in the conformal and in the non conformal cases, for a recently found class of = 1 dual pairs. These results provide the first cross check of AdS/CFT and field theory techniques like a-maximization. Moreover, they furnish new examples of cascading gauge theories and the first instance of 4d dynamical supersymmetry breaking embedded in the correspondence.
5405891
Gauge theory description of compactified pp-waves
We find a new Penrose limit of AdS5 × S 5 that gives the maximally symmetric pp-wave background of Type IIB string theory in a coordinate system that has a manifest space-like isometry. This induces a new pp-wave/gauge-theory duality which on the gauge theory side involves a novel scaling limit of N = 4 SYM theory. The new Penrose limit, when applied to AdS5 ×S 5 /ZM, yields a pp-wave with a space-like circle. The dual gauge theory description involves a triple scaling limit of an N = 2 quiver gauge theory. We present in detail the map between gauge theory operators and string theory states including winding states, and verify agreement between the energy eigenvalues obtained from string theory and those computed in gauge theory, at least to one-loop order in the planar limit. We furthermore consider other related new Penrose limits and explain how these limits can be understood as part of a more general framework.
28988576
Hybrid conformal field theories
A bstractWe describe a class of (2,2) superconformal field theories obtained by fibering a Landau-Ginzburg orbifold CFT over a compact Kähler base manifold. While such models are naturally obtained as phases in a gauged linear sigma model, our construction is independent of such an embedding. We discuss the general properties of such theories and present a technique to study the massless spectrum of the associated heterotic compactification. We test the validity of our method by applying it to hybrid phases of linear models and comparing spectra among the phases.
54042308
Accidents in (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg theories
A bstractWe study the role of accidental symmetries in two-dimensional (0,2) superconformal field theories obtained by RG flow from (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg theories. These accidental symmetries are ubiquitous, and, unlike in the case of (2,2) theories, their identification is key to correctly identifying the IR fixed point and its properties. We develop a number of tools that help to identify such accidental symmetries in the context of (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg models and provide a conjecture for a toric structure of the SCFT moduli space in a large class of models. We also give a self-contained discussion of aspects of (0,2) conformal perturbation theory.