In this paper, by combining modular forms and characteristic forms, we obtain general anomaly cancellation formulas of any dimension. For $4k+2$ dimensional manifolds, our results include the gravitational anomaly cancellation formulas of Alvarez-Gaumé and Witten in dimensions 2, 6 and 10 (\cite{AW}) as special cases. In dimension $4k+1$, we derive anomaly cancellation formulas for index gerbes. In dimension $4k+3$, we obtain certain results about eta invariants, which are interesting in spectral geometry.
In this paper, we generalize the anomaly cancellation formulas in \cite{AW, Liu1, HZ2} to the cases that an auxiliary bundle $W$ as well as a complex line bundle $ξ$ are involved with no conditions on the first Pontryagin forms being assumed.
By studying modular invariance properties of some characteristic forms, we get some new anomaly cancellation formulas on $(4r-1)$ dimensional manifolds. As an application, we derive some results on divisibilities of the index of Toeplitz operators on $(4r-1)$ dimensional spin manifolds and some congruent formulas on characteristic number for $(4r-1)$ dimensional spin$^c$ manifolds.
It has been shown that the Alvarez-Gaum$\mathrm{\acute{e}}$-Witten miraculous anomaly cancellation formula in type IIB superstring theory and its various generalizations can be derived from modularity of certain characteristic forms. In this paper, we show that the Green-Schwarz formula and the Schwarz-Witten formula in type I superstring theory can also be derived from the modularity of those characteristic forms and thus unify the Alvarez-Gaum$\mathrm{\acute{e}}$-Witten formula, the Green-Schwarz formula as well as the Schwarz-Witten formula in the same framework. Various generalizations of …
In this paper we show that both of the Green-Schwarz anomaly factorization formula for the gauge group $E_8\times E_8$ and the Hořava-Witten anomaly factorization formula for the gauge group $E_8$ can be derived through modular forms of weight 14. This answers a question of J. H. Schwarz. We also establish generalizations of these factorization formulas and obtain a new Hořava-Witten type factorization formula.
Motivated by the cubic forms and anomaly cancellation formulas of Witten-Freed-Hopkins, we give some new cubic forms on spin, spin$^c$, spin$^{w_2}$ and orientable 12-manifolds respectively. We relate them to $η$-invariants when the manifolds are with boundary, and mod 2 indices on 10 dimensional characteristic submanifolds when the manifolds are spin$^c$ or spin$^{w_2}$. Our method of producing these cubic forms is a combination of (generalized) Witten classes and the character of the basic representation of affine $E_8$.
The relations and differences between various classification problems arising in the context of local two-dimensional conformal QFT, modular invariants, and subfactors are discussed. The extent to which locality implies modular invariance, is exhibited.
It is shown that certain global obstructions to gauge-invariance in chiral gauge theory, described in the continuum by Alvarez-Gaume and Ginsparg, are exactly reproduced on the lattice in the Overlap formulation at small non-zero lattice spacing (i.e. close to the classical continuum limit). As a consequence, the continuum anomaly cancellation condition $d_R^{abc}=0$ is seen to be a necessary (although not necessarily sufficient) condition for anomaly cancellation on the lattice in the Overlap formulation.
In this paper, we present robust evidence that general finite temperature quantum field theory (QFT) path integrals are invariant under reflecting temperatures to negative values (T-reflection), up to a possible anomaly phase. Our main focus is on two-dimensional conformal field theories (2d CFTs) on the two-torus. Modular invariance for 2d CFT path integrals follows from demanding invariance under redundant encodings of the two-torus shape in the path integral. We emphasize that identical logic implies 2d CFTs are invariant under T-reflection, up to phases. We compute T-reflection anomaly pha…
The purpose of this paper is to generalize Zhu's theorem about characters of modules over a vertex operator algebra graded by integer conformal weights, to the setting of a vertex operator superalgebra graded by rational conformal weights. To recover SL_2(Z)-invariance of the characters it turns out to be necessary to consider twisted modules alongside ordinary ones. It also turns out to be necessary, in describing the space of conformal blocks in the supersymmetric case, to include certain `odd traces' on modules alongside traces and supertraces. We prove that the set of supertrace functions,…
We solve the problem of constructing all chiral genus-one correlation functions from chiral genus-zero correlation functions associated to a vertex operator algebra satisfying the following conditions: (i) the weight of any nonzero homogeneous elements of V is nonnegative and the weight zero subspace is one-dimensional, (ii) every N-gradable weak V-module is completely reducible and (iii) V is C_2-cofinite. We establish the fundamental properties of these functions, including suitably formulated commutativity, associativity and modular invariance. The method we develop and use here is complete…
We discuss the construction of $κ$-Poincaré invariant actions for gauge theories on $κ$-Minkowski spaces. We consider various classes of untwisted and (bi)twisted differential calculi. Starting from a natural class of noncommutative differential calculi based on a particular type of twisted derivations belonging to the algebra of deformed translations, combined with a twisted extension of the notion of connection, we prove an algebraic relation between the various twists and the classical dimension d of the $κ$-Minkowski space(-time) ensuring the gauge invariance of the candidate actions for g…
Let V^L and V^R be simple vertex operator algebras satisfying certain natural uniqueness-of-vacuum, complete reducibility and cofiniteness conditions and let F be a conformal full field algebra over the tensor product of V^L and V^R. We prove that the q_τ-\bar{q_τ}-traces (natural traces involving q_τ=e^{2πiτ} and \bar{q_τ}=\bar{e^{2πiτ}}) of geometrically modified genus-zero correlation functions for F are convergent in suitable regions and can be extended to doubly periodic functions with periods 1 and τ. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for these functions to be modular invaria…
We establish the non-perturbative validity of the gauge anomaly cancellation condition in an effective electroweak theory of massless fermions with finite momentum cut-off and Fermi interaction. The requirement that the current is conserved up to terms smaller than the energy divided by the cut-off scale, which is the natural condition as gauge invariance is only emerging, produces the same constraint on charges as in the Standard Model. The result holds at a non-perturbative level as the functional integrals are expressed by convergent power series expansions and are analytic in a finite doma…
The analysis of the relation between modular P$_1$CT-symmetry -- a consequence of the Unruh effect -- and Pauli's spin-statistics relation is continued. The result in the predecessor to this article is extended to the Lorentz symmetric situation. A model $\G_L$ of the universal covering $\widetilde{L_+^\uparrow}\cong SL(2,\complex)$ of the restricted Lorentz group $L_+^\uparrow$ is modelled as a reflection group at the classical level. Based on this picture, a representation of $\G_L$ is constructed from pairs of modular P$_1$CT-conjugations, and this representation can easily be verified to s…
We derive a formula which applies to conformal field theories on a spatial torus and gives the asymptotic density of states solely in terms of the vacuum energy on a parallel plate geometry. The formula follows immediately from global scale and Lorentz invariance, but to our knowledge has not previously been made explicit. It can also be understood from the fact that $\log Z$ on $\mathbb{T}^2\times \mathbb{R}^{d-1}$ transforms as the absolute value of a non-holomorphic modular form of weight $d-1$, which we show. The results are extended to theories which violate Lorentz invariance and hypersc…
