119279808
On exact symmetries and massless vectors in holographic flows and other flux vacua
We analyze the isometries of Type IIB flux vacua based on the Papadopolous-Tseytlin ansatz and identify the related massless bulk vector fields. To this end we devise a general ansatz, valid in any flux compactification, for the fluctuations of the metric and p-forms that diagonalizes the coupled equations. We then illustrate the procedure in the simple case of holographic flows driven by the RR 3-form flux only. Specifically we study the fate of the isometries of the Maldacena-Nuñez solution associated to wrapped D5-branes.
94785817
Freezing E3-brane instantons with fluxes
E3-instantons that generate non-perturbative superpotentials in IIB N{script} = 1 compactifications have a much more frequent occurrence than currently believed. Worldvolume fluxes will typically lift the E3-brane geometric moduli and their fermionic superpartners, leaving only the two required universal fermionic zero-modes. We consistently incorporate SL(2, ℤ) monodromies and world-volume fluxes in the effective theory of the E3-brane fermions and study the resulting zero modes spectrum, highlighting the relation between F-theory and perturbative IIB results. This leads us to a IIB derivation of the index for generation of superpotential terms, which reproduces and generalizes available results. Furthermore, we show how E3 worldvolume fluxes can be explicitly constructed in a one-modulus compactification, such that the instanton has exactly two fermonic zero-modes. This construction is readily applicable to numerous scenarios. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
15057808
(Non)perturbative tests of the AdS / CFT correspondence
I summarize perturbative and non-perturbative field theory tests of the holographic correspondence between type IIB superstring on AdS5 × S5 and N = 4 SYM theory. The holographic duality between D-instantons and YM instantons is briefly described. Non renormalization of two- and three-point functions of CPO's and their extremal and next-to-extremal correlators are then reviewed. Finally, partial non-renormalization of four-point functions of lowest CPO's is analyzed in view of the interpretation of short distance logarithmic behaviours in terms of anomalous dimensions of unprotected operators.
118440611
On stable higher spin states in heterotic string theories
We study properties of 1/2 BPS Higher Spin states in heterotic compactifications with extended supersymmetry. We also analyze non BPS Higher Spin states and give explicit expressions for physical vertex operators of the first two massive levels. We then study on-shell tri-linear couplings of these Higher Spin states and confirm that BPS states with arbitrary spin cannot decay into lower spin states in perturbation theory. Finally, we consider scattering of vector bosons off higher spin BPS states and extract form factors and polarization effects in various limits.
120082660
Toroidal compactification and symmetry breaking in open-string theories
Abstract In toroidal compactification of open-string theories, the background fields of the “parent” closed string (metric and antisymmetric tensor, with suitable restrictions) are accompanied by open-string Wilson lines. In the SO(32) superstring, these control the breaking of the Chan-Paton symmetry in a way that presents interesting analogies with the corresponding phenomenon in the heterotic string. An extension of the closed-string results to include contributions from the disk and the projective plane shows that these fields are genuine “moduli”, since their amplitudes vanish when the momenta are all scaled to zero.
119040998
Instanton Effects in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories on ALE Gravitational Backgrounds
In this letter we report on the computation of instanton-dominated correlation functions in supersymmetric YM theories on ALE spaces. Following the approach of Kronheimer and Nakajima, we explicitly construct the self-dual connection on ALE spaces necessary to perform such computations. We restrict our attention to the simplest case of an $SU(2)$ connection with lowest Chern class on the Eguchi-Hanson gravitational background.
102332810
Scattering amplitudes/Wilson loop duality in ABJM theory
A bstractFor $$ \mathcal{N} = 6 $$ superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories in three dimensions, by a direct superspace Feynman diagram approach, we compute the two-loop four-point scattering amplitude with external chiral matter fields. We find that the result is in perfect agreement with the two-loop result for a light-like four-polygon Wilson loop. This is the first non-trivial evidence that an amplitudes/Wilson loop duality might work in three dimensions. Moreover, both the IR divergent and the finite parts of our two-loop result agree with a BDS-like ansatz for all-loop amplitudes where the scaling function is given in terms of the $$ \mathcal{N} = 4 $$ SYM one, according to the conjectured Bethe equations for ABJM. Consequently, we are able to make a prediction for the four-loop correction to the amplitude. We also discuss the dual conformal invariance of the two-loop result.
119236388
Infrared stability of ABJ-like theories
We consider marginal deformations of the superconformal ABJM/ABJ models which preserve $ \mathcal{N} = 2 $ supersymmetry. We determine perturbatively the spectrum of fixed points and study their infrared stability. We find a closed line of fixed points which is IR stable. The fixed point corresponding to the ABJM/ABJ models is stable under marginal deformations which respect the original SU(2)A × SU(2)B invariance, while deformations which break this group destabilize the theory which then flows to a less symmetric fixed point. We discuss the addition of flavor degrees of freedom. We prove that in general a flavor marginal superpotential does not destabilize the system in the IR. An exception is represented by a marginal coupling which mixes matter charged under different gauge sectors. Finally, we consider the case of relevant deformations which should drive the system to a strongly coupled IR fixed point recently investigated in arXiv:0909.2036 [hep-th].
54031010
Two-loop cusp anomaly in ABJM at strong coupling
A bstractWe compute the null cusp anomalous dimension of ABJM theory at strong coupling up to two-loop order. This is done by evaluating corrections to the corresponding superstring partition function, weighted by the AdS4 × ℂℙ3 action in AdS light-cone gauge. We compare our result, where we use an anomalous shift in the AdS4 radius, with the cusp anomaly of N$$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 SYM, and extract the two-loop contribution to the non-trivial integrable coupling h(λ) of ABJM theory. It coincides with the strong coupling expansion of the exact expression for h(λ) recently conjectured by Gromov and Sizov. Our work provides thus a non-trivial perturbative check for the latter, as well as evidence for two-loop UV-finiteness and quantum integrability of the Type IIA AdS4 × ℂℙ3 superstring in this gauge.
118517951
The conformal manifold of Chern-Simons matter theories
We determine perturbatively the conformal manifold of $ \mathcal{N} = 2 $ Chern-Simons matter theories with the aim of checking in the three dimensional case the general prescription based on global symmetry breaking, recently introduced in [1–3]. We discuss in details few remarkable cases like the $ \mathcal{N} = 6 $ ABJM theory and its less supersymmetric generalizations with/without flavors. In all cases we find perfect agreement with the predictions of global symmetry breaking prescription. For unflavored theories the conformal manifold is a three dimensional compact surface. This feature is peculiar of three dimensions, as it has no direct analogue in four dimensional supersymmetric models.
125674370
1/2 BPS Wilson loop in N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory at two loops
We compute the expectation value of the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop in ABJM theory at two loops in perturbation theory. The result shows perfect agreement with the prediction from localization and the proposed framing factor.