We argue that one can see a specific class of "stringy" D-instantons in the underlying 4D gauge theory as the UV completion of an ordinary gauge instanton of a completely broken gauge group corresponding to the "empty" cycle the D-instanton is located on. In this sense, the D-instanton induced non-perturbative superpotential can be qualitatively inferred directly from pure field-theory considerations.
Using D3/D(-1) brane set-up in type IIB string theory we introduce gauge-stringy instantons in N=2 U(N) supersymmetry theories with one matter multiplet in symmetric representation. In addition to the gauge and stringy moduli there exist extra zero modes that we refer to as "gauge-stringy" moduli. We show that the measure of the moduli space in this model becomes dimensionless for arbitary N when the gauge instanton charge k_g is equal to the stringy instanton charge k_s. This property of gauge-stringy instantons leads to having equal contributions from all instanton charges k_s=k_g=k in the e…
We study the relation between stringy instantons and strong dynamics effects in type IIB toric quiver gauge theories. By exploiting the involutive property of Seiberg duality we relate the classical constraint on the moduli space of the gauge theory with the stringy instanton contribution to the superpotential. The result holds for unitary, orthogonal and symplectic gauge groups.
D-brane instantons can perturb the quantum field theories on space-time filling D-branes by interesting operators. In some cases, these D-brane instantons are novel "stringy" effects (not interpretable directly as instanton effects in the low-energy quantum field theory), while in others the D-brane instantons can be directly interpreted as field theory effects. In this note, we describe a situation where both perspectives are available, by studying stringy instantons in quivers which arise at simple Calabi-Yau singularities. We show that a stringy instanton which wraps an unoccupied node of t…
We study the stringy instanton partition function of four dimensional ${\cal N}=2$ $U(N)$ supersymmetric gauge theory which was obtained by Bonelli et al in 2013. In type IIB string theory on $\mathbb{C}^2\times T^*\mathbb{P}^1\times \mathbb{C}$, the stringy $U(N)$ instantons of charge $k$ are described by $k$ D1-branes wrapping around the $\mathbb{P}^1$ bound to $N$ D5-branes on $\mathbb{C}^2\times \mathbb{P}^1$. The KK corrections induced by compactification of the $\mathbb{P}^1$ give the stringy corrections. We find a relation between the stringy instanton partition function whose quantum s…
In this paper we explicitly obtain the leading corrections to the SU(N) N=2 prepotential due to stringy instantons both in flat space-time and in the presence of a non-trivial graviphoton background field. We show that the stringy corrections to the prepotential are expressible in terms of the elementary symmetric polynomials. For N>2 the theory is not conformal; we discuss the introduction of an explicit dependence on the string scale α' in the low-energy effective action through the stringy non-perturbative sector.
In this note, we study D-brane instantons which intersect N=1 supersymmetric configurations of space-filling D-branes in general Calabi-Yau compactifications of type IIB string theory. Our focus is on rigid ``stringy instantons'' -- those which cannot be interpreted as Yang-Mills instantons in a non-Abelian gauge group on any stack of space-filling D-branes. We show that their contributions to the space-time superpotential can be determined by a topological B-model computation of the tree-level superpotential for a related auxiliary brane system. This computation is very tractable, as it is go…
We consider stringy instanton contributions to the prepotential of low-energy N=2 theories engineered by D-brane set ups at orbifold and orientifold singularities. We show that such contributions can always be reproduced in a purely field theoretic UV completion. We perform the explicit check up to instanton number three, both for Sp(0) and U(1) stringy instantons, the latter being introduced for the purpose. We further argue that the UV completion that we propose, though weakly coupled, can be smoothly mapped to a gravity-dual inspired UV completion consisting of a cascade of baryonic root tr…
We study the non-perturbative effects induced by stringy instantons on N=2 SU}(N) gauge theories in four dimensions, realized on fractional D3 branes in a C^3/Z_3 orientifold. The stringy instantons, corresponding to D(-1) branes that occupy a node of the orientifold quiver diagram where no D3 brane is present, have the right content of zero-modes to produce non-perturbative terms in the four-dimensional effective action. In the SU(2) theory these terms have the same structure for all instanton numbers and yield a series of non-perturbative corrections to the prepotential. We explicitly comput…
We discuss non-perturbative corrections to the gauge kinetic functions in a four-dimensional N=2 gauge theory realized with a system of D7/D3-branes in a compactification of type I' theory on T_4/Z_2 x Z_2. The non-perturbative contributions arise when D(-1) branes, corresponding to stringy instantons, are added to the system; such contributions can be explicitly evaluated using localization techniques and precisely match the results predicted by the heterotic/type I' duality. This agreement represents a very non-trivial test of the stringy multi-instanton calculus.
We discuss a string model where a conformal four-dimensional N=2 gauge theory receives corrections to its gauge kinetic functions from "stringy" instantons. These contributions are explicitly evaluated by exploiting the localization properties of the integral over the stringy instanton moduli space. The model we consider corresponds to a setup with D7/D3-branes in type I' theory compactified on T4/Z2 x T2, and possesses a perturbatively computable heterotic dual. In the heteoric side the corrections to the quadratic gauge couplings are provided by a 1-loop threshold computation and, under the …
A canonical Lorentz invariant field theory extension of collective field theory of d=1 matrix models is presented. We show that the low density, discrete, sector of collective field theory includes single eigenvalue Euclidean instantons which tunnel between different vacua of the extended theory. These "stringy" instantons induce non-perturbative effective operators of strength $e^{-{1/g}}$. The relationship of the world sheet description of string theory and Liouville theory to the effective space-time theory is explained.
In this paper we show that it is possible to derive non-perturbative superpotential terms from a stringy instanton without introducing orientifold planes. The instanton is realized by a Euclidean D brane wrapping a non-trivial cycle upon which we also wrap a single space-filling D brane. The standard problem of unwanted neutral fermionic zero modes is evaded by the appearance of couplings to charged bosonic zero modes in the instanton moduli action. Since the Euclidean D brane wraps a cycle which is not associated to any low energy gauge dynamics, it can not be interpreted as an ordinary gauge…
The model of the bosonic string with the noncommutative world-sheet geometry is proposed in the framework of Fedosov's deformation quantization. The re-interpretation of the model in terms of bosonic string coupled to infinite multiplet of background fields is given and the link to the W-symmetry is discussed. For the case of d=4 Euclidean target space, the stringy counterparts of the Yang-Mills instantons are constructed in both commutative and noncommutative regimes.
The arcane ADHM construction of Yang-Mills instantons can be very naturally understood in the framework of D-brane dynamics in string theory. In this point-of-view, the mysterious auxiliary symmetry of the ADHM construction arises as a gauge symmetry and the instantons are modified at short distances where string effects become important. By decoupling the stringy effects, one can recover all the instanton formalism, including the all-important volume form on the instanton moduli space. We describe applications of the instanton calculus to the AdS/CFT correspondence and higher derivative terms…
We compute instantonic effects in globally consistent T^6/Z2xZ2 orientifold models with discrete torsion and magnetised D-branes. We consider fractional branes and instantons wrapping the same rigid cycles. We clarify and analyse in detail the low-energy effective action on D-branes in these models. We provide explicit examples where instantons induce linear terms in the charged fields, or non-perturbative mass terms are generated. We also find examples where the gauge theory on fractional branes has conformal symmetry at one-loop, broken by instantonic mass terms at a hierarchically small ene…
The quantum symmetry of many \LG\ orbifolds appears to be broken by Yang-Mills instantons. However, isolated Yang-Mills instantons are not solutions of string theory: They must be accompanied by gauge anti-instantons, gravitational instantons, or topologically non-trivial configurations of the $H$ field. We check that the configurations permitted in string theory do in fact preserve the quantum symmetry, as a result of non-trivial cancellations between symmetry breaking effects due to the various types of instantons. These cancellations indicate new constraints on \LG\ orbifold spectra and req…
The non-perturbative dynamics of quantum field theories is studied using theoretical tools inspired by string formalism. Two main lines are developed: the analysis of stringy instantons in a class of four-dimensional N=2 gauge theories and the holographic study of the minimal model for a strongly coupled unbalanced superconductor. The field theory instanton calculus admits a natural and efficient description in terms of D-brane models. In addition, the string viewpoint offers the possibility of generalizing the ordinary instanton configurations. Even though such generalized, or stringy, instan…
We explore contributions to the 4D effective superpotential which arise from Euclidean D3 branes (``instantons'') that intersect space-filling D-branes. These effects can perturb the effective field theory on the space-filling branes by nontrivial operators composed of charged matter fields, changing the vacuum structure in a qualitative way in some examples. Our considerations are exemplified throughout by a careful study of a fractional brane configuration on a del Pezzo surface.
We study the effects produced by D-brane instantons on the holomorphic quantities of a D-brane gauge theory at an orbifold singularity. These effects are not limited to reproducing the well known contributions of the gauge theory instantons but also generate extra terms in the superpotential or the prepotential. On these brane instantons there are some neutral fermionic zero-modes in addition to the ones expected from broken supertranslations. They are crucial in correctly reproducing effects which are dual to gauge theory instantons, but they may make some other interesting contributions vani…
We construct a large class of SU(5) orientifold vacua with tadpole cancellation both for the standard and the flipped case. We give a general analysis of superpotential couplings up to quartic order in orientifold vacua and identify the properties of needed Yukawa couplings as well as the baryon number violating couplings. We point out that successful generation of the perturbatively forbidden Yukawa couplings entails a generically disastrous rate for proton decay from an associated quartic term in the superpotential, generated from the same instanton effects. We search for the appropriate ins…
We point out that in some situations it is possible to use matrix model techniques a la Dijkgraaf-Vafa to perturbatively compute D-brane instanton effects. This provides an explanation in terms of stringy instantons of the results in hep-th/0311181. We check this proposal in some simple scenarios. We point out some interesting consequences of this observation, such as the fact that it gives a perturbative way of computing stringy multi-instanton effects. It also provides a further interpretation of D-brane instantons as residual instantons of higgsed supergroups.
We show that when sterile Majorana neutrino masses are generated non-perturbatively through instantonic interactions in certain classes of string compactifications (e.g. Type IIA orientifold models with intersecting D-branes), then the eigenvalue spectrum for the tree-level mass term $M_p$ can be within the preferred range of the Neutrino Option resolution to the electroweak (EW) hierarchy and neutrino mass problems of the Standard Model, i.e. $M_p \sim$ PeV. This mechanism holds without tuning for a broad range of string scales, thereby motivating a novel class of string-completed Neutrino Op…
We give a detailed microscopic derivation of gauge and stringy instanton generated superpotentials for gauge theories living on D3-branes at Z_3-orientifold singularities. Gauge instantons are generated by D(-1)-branes and lead to Affleck, Dine and Seiberg (ADS) like superpotentials in the effective N=1 gauge theories with three generations of bifundamental and anti/symmetric matter. Stringy instanton effects are generated by Euclidean ED3-branes wrapping four-cycles on T^6/\Z_3. They give rise to Majorana masses in one case and non-renormalizable superpotentials for the other cases. Finally w…
Type IIA orientifold constructions with intersecting D6-branes and their IIB duals in terms of magnetized D9/D7-branes constitute one of the most promising avenues for the construction of semirealistic MSSM-like compactifications. One generic problem with these constructions is, that there are many Yukawa couplings, which vanish due to additional U(1) symmetries in the theory. In this paper we consider a number of such settings and study, under what conditions stringy instanton effects can give rise to non-perturbative contributions to the Yukawa couplings, so that all perturbatively forbidden…
We show that the physics of D-brane theories that exhibit dynamical SUSY breaking due to stringy instanton effects is well captured by geometric transitions, which recast the non-perturbative superpotential as a classical flux superpotential. This allows for simple engineering of Fayet, Polonyi, O'Raifeartaigh, and other canonical models of supersymmetry breaking in which an exponentially small scale of breaking can be understood either as coming from stringy instantons or as arising from the classical dynamics of fluxes.
We perform an exact computation of the gauged linear sigma model associated to a D1-D5 brane system on a resolved A_1 singularity. This is accomplished via supersymmetric localization on the blown-up two-sphere. We show that in the blow-down limit C^2/Z_2 the partition function reduces to the Nekrasov partition function evaluating the equivariant volume of the instanton moduli space. For finite radius we obtain a tower of world-sheet instanton corrections, that we identify with the equivariant Gromov-Witten invariants of the ADHM moduli space. We show that these corrections can be encoded in a…
Using instanton effects, we discuss the problem of fermion mass hierarchies in an MSSM-like Type IIA orientifolded model with U(3)xSp(1)xU(1)xU(1) gauge symmetry obtained from intersecting D6-branes. In the corresponding four-stack quiver, the different scales of the generated superpotential couplings offer a partial solution to fermion mass hierarchies. Using the known data with neutrino masses m_{v_τ}\lesssim 2 eV, we give the magnitudes of the relevant scales.
We study the D3/D(-1) brane system and show how to compute instanton corrections to correlation functions of gauge theories in four dimensions using open string techniques. In particular we show that the disks with mixed boundary conditions that are typical of the D3/D(-1) system are the sources for the classical instanton solution. This can then be recovered from simple calculations of open string scattering amplitudes in the presence of D-instantons. Exploiting this fact we also relate this stringy description to the standard instanton calculus of field theory.
We present a stringy mechanism to generate Dirac neutrino masses by D-instantons in an experimentally relevant mass scale without fine-tuning. Within Type IIA string theory with intersecting D6-branes, we spell out specific conditions for the emergence of such couplings and provide a class of supersymmetric local SU(5) Grand Unified models, based on the Z_2 x Z'_2 orientifold compactification, where perturbatively absent Dirac neutrino masses can be generated by D2-brane instantons in the experimentally observed mass regime, while Majorana masses remain absent, thus providing an intriguing mec…
We present a pedagogical introduction into noncommutative gauge theories, their stringy origin, and non-perturbative effects, including monopole and instanton solutions
We study the global structure of vacua of heterotic strings compactified on orbifolds $T^4/Z_N$ (N=2,3) in the presence of heterotic 5-branes. Gauge symmetry breaking associated with orbifold is described by instantons in the field theory. Phase transition between small instantons and heterotic 5-branes provides top-down, stringy account to the spectrum and modular invariance condition. Also it takes us from one vacuum to another by emitting and absorbing instantons. This means that many vacua with different gauge theory are in fact connected and are inherited from perturbative vacua. It follo…
We study the $\mathcal N=2$ field theory realized by D3-branes on the ${\mathbb C}^2/{\mathbb Z}_2$ orbifold. The dual supergravity solution exhibits a repulson singularity cured by the enhancon mechanism. By comparing the open and closed string descriptions of a probe D-instanton, we can compute the exact non-perturbative profile of the supergravity twisted field, which determines the supergravity background. We then show how the non-trivial IR physics of the field theory translates into the stringy effects that give rise to the enhancon mechanism and the associated excision procedure.
Two classes of stringy instanton effects, stronger than standard field theory instantons, are identified in the heterotic string theory. These contributions are established using type IIA/heterotic and type I/heterotic dualities. They provide examples for the heterotic case of the effects predicted by Shenker based on the large-order behavior of perturbation theory. The corrections vanish as the radius of the compactification goes to infinity. For appropriate amplitudes, they are computable worldsheet or worldline instanton effects on the dual side. Some potential applications are discussed.
We show how to construct the general action coupling (multi)instantons to gauge theories arising from branes probing arbitrary toric singularities. We give a general set of rules for how to construct such an action given the knowledge of the superpotential for the gauge theory. The main idea is to obtain the action by higgsing a theory whose instanton dynamics is known, namely an orbifold of N=4 super Yang-Mills. We find that the couplings of the fermionic zero-modes with the holomorphic fields are dictated by the structure of the superpotential describing the toric singularity. We present exp…
We discuss supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with the multiple scales in the brane language. The issue concerns N=2 SUSY gauge theories with massive fundamental matter including the UV finite case of $n_{f}=2n_c$, theories involving products of SU(n) gauge groups with bifundamental matter, and the systems with several parameters similar to $Λ_{QCD}$. We argue that the proper integrable systems are, accordingly, twisted XXX SL(2) spin chain, $SL(p)$ magnets and degenerations of the spin Calogero system. The issue of symmetries underlying integrable systems is addressed. Relations with the mono…
Motivated by possible implications on the problem of moduli stabilization and other phenomenological aspects, we study D-brane instanton effects in flux compactifications. We focus on a local model and compute non-perturbative interactions generated by gauge and stringy instantons in a N = 1 quiver theory with gauge group U(N_0) x U(N_1) and matter in the bifundamentals. This model is engineered with fractional D3-branes at a C^3/(Z_2 x Z_2) singularity, and its non-perturbative sectors are described by introducing fractional D-instantons. We find a rich variety of instanton-generated F- and D…
Owing to the quadratic nature of the theory, Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity generically permits two distinct vacuum solutions. One solution (the "Einstein" vacuum) has a well defined limit as the Gauss-Bonnet coupling goes to zero, whereas the other solution (the "stringy" vacuum) does not. There has been some debate regarding the stability of these vacua, most recently from Deser and Tekin who have argued that the corresponding black hole solutions have positive mass and as such both vacua are stable. Whilst the statement about the mass is correct, we argue that the stringy vacuum is still per…
We review recent progress in determining the effects of D-brane instantons in N=1 supersymmetric compactifications of Type II string theory to four dimensions. We describe the abstract D-brane instanton calculus for holomorphic couplings such as the superpotential, the gauge kinetic function and higher fermionic F-terms. This includes a discussion of multi-instanton effects and the implications of background fluxes for the instanton sector. Our presentation also highlights, but is not restricted to the computation of D-brane instanton effects in quiver gauge theories on D-branes at singulariti…
In the preceding paper (Phys. Lett. B463 (1999) 257), the authors presented a q-analog of the ADHMN construction and obtained a family of anti-selfdual configurations with a parameter q for classical SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in four-dimensional Euclidean space. The family of solutions can be seen as a q-analog of the single BPS monopole preserving (anti-)selfduality. Further discussion is made on the relation to axisymmetric ansatz on anti-selfdual equation given by Witten in the late seventies. It is found that the q-exponential functions familiar in q-analysis appear as analytic functions cat…
We give the exact construction of Riemannian (or stringy) instantons, which are classical solutions of 2d Yang-Mills theories that interpolate between initial and final string configurations. They satisfy the Hitchin equations with special boundary conditions. For the case of U(2) gauge group those equations can be written as the sinh-Gordon equation with a delta function source. Using techniques of integrable theories based on the zero curvature conditions, we show that the solution is a condensate of an infinite number of one-solitons with the same topological charge and with all possible ra…
We make use of an internal symmetry of a truncation of the bosonic sector of the superstring and N=4 supergravity theories to write down an analogue of Robinson's identity for the black holes of this theory. This allows us to prove the uniqueness of a restricted class of black hole solutions. In particular, we can apply the methods of the preceding paper to prove the uniqueness of a class of accelerating black holes (the Stringy Ernst solution and Stringy C-metric) which incorporate the possibility of the black hole accelerating within an electromagnetic flux tube. These solutions and their as…
We use a D-instanton or physical gauge approach to re-derive the heterotic string worldsheet instanton contribution to the superpotential in Calabi-Yau compactification. We derive an analogous formula for worldsheet instanton corrections to the moduli space metric in heterotic string or Type I compactification on a K3 surface. In addition, we give a global analysis of the phase of the worldsheet path integral of the heterotic string, showing precisely how the B-field must be interpreted.
We study gauge theories where quasi-hidden sectors are added to the MSSM for the sake of string consistency conditions which would otherwise not be satisfied. We focus on quiver gauge theories motivated by weakly coupled type II orientifold compactifications. Model independent features in this class include an anomalous U(1)_V symmetry which protects messenger masses and has strong consequences for superpotential couplings, a rich phenomenology of heavy and light Z' bosons, and axionic couplings required for anomaly cancellation via the Green-Schwarz mechanism. We discuss possibilities for dar…
We derive a BPS-type bound for four-dimensional Born-Infeld action with constant B field background. The supersymmetric configuration saturates this bound and is regarded as an analog of instanton in U(1) gauge theory. Furthermore, we find the explicit solutions of this BPS condition. These solutions have a finite action proportional to the instanton number and represent D(p-4)-branes within a Dp-brane although they have a singularity at the origin. Some relations to the noncommutative U(1) instanton are discussed.
Membranes in M-theory are expected to interact via splitting and joining processes. We study these effects in the pp-wave matrix model, in which they are associated with transitions between states in sectors built on vacua with different numbers of membranes. Transition amplitudes between such states receive contributions from BPS instanton configurations interpolating between the different vacua. Various properties of the moduli space of BPS instantons are known, but there are very few known examples of explicit solutions. We present a new approach to the construction of instanton solutions i…
We discuss instanton operators in five-dimensional gauge theories. These are defined as disorder operators which create a non-vanishing second Chern class on a four-sphere surrounding their insertion point. As such they may be thought of as higher-dimensional analogues of three-dimensional monopole (or `t Hooft) operators. We argue that they play an important role in the enhancement of the Lorentz symmetry for maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills to SO(1,5) at strong coupling.
We find a phenomenon in a non-gravitational gauge theory analogous to the replica wormhole in a quantum gravity theory. We consider a reservoir of a scalar field coupled with a gauge theory contained in a region with a boundary by an axion-like coupling. When the replica trick is used to compute the entanglement entropy for a subregion in the reservoir, a tuple of instantons distributed across the replica sheets gives a non-perturbative contribution. As an explicit and solvable example, we consider a discrete scalar field coupled to a 2d pure gauge theory and observe how the replica instantons…
The singularity present in cosmological instantons of the Hawking-Turok type is resolved by a conformal transformation, where the conformal factor has a linear zero of codimension one. We show that if the underlying regular manifold is taken to have the topology of $RP^4$, and the conformal factor is taken to be a twisted field so that the zero is enforced, then one obtains a one-parameter family of solutions of the classical field equations, where the minimal action solution has the conformal zero located on a minimal volume noncontractible $RP^3$ submanifold. For instantons with two singular…
Abelian and center gauges are considered in continuum Yang-Mills theory in order to detect the magnetic monopole and center vortex content of gauge field configurations. Specifically we examine the Laplacian Abelian and center gauges, which are free of Gribov copies, as well as the center gauge analog of the (Abelian) Polyakov gauge. In particular, we study meron, instanton and instanton-anti-instanton field configurations in these gauges and determine their monopole and vortex content. While a single instanton does not give rise to a center vortex, we find center vortices for merons. Furtherm…
When the gauge instantons on the N=2 string worldsheet are properly included in the sum over topologies, the breaking of SO(2,2) Lorentz symmetry in R^{2,2} is parametrized by a spacetime twistor containing the string coupling and theta angle. The resulting (tree-level) effective action for the open string is not Yang's but Leznov's cubic action for self-dual Yang-Mills in a light-cone gauge. In the closed case, Plebanski's action for self-dual gravity gets modified analogously. In contrast to the N=1 NSR string, picture-changing is not locally invertible, but produces a semi-infinite tower of…
Hawking and the author have proposed a class of singular, finite action instantons for defining the initial conditions for inflation. Vilenkin has argued they are unacceptable. He exhibited an analogous class of asymptotically flat instantons which on the face of it lead to an instability of Minkowski space. However, all these instantons must be defined by introducing a constraint into the path integral, which is then integrated over. I show that with a careful definition these instantons do not possess a negative mode. Infinite flat space is therefore stable against decay via singular instant…
We present an asymptotically flat, spherically symmetric, static, globally regular and horizonless solution of SU$(2)$-gauged $\mathcal{N}=1,d=5$ supergravity. The SU$(2)$ gauge field is that of the BPST instanton. We argue that this solution, analogous to the global monopoles found in $d=4$ $\mathcal{N}=2$ and $\mathcal{N}=4$ gauged supergravities, describes the field of a single string-theory object which does not contribute to the entropy of black holes when we add it to them and show that it is, indeed, the dimensional reduction on T$^{5}$ of the gauge 5-brane. We investigate how the energ…
We study the instanton contributions of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory and propose that the instanton moduli space is mapped to the moduli space of punctured spheres. Due to the recursive structure of the boundary in the Deligne-Knudsen-Mumford stable compactification, this leads to a new recursion relation for the instanton coefficients, which is bilinear. Instanton contributions are expressed as integrals on M_{0,n} in the framework of the Liouville F-models. This also suggests considering instanton contributions as a kind of Hurwitz numbers and also provides a prediction on the asymptotic …
We investigate the role of gauge and gravitational instantons in the context of the Swampland program. Our focus is on the global symmetry breaking they induce, especially in the presence of fermions. We first recall and make more precise the description of the dilute instanton gas through a 3-form gauge theory. In this language, the familiar suppression of instanton effects by light fermions can be understood as the decoupling of the 3-form. Even if all fermions remain massive, such decoupling may occur on the basis of an explicitly unbroken but anomalous global symmetry in the fermionic sect…