We set an upper bound on the gravitational cutoff in theories with exact quantum numbers of large N periodicity, such as Z_N discrete symmetries. The bound stems from black hole physics. It is similar to the bound appearing in theories with N particle species, though a priori, a large discrete symmetry does not imply a large number of species. Thus, there emerges a potentially wide class of new theories, that address the hierarchy problem by lowering the gravitational cutoff due to existence of large Z_{10^32}-type symmetries.
Using the complexity equals action proposal we study holographic complexity for hyperscaling violating theories in the presence of a finite cutoff that, in turns, requires to obtain all counter terms needed to have finite boundary energy momentum tensor. These terms could give non-trivial contributions to the complexity. We observe that having a finite UV cutoff would enforce us to have a cutoff behind the horizon whose value is fixed by the UV cutoff; moreover, certain counter term should be defined on the cutoff behind the horizon too.
We show that general cutoff scalar field theories in four dimensions are perturbatively renormalizable through the use of diagrammatic techniques and an adapted BPH renormalization method. Weinberg's convergence theorem is used to show that operators in the Lagrangian with dimension greater than four, which are divided by powers of the cutoff, produce perturbatively only local divergences in the two-, three-, and four-point correlation functions. We also show that the renormalized Green's functions are the same as in ordinary $Φ^4$ theory up to corrections suppressed by inverse powers of the c…
Unrenormalizable theories contain infinitely many free parameters. Considering these theories in terms of the Wilsonian renormalization group (RG), we suggest a method for removing this large ambiguity. Our basic assumption is the existence of the maximal ultraviolet cutoff in a cutoff theory, and we require that the theory be so fine-tuned as to reach the maximal cutoff. The theory so obtained behaves as a local continuum theory to the shortest distance. In concrete examples of the scalar theory we find that at least in a certain approximation to the Wilsonian RG, this requirement enable us t…
We discuss discrete symmetries in several string compactification schemes. The same constraints on the light spectra as for Gepner models \cite{rosss} are found in various cases for non-$R$ symmetries. The analogous constraints for $R$ symmetries are also established.Therefore it seems natural to conjecture that they always apply.
Compactified string theories give rise to discrete symmetries which are essential if they are to provide a realistic low energy theory. We find that in a class of four dimensional string theories these symmetries are constrained by similar conditions to those discrete anomaly cancellation conditions found in the case the discrete symmetry is a residue of a spontaneously broken gauge symmetry. Such conditions strongly constrain the allowed form of the low energy effective theory.
We consider the regularization of a gauge quantum field theory following a modification of the Polchinski proof based on the introduction of a cutoff function. We work with a Poincare' invariant deformation of the ordinary point-wise product of fields introduced by Ardalan, Arfaei, Ghasemkhani and Sadooghi, and show that it yields, through a limiting procedure of the cutoff functions, to a regularized theory, preserving all symmetries at every stage. The new gauge symmetry yields a new Hopf algebra with deformed co-structures, which is inequivalent to the standard one.
We give a new perspective on the dynamics of conformal theories realized in the SU(N) gauge theory, when the number of flavors N_f is within the conformal window. Motivated by the RG argument on conformal theories with a finite IR cutoff Λ_{IR}, we conjecture that the propagator of a meson G_H(t) on a lattice behaves at large t as a power-law corrected Yukawa-type decaying form G_H(t) = c_H \exp{(-m_H t)}/t^{α_H} instead of the exponentially decaying form c_H\exp{(-m_H t)}, in the small quark mass region where m_H \le c Λ_{IR}: m_H is the mass of the ground state hadron in the channel H and c …
We argue that the theory of a massive higher spin field coupled to electromagnetism in flat space possesses an intrinsic, model independent, finite upper bound on its UV cutoff. By employing the Stueckelberg formalism we do a systematic study to quantify the degree of singularity of the massless limit in the cases of spin 2, 3, 3/2, and 5/2. We then generalize the results for arbitrary spin to find an expression for the maximum cutoff of the theory as a function of the particle's mass, spin, and electric charge. We also briefly explain the physical implications of the result and discuss how it…
Following earlier work on the same topic, we consider once more scalar field theories on the world sheet parametrized by the light cone coordinates. For most of the way, we use the same approach as in the previous work, but there is an important new development. To avoid the light cone singularity at p^{+}=0, one world sheet coordinate had to be discretized, introducing a cutoff into the model.In the earlier work, this cutoff could not be removed, making the model unreliable. In the present article, we show that, by a careful choice of the mass counter term, both the infrared singularity at p^…
We study ultraviolet cutoffs associated with the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) and Sublattice Weak Gravity Conjecture (sLWGC). There is a magnetic WGC cutoff at the energy scale $e G_N^{-1/2}$ with an associated sLWGC tower of charged particles. A more fundamental cutoff is the scale at which gravity becomes strong and field theory breaks down entirely. By clarifying the nature of the sLWGC for nonabelian gauge groups we derive a parametric upper bound on this strong gravity scale for arbitrary gauge theories. Intriguingly, we show that in theories approximately saturating the sLWGC, the scale…
We show that lowering of the gravitational cutoff relative to the Planck mass, imposed by black hole physics in theories with N species, has an independent justification from quantum information theory. First, this scale marks the limiting capacity of any information processor. Secondly, by taking into the account the limitations of the quantum information storage in any system with species, the bound on the gravity cutoff becomes equivalent to the holographic bound, and this equivalence automatically implies the equality of entanglement and Bekenstein-Hawking entropies. Next, the same bound f…
Inspired by the tachyon-free non-supersymmetric heterotic SO(16)xSO(16) string we consider a special class of non-supersymmetric field theories: Those that can be obtained from supersymmetric field theories by supersymmetry breaking twists. We argue that such theories, like their supersymmetric counter parts, may still possess some fermionic symmetries as left-overs of the super gauge transformations and have special one-loop non-renormalization properties due to holomorphicity. In addition, we extend the supergraph techniques to these theories to calculate some explicit supersymmetry-breaking…
Local effective action is derived to describe Regge asymptotic of Yang-Mills theories. Local symmetries of the effective action originating from the gauge symmetry of the underlying Yang-Mills theory are studied. Multicomponent effective action is introduced to express the symmetry transformations as field transformations. The algebra of these symmetries is decomposed onto a semi-direct sum of commutative algebras and four copies of the gauge algebra of the underlying Yang-Mills theory. Possibility of existence of solitons corresponding to the commutative subalgebra of the symmetry algebra is …
We study the sparticle spectroscopy and electroweak breaking of theories where supersymmetry is broken by compactification (Scherk-Schwarz mechanism) at a TeV. The evolution of the soft terms above the compactification scale and the resulting sparticle spectrum are very different from those of the usual MSSM and gauge mediated theories. This is traced to the softness of the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism which leads to scalar sparticle masses that are only logarithmically sensitive to the cutoff starting at two loops. As a result, squarks and sleptons are naturally an order of magnitude lighter than…
We show that the subleading soft photon theorem in a $(d+2)$-dimensional massless abelian gauge theory gives rise to a Ward identity corresponding to divergent large gauge transformations acting on the celestial sphere at null infinity. We further generalize our analysis to $(d+2)$-dimensional non-abelian gauge theories and show that the leading and subleading soft gluon theorem give rise to Ward identities corresponding to asymptotic symmetries of the theory.
We show that symmetries are preserved exactly along the (Wilsonian) renormalization group flow, though the IR cutoff deforms concrete forms of the transformations. For a gauge theory the cutoff dependent Ward-Takahashi identity is written as the master equation in the antifield formalism: one may read off the renormalized BRS transformation from the master equation. The Maxwell theory is studied explicitly to see how it works. The renormalized BRS transformation becomes non-local but keeps off-shell nilpotency. Our formalism is applicable for a generic global symmetry. The master equation cons…
The transition from formulations with extra dimensions to Kaluza-Klein theories, aimed at extending the Standard Model, bears the ingredients of hidden symmetries and the Kaluza-Klein mechanism for mass generation. We explore these essential aspects in detail, and find that much can be said about them with no reference to the specific geometry of compact extra dimensions: the low-energy theory is determined, included dynamic variables and symmetries; mass terms arise; eigenfunctions that define Kaluza-Klein fields are fixed by the appropriate choice a Casimir invariant; there is a set of Kaluz…
We conjecture an intrinsic UV cutoff for the validity of the effective field theory with a large number of species coupled to gravity. In four dimensions such a UV cutoff takes the form $Λ=\sqrt{λ/ N}M_p$ for $N$ scalar fields with the same potential $λϕ_i^4$, $i=1,...,N$. This conjecture implies that the assisted chaotic inflation or N-flation might be in the swampland, not in the landscape. Similarly a UV cutoff $Λ=gM_p/\sqrt{N}$ is conjectured for the U(1) gauge theory with $N$ species.
Flow equations describe the evolution of the effective action $Γ_k$ in the process of varying an infrared cutoff $k$. The presence of the infrared cutoff explicitly breaks gauge and hence BRS invariance. We derive modified Slavnov-Taylor identities, which are valid for nonvanishing $k$. They guarantee the BRS invariance of $Γ_k$ for $k\to0$, and hence allow the study of non-abelian gauge theories by integrating the flow equations. Within a perturbative expansion of $Γ_k$, we derive an equation for a $k$ dependent mass term for the gauge fields implied by the modified Slavnov-Taylor identities.
We clarify the notion of Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) invariance in supersymmetric gauge theories, which states that the low-energy physics can be kept fixed when one changes the ultraviolet cutoff, provided appropriate changes are made to the bare coupling constants in the Lagrangian. We first pose a puzzle on how a quantum modified constraint (such as Pf(Q^i Q^j) = Λ^{2(N+1)} in SP(N) theories with N+1 flavors) can be RG invariant, since the bare fields Q^i receive wave function renormalization when one changes the ultraviolet cutoff, while we naively regard the scale Λas RG invarian…
We generalize the $T\overline{T}$ deformation of CFT$_2$ to higher-dimensional large-$N$ CFTs, and show that in holographic theories, the resulting effective field theory matches semiclassical gravity in AdS with a finite radial cutoff. We also derive the deformation dual to arbitrary bulk matter theories. Generally, the deformations involve background fields as well as CFT operators. By keeping track of these background fields along the flow, we demonstrate how to match correlation functions on the two sides in some simple examples, as well as other observables.
We study the role of D-terms in supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking. By carefully analyzing the SUSY multiplets containing various conserved currents in theories with global symmetries, we obtain a number of constraints on the renormalization group flow in supersymmetric field theories. Under broad assumptions, these results imply that there are no SUSY-breaking vacua, not even metastable ones, with parametrically large D-terms. This explains the absence of such D-terms in models of dynamical SUSY-breaking. There is, however, a rich class of calculable models which generate comparable D-terms and F-…
In theories of the Kaluza-Klein kind there are spins or total angular moments in higher dimensions which manifest as charges in the observable $d=(3+1)$. The charge conjugation requirement, if following the prescription in ($3+1$), would transform any particle state out of the Dirac sea into the hole in the Dirac sea, which manifests as an anti-particle having all the spin degrees of freedom in $d$, except $S^{03}$, the same as the corresponding particle state. This is in contradiction with what we observe for the anti-particle. In this paper we redefine the discrete symmetries so that we stay…
We investigate the realization of the emergent universe scenario in theories with natural UV cutoffs, namely a minimum length and a maximum momentum, quantified by a new deformation parameter in the generalized uncertainty principle. We extract the Einstein static universe solutions and we examine their stability through a phase-space analysis. As we show, the role of the new deformation parameter is crucial in a twofold way: Firstly, it leads to the appearance of new Einstein static universe critical points, that are absent in standard cosmology. Secondly, it provides a way for a graceful exi…
Quantum field theories require a cutoff to regulate divergences that result from local interactions, and yet physical results can not depend on the value of this cutoff. The renormalization group employs a transformation that changes the cutoff to isolate hamiltonians that produce cutoff-independent eigenvalues. The similarity renormalization group is based on similarity transformations that regulate off-diagonal matrix elements, forcing the hamiltonian towards a band-diagonal form as the cutoff is lowered. This avoids pathologies that plagued tradition transformations acting on hamiltonians, …
We review various aspects of (infinite) quantum group symmetries in 2D massive quantum field theories. We discuss how these symmetries can be used to exactly solve the integrable models. A possible way for generalizing to three dimensions is shortly described.
In this thesis we study different aspects of noncommutativity in quantum mechanics, field theory and gravity. We give particular emphasis on the underlying symmetries of these theories. Deformations of usual symmetries like the external space time symmetries and the internal gauge symmetry in noncommutative theories are analyzed in detail.
We consider holomorphic BF theories, their solutions and symmetries. The equivalence of Cech and Dolbeault descriptions of holomorphic bundles is used to develop a method for calculating hidden (nonlocal) symmetries of holomorphic BF theories. A special cohomological symmetry group and its action on the solution space are described.
Braided quantum field theories proposed by Oeckl can provide a framework for defining quantum field theories having Hopf algebra symmetries. In quantum field theories, symmetries lead to non-perturbative relations among correlation functions. We discuss Hopf algebra symmetries and such relations in braided quantum field theories. We give the four algebraic conditions between Hopf algebra symmetries and braided quantum field theories, which are required for the relations to hold. As concrete examples, we apply our discussions to the Poincare symmetries of two examples of noncommutative field th…
The appearance of quantum groups in conformal field theories is traced back to the Poisson-Lie symmetries of the classical chiral theory. A geometric quantization of the classical theory deforms the Poisson-Lie symmetries to the quantum group ones. This elucidates the fundamental role of chiral symmetries that quantum groups play in conformal models. As a byproduct, one obtains a more geometric approach to the representation theory of quantum groups.
Target space modular symmetries relevant to string loop threshold corrections are studied for $Z_N$ orbifold compactified string theories containing Wilson line background fields.
We review briefly a stream of ideas concerning the role of quantum groups as hidden symmetries in conformal field theories, paying particular attention to the field theoretical representations of quantum groups based on Coulomb gas methods. An extensive bibliography is also included.
We describe constructing solutions of the field equations of Chern-Simons and topological BF theories in terms of deformation theory of locally constant (flat) bundles. Maps of flat connections into one another (dressing transformations) are considered. A method of calculating (nonlocal) dressing symmetries in Chern-Simons and topological BF theories is formulated.
We describe few aspects of the quantum symmetries of some massless two-dimensional field theories. We discuss their relations with recent proposals for the factorized scattering theories of the massless $PCM_1$ and $O(3)_{θ=π}$ sigma models. We use these symmetries to propose massless factorized S-matrices for the $su(2)$ sigma models with topological terms at any level, alias the $PCM_k$ models, and for the $su(2)$-coset massless flows.
Duality symmetries are discussed for non-linear gauge theories of (n-1)-th rank antisymmetric tensor fields in general even dimensions d=2n. When there are M field strengths and no scalar fields, the duality symmetry groups should be compact. We find conditions on the Lagrangian required by compact duality symmetries and show an example of duality invariant non-linear theories. We also discuss how to enlarge the duality symmetries to non-compact groups by coupling scalar fields described by non-linear sigma models.
Field theories with p-form gauge potentials can possess ``hidden'' symmetries leaving the field strengths invariant on-shell without being gauge symmetries on-shell. The relevance of such symmetries to supersymmetric models is discussed. They provide central charges of supersymmetry algebras, play a particular role in duality relations, and lead to peculiar interactions. A multiplet of N=2 supersymmetry in four dimensions with two hidden central charges is presented.
We consider a scalar quantum field theory, in which the interaction takes the form of a field cutoff; the energy diverges to infinity whenever the value of the field at some point falls outside a finite interval. In a simple (1+1)-dimensional version of this theory, we may calculate the results of certain scattering processes exactly. The main feature of the nontrivial solutions is the appearance of shock fronts, whose time development is irreversible. The resulting nonunitarity implies that these theories are, at a minimum, radically different from conventional quantum field theories.
A geometric global formulation of the higher-order Lagrangian formalism for systems with finite number of degrees of freedom is provided. The formalism is applied to the study of systems with groups of Noetherian symmetries.
In theories with discrete Abelian gauge groups, requiring that black holes be able to lose their charge as they evaporate leads to an upper bound on the product of a charged particle's mass and the cutoff scale above which the effective description of the theory breaks down. This suggests that a non-trivial version of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) may also apply to gauge symmetries that are discrete, despite there being no associated massless field, therefore pushing the conjecture beyond the slogan that `gravity is the weakest force'. Here, we take a step towards making this expectation m…
We revisit the N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories and their supergravity duals in the context of generalized symmetries. This allows us to finally clarify how the $SU(N)\times SU(N)$ and $(SU(N)\times SU(N))/\mathbb{Z}_N$ theories, as well as other quotient theories that have recently been discussed, fit into the holographic framework. It also resolves a long standing puzzle regarding the di-baryon operator in the $U(N)\times U(N)$ theory.
We present more examples of dual N=1 SUSY gauge theories. This set of theories is connected by flows to both Seiberg's and Kutasov's dual theories. This provides a unifying picture of the various dual theories. We investigate the dual theories, their flat directions and mass perturbations.
We present part of our investigations on two dimensional N=1 and N=2 superconformal field theories. As a direct generalization we consider the SU(2) coset models, in particular their renormalization group properties. A search and possible implementation of additional symmetries in related integrable models are also presented.
We review the status of duality symmetries in superstring theories. These discrete symmetries mark the striking differences between theories of pointlike objects and theories of extended objects. They prove to be very helpful in understanding non-perturbative effects in string theories. We will also briefly discuss the strange role played by open strings and their solitons in the emerging scenario.
Topological field theories of Schwarz-type generally admit symmetries whose algebra does not close off-shell, e.g. the basic symmetries of BF models or vector supersymmetry of the gauge-fixed action for Chern-Simons theory (this symmetry being at the origin of the perturbative finiteness of the theory). We present a detailed discussion of all these symmetries within the algebraic approach to the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism. Moreover, we discuss the general algebraic construction of topological models of both Schwarz- and Witten-type.
Following on from a general observation in an earlier paper, we consider the continuous symmetries of a certain class of conformal field theories constructed from lattices and their reflection-twisted orbifolds. It is shown that the naive expectation that the only such (inner) symmetries are generated by the modes of the vertex operators corresponding to the states of unit conformal weight obtains, and a criterion for this expectation to hold in general is proposed.
We construct a modification of the Poisson bracket which is suitable for a canonical analysis of space-time noncommutative field theories. We show that this bracket satisfies the Jacobi identities and generates equations of motion. In this modified canonical formalism one can define the notion of the first-class constraints, demonstrate that they generate gauge symmetries, and derive an explicit form of these symmetry transformations.
A superspace formulation is proposed for the osp(1,2)-covariant Lagrangian quantization of general massive gauge theories. Thereby, osp(1,2) is considered as subalgebra of the superalgebra sl(1,2) which is interpreted as conformal algebra acting on two anticommuting coordinates. The mass-dependent (anti)BRST symmetries of the quantum action in the osp(1,2) superfield formalism are realized as translations associated by mass-dependent special conformal transformations.
Mixed anomalies, higher form symmetries, two-group symmetries and non-invertible symmetries have proved to be useful in providing non-trivial constraints on the dynamics of quantum field theories. We study mixed anomalies involving discrete zero-form global symmetries, and possibly a one-form symmetry, in 3d $\mathcal{N} \geq 3$ gauge theories using the superconformal index. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated via several classes of theories, including Chern-Simons-matter theories, such as the $\mathrm{U}(1)_k$ gauge theory with hypermultiplets of diverse charges, the $T(\mathrm{S…
The functional renormalization group flow of a scalar field theory with quartic couplings and a sharp spatial momentum cutoff is presented in four-dimensional Minkowski space-time for the bare action by retaining the entanglement of the IR and the UV particle modes. It is argued that the open interaction channels have to be taken into account in quantum field theory defined by the help of a cutoff, and a non-perturbative UV-IR entanglement is found in closed or almost closed models.
We study compactified pure gauge/gravitational theories with gauge-fixing terms and show that these theories possess quantum mechanical SUSY-like symmetries between unphysical degrees of freedom. These residual symmetries are global symmetries and generated by quantum mechanical N=2 supercharges. Also, we establish new one-parameter family of gauge choices for higher-dimensional gravity, and calculate as a check of its validity one graviton exchange amplitude in the lowest tree-level approximation. We confirm that the result is indeed $ξ$-independent and the cancellation of the $ξ$-dependence …
The symmetries and dynamics of simple chiral $SU(N)$ gauge theories, with matter Weyl fermions in a two-index symmetric tensor and $N+4$ anti-fundamental representations, are examined, by taking advantage of the recent developments involving the ideas of generalized symmetries, gauging of discrete center 1-form symmetries and mixed 't Hooft anomalies. This class of models are particularly interesting because the conventional 't Hooft anomaly matching constraints allow a chirally symmetric confining vacuum, with no condensates breaking the $U(1) \times SU(N+4)$ flavor symmetry, and with certain…
Low-energy effective theories have been used very successfully to study the low-energy limit of QCD, providing us with results for a plethora of phenomena, ranging from bound-state formation to phase transitions in QCD. These theories are consistent quantum field theories by themselves and can be embedded in QCD, but typically have a physical ultraviolet cutoff that restricts their range of validity. Here, we provide a discussion of the concept of renormalization group consistency, aiming at an analysis of cutoff effects and regularization-scheme dependences in general studies of low-energy ef…
We study realization of the target space diffeomorphisms in the type $C$ topological string. We found that the charges, which generate transformations of the boundary observables, form an algebra, which differs from that of bulk charges by the contribution of the bubbled disks. We discuss applications to noncommutative field theories.
We compute the form of the Lagrangian of N=1 supersymmetric theories with gauged axion symmetries. It turns out that there appear generalized Chern-Simons terms that were not considered in previous superspace formulations of general N=1 theories. Such gaugings appear in supergravities arising from flux compactifications of superstrings, as well as from Scherk-Schwarz generalized dimensional reduction in M-theory. We also present the dual superspace formulation where axion chiral multiplets are dualized into linear multiplets.
We study generalized symmetries in a simplified arena in which the usual quantum field theories of physics are replaced with topological field theories and the smooth structure with which the symmetry groups of physics are usually endowed is forgotten. Doing so allows many questions of physical interest to be answered using the tools of homotopy theory. We study both global and gauge symmetries, as well as `t Hooft anomalies, which we show fall into one of two classes. Our approach also allows some insight into earlier work on symmetries (generalized or not) of topological field theories.