We construct solutions to five dimensional minimal supergravity using an Atiyah-Hitchin base space. In examining the structure of solutions we show that they generically contain a singularity either on the Atiyah-Hitchin bolt or at larger radius where there is a singular solitonic boundary. However for most points in parameter space the solution exhibits a velocity of light surface (analogous to what appears in a Goedel space-time) that shields the singularity. For these solutions, all closed time-like curves are causally disconnected from the rest of the space-time in that they exist within the velocity of light surface, which null geodesics are unable to cross. The singularities in these solutions are thus found to be hidden behind the velocity of light surface and so are not naked despite the lack of an event horizon. Outside of this surface the space-time is geodesically complete, asymptotically flat and can be arranged so as not to contain closed time-like curves at infinity. The rest of parameter space simply yields solutions with naked singularities.
The Atiyah-Hitchin manifold is the moduli space of parity inversion symmetric charge two SU(2) monopoles in Euclidean space. Here a hyperbolic analogue is presented, by calculating the boundary metric on the moduli space of parity inversion symmetric charge two SU(2) monopoles in hyperbolic space. The calculation of the metric is performed using a twistor description of the moduli space and the result is presented in terms of standard elliptic integrals.
Using twistor methods we derive a generating function which leads to the hyperk\" ahler metric on a deformation of the Atiyah-Hitchin monopole moduli space. This deformation was first considered by Dancer through the quotient construction and is related to a charge two monopole configuration in a completely broken SU(3) gauge theory. The manifold and metric are the first members of a family of hyperk\" ahler manifolds which are deformations of the $D_k$ rational singularities of $C^2$.
We consider 3-monopoles symmetric under inversion symmetry. We show that the moduli space of these monopoles is an Atiyah-Hitchin submanifold of the 3-monopole moduli space. This allows what is known about 2-monopole dynamics to be translated into results about the dynamics of 3-monopoles. Using a numerical ADHMN construction we compute the monopole energy density at various points on two interesting geodesics. The first is a geodesic over the two-dimensional rounded cone submanifold corresponding to right angle scattering and the second is a closed geodesic for three orbiting monopoles.
The Atiyah-Hitchin manifold arises in many different contexts, ranging from its original occurrence as the moduli space of two SU(2) 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles in 3+1 dimensions, to supersymmetric backgrounds of string theory. In all these settings, (super)symmetries require the metric to be hyperkähler and have an SO(3) transitive isometry, which in the four-dimensional case essentially selects out the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold as the only such smooth manifold with the correct topology at infinity. In this paper, we analyze the exponentially small corrections to the asymptotic limit, and inter…
We investigate quantum effects on the Coulomb branch of three-dimensional N=4 supersymmetric gauge theory with gauge group SU(2). We calculate perturbative and one-instanton contributions to the Wilsonian effective action using standard weak-coupling methods. Unlike the four-dimensional case, and despite supersymmetry, the contribution of non-zero modes to the instanton measure does not cancel. Our results allow us to fix the weak-coupling boundary conditions for the differential equations which determine the hyper-Kahler metric on the quantum moduli space. We confirm the proposal of Seiberg a…
We construct exact solutions to five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory based on Atiyah-Hitchin space. The solutions cannot be written explicitly in a closed form, so their properties are investigated numerically. The five-dimensional metric is regular everywhere except on the location of original bolt in four-dimensional Atiyah-Hitchin base space. On each time-fixed slices, the metric, asymptotically approaches an Euclidean Taub-NUT space.
This is the first in a series of papers in which we develop a twistor-based method of constructing hyperkaehler metrics from holomorphic functions and elliptic curves. As an application, we revisit the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold and derive in an explicit holomorphic coordinate basis closed-form formulas for, among other things, the metric, the holomorphic symplectic form and all three Kaehler potentials.
We present new M2 and M5 brane solutions in M-theory based on transverse Atiyah-Hitchin space and other self-dual geometries. One novel feature of these solutions is that they have bolt-like fixed points yet still preserve 1/4 of the supersymmetry. All the solutions can be reduced down to ten dimensional intersecting brane configurations.
We construct non-stationary exact solutions to five dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with positive cosmological constant. The solutions are based on four-dimensional Atiyah-Hitchin space. In asymptotic regions, the solutions approach to Gibbons-Perry-Sorkin monopole solutions. On the other hand, near the four-dimensional bolt of Atiyah-Hitchin space, our solutions show a bolt structure in five dimensions. The c-function for the solutions shows monotonic increase in time, in agreement with the general expected behaviour of c-function in asymptotically dS spacetimes.
We construct a new class of stationary exact solutions to five-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. The solutions are based on four-dimensional self-dual Atiyah-Hitchin geometry. We find analytical solutions to the five-dimensional metric function that are regular everywhere. We find some constraints on the possible physical solutions by investigating the solutions numerically. We also study the behavior of the solutions in the extremal limits of the Atiyah-Hitchin geometry. In the extremal limits, the Atiyah-Hitchin metric reduces to a bolt structure and Euclidean Taub-NUT space, respec…
We outline the construction of the Atiyah-Hitchin metric on the moduli space of SU(2) BPS monopoles with charge 2, first as an algebraic curve in C^3 following Donaldson and then as a solution of the Toda field equations in the continual large N limit. We adopt twistor methods to solve the underlying uniformization problem, which by the generalized Legendre transformation yield the Kahler coordinates and the Kahler potential of the metric. We also comment on the connection between twistors and the Seiberg-Witten construction of quantum moduli spaces, as they arise in three dimensional supersym…
We show that the regular Slodowy slice to the sum of two semisimple adjoint orbits of $GL(n,C)$ is isomorphic to the deformation of the $D_2$-singularity if $n=2$, the Dancer deformation of the double cover of the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold if $n=3$, and to the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold itself if $n=4$. For higher $n$, such slices to the sum of two orbits, each having only two distinct eigenvalues, are either empty or biholomorphic to open subsets of the Hilbert scheme of points on of one the above surfaces. In particular, these open subsets of Hilbert schemes of points carry complete hyperkähler m…
The Legendre transform and its generalizations, originally found in supersymmetric sigma-models, are techniques that can be used to give constructions of hyperkahler metrics. We give a twistor space interpretation to the generalizations of the Legendre transform construction. The Atiyah-Hitchin metric on the moduli space of two monopoles is used as a detailed example.
We obtain $D_k$ ALF gravitational instantons by a gluing construction which captures, in a precise and explicit fashion, their interpretation as non-linear superpositions of the moduli space of centred $SU(2)$ monopoles, equipped with the Atiyah-Hitchin metric, and $k$ copies of the Taub-NUT manifold. The construction proceeds from a finite set of points in euclidean space, reflection symmetric about the origin, and depends on an adiabatic parameter which is incorporated into the geometry as a fifth dimension. Using a formulation in terms of hyperKähler triples on manifolds with boundaries, we…
We study Heterotic supergravity on Hyper-Kahler manifolds in the presence of non-trivial warping and three form flux with Abelian bundles in the large charge limit. We find exact, regular solutions for multi-centered Gibbons-Hawking spaces and Atiyah-Hitchin manifolds. In the case of Atiyah-Hitchin, regularity requires that the circle at infinity is of the same order as the instanton number, which is taken to be large. Alternatively there may be a non-trivial density of smeared five branes at the bolt.
We examine the Toda frame formulation of the SO(3)-invariant hyper-Kahler 4-metrics, namely Eguchi-Hanson, Taub-NUT and Atiyah-Hitchin. Our method exploits the presence of a rotational SO(2) isometry, leading to the explicit construction of all three complex structures as a singlet plus a doublet. The Atiyah-Hitchin metric on the moduli space of BPS SU(2) monopoles with magnetic charge 2 is purely rotational.
We study supersymmetry and self-duality in a four-dimensional space-time with the signature (2,2), that we call the Atiyah-Ward space-time. Dirac matrices and spinors, in particular Majorana-Weyl spinors, are investigated in detail. We formulate $ N\ge 1 $ supersymmetric self-dual Yang-Mills theories and self-dual supergravities. An N=1 ``self-dual'' tensor multiplet is constructed and a possible ten-dimensional theory that gives rise to the four-dimensional self-dual supersymmetric theories is found. Instanton solutions are given as the zero modes in the N=2 self-dual Yang-Mills theory. The N…
The Eguchi-Hanson, Taub-NUT and Atiyah-Hitchin metrics are the only complete non-singular SO(3)-invariant hyper-Kahler metrics in four dimensions. The presence of a rotational SO(2) isometry allows for their unified treatment based on solutions of the 3-dim continual Toda equation. We determine the Toda potential in each case and examine the free field realization of the corresponding solutions, using infinite power series expansions. The Atiyah-Hitchin metric exhibits some unusual features attributed to topological properties of the group of area preserving diffeomorphisms. The construction o…
We embed the component fields of eleven-dimensional supergravity into a superspace of the form $X\times Y$ where $X$ is the standard 4D, $N=1$ superspace and $Y$ is a smooth 7-manifold. The eleven-dimensional 3-form gives rise to a tensor hierarchy of superfields gauged by the diffeomorphisms of $Y$. It contains a natural candidate for a $G_2$ structure on $Y$, and being a complex of superforms, defines a superspace Chern-Simons invariant. Adding to this a natural generalization of the Riemannian volume on $X\times Y$ and freezing the (superspin-$\frac32$ and 1) supergravity fields on $X$, we …
We consider type II string theory in space-time backgrounds which admit eight supercharges and can be characterized by the existence of an SU(3) x SU(3) structure. We show that the couplings of such backgrounds strongly resemble the couplings of four-dimensional N=2 supergravities and precisely coincide with the N=2 couplings after an appropriate Kaluza-Klein reduction. Specifically we show that the moduli space of metrics admits a special Kahler geometry with Kahler potentials given by the Hitchin functionals. Furthermore we explicitly compute the N=2 version of the superpotential from the tr…
The Atiyah-Drinfeld-Hitchin-Manin matrix corresponding to a tetrahedrally symmetric 3-instanton is calculated. Some small variations of the matrix correspond to vibrations of the instanton-generated 3-Skyrmion. These vibrations are decomposed under tetrahedral symmetry and this decomposition is compared to previous knowledge of the 3-Skyrmion vibration spectrum.
We complete the classification of Mink$_4$ solutions preserving $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry and SU(2) R-symmetry parameterised by a round $S^2$ factor. We consider eleven-dimensional supergravity and relax the assumptions of earlier works in type II theories. We show that, using chains of dualities, all solutions of this type can be generated from one of two master classes: an SU(2)-structure in M-theory and a conformal Calabi-Yau in type IIB. Finally, using our results, we recover AdS$_5\times S^2$ solutions in M-theory and construct a compact Minkowski solution with Atiyah-Hitchin singular…
Eleven-dimensional supergravity can be formulated in superspaces locally of the form $\mathbf X\times Y$ where $\mathbf X$ is 4D $N=1$ conformal superspace and $Y$ is an arbitrary 7-manifold admitting a $G_2$-structure. The eleven-dimensional 3-form and the stable 3-form on $Y$ define the lowest component of a gauge superfield on $\mathbf X \times Y$ that is chiral as a superfield on $\mathbf X$. This chiral field is part of a tensor hierarchy giving rise to a superspace Chern-Simons action and its real field strength defines a lifting of the Hitchin functional on $Y$ to the $G_2$ superspace $…
The Atiyah-Drinfeld-Hitchin-Manin (ADHM) transform and its various generalizations are examples of non-linear integral transforms between finite-dimensional moduli spaces. This note describes a natural infinite-dimansional generalization, where the transform becomes a map from boundary data to a family of solutions of the self-duality equations in a domain.
We investigate the construction of five-dimensional, three-charge supergravity solutions that only have a rotational U(1) isometry. We show that such solutions can be obtained as warped compactifications with a singular ambi-polar hyper-Kahler base space and singular warp factors. We show that the complete solution is regular around the critical surface of the ambi-polar base. We illustrate this by presenting the explicit form of the most general supersymmetric solutions that can be obtained from an Atiyah-Hitchin base space and its ambi-polar generalizations. We make a parallel analysis using…
In this paper, using the Atiyah-Ward equivalence and a theorem of Hitchin, one makes to correspond to certain bundles on the projective space, which are extensions of instanton bundles (in particular, these new bundles may have the first Chern class not congruent to 0 modulo the rank), bundles on the grassmanian Gr(2,4) or on the sphere S4, equiped with certain connections constructed from data associated to the bundle. Monads for these extensions are described.
We consider compactifications of type II string theory on general SU(3) x SU(3) structure backgrounds allowing for a very large set of fluxes, possibly nongeometric ones. We study the effective 4d low energy theory which is a gauged N=2 supergravity, and discuss how its data are obtained from the formalism of the generalized geometry on T+T*. In particular we relate Hitchin's special Kaehler metrics on the spaces of even and odd pure spinors to the metric on the supergravity moduli space of internal metric and B-field fluctuations. We derive the N=1 vacuum conditions from this N=2 effective ac…
We discuss the Atiyah-Drinfeld-Hitchin-Manin (ADHM) construction of U(N) instantons in noncommutative (NC) space and prove the one-to-one correspondence between moduli spaces of the noncommutative instantons and the ADHM data, together with an origin of the instanton number for U(1). We also give a derivation of the ADHM construction from the viewpoint of the Nahm transformation of instantons on four-tori. This article is a composite version of [23] and [24].
