We investigate the classical dynamics of the massive SU(2) Yang-Mills field in the framework of multiple scale perturbation theory. We show analytically that there exists a subset of solutions having the form of a kink soliton, modulated by a plane wave, in a linear subspace transverse to the direction of free propagation. Subsequently, we explore how these solutions affect the dynamics of a Dirac field possessing an SU(2) charge. We find that this class of Yang-Mills configurations, when regarded as an external field, leads to the localization of the fermion along a line in the transverse space. Our analysis reveals a mechanism for trapping SU(2) charged fermions in the presence of an external Yang-Mills field indicating the non-abelian analogue of Landau localization in electrodynamics.
Lecture delivered at XXXVI Summer School on Subnuclear Physics at Erice in September 1998. It contains a brief reflection on the development of QFT in late sixties and a discussion of the role of solitons in realistic field theoretic models.
Soliton contributions to perturbative processes in QFT are controlled by a form factor, which depends on the soliton size. We provide a demonstration of this fact in a class of scalar theories with generic moduli spaces. We then argue that for instanton-solitons in 5D super-Yang-Mills theory the analogous form factor does not lead to faster-than-any-power suppression in the perturbative coupling. We also discuss the implications of such contributions for the UV behavior of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills in 5D and its relation to the (2,0) CFT in 6D. This is a contribution to the proceedin…
In this letter we study a coupled system of six-dimensional N=1 tensor and super Yang-Mills multiplets. We identify some of the solitonic states of this system which exhibit stringy behaviour in six dimensions. A discussion of the supercharges and energy for the tensor multiplet as well as zero modes is also given. We speculate about the possible relationship between our solution and what is known as tensionless strings.
We construct new family of spherically symmetric regular solutions of $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory coupled to pure $R^2$ gravity. The particle-like field configurations possess non-integer non-Abelian magnetic charge. A discussion of the main properties of the solutions and their differences from the usual Bartnik-McKinnon solitons in the asymptotically flat case is presented. It is shown that there is continuous family of linearly stable non-trivial solutions in which the gauge field has no nodes.
We present a topological Lagrangian field theory that is geometrically similar to the Yang-Mills(-Higgs) Lagrangian, and study the Bogomol'nyi solitons contained within this theory. The topological field theory may provide an example of a dual field theory to Yang-Mills(-Higgs). The existence of a dual field theory to Yang-Mills(-Higgs) was conjectured by Montonen and Olive.
We construct an octonionic instanton solution to the seven dimensional Yang-Mills theory based on the exceptional gauge group $G_2$ which is the automorphism group of the division algebra of octonions. This octonionic instanton has an extension to a solitonic two-brane solution of the low energy effective theory of the heterotic string that preserves two of the sixteen supersymmetries and hence corresponds to $N=1$ space-time supersymmetry in the (2+1) dimensions transverse to the seven dimensions where the Yang-Mills instanton is defined.
I explain how to construct noncommutative BPS configurations in four and lower dimensions by solving linear matrix equations. Examples are instantons in D=4 Yang-Mills, monopoles in D=3 Yang-Mills-Higgs, and (moving) solitons in D=2+1 Yang-Mills-Higgs. Some emphasis is on the latter as a showcase for the dressing method.
We review work on construction of Monopoles in higher dimensions. These are solutions to a particular class of models descending from Yang--Mills systems on even dimensional bulk, with Spheres as codimensions. The topological lower bounds on the Yang-Mills action translate to Bogomol'nyi lower bounds on the residual Yang-Mills-Higgs systems. Mostly, consideration is restricted to 8 dimensional bulk systems, but extension to the arbitrary case follows systematically. After presenting the monopoles, the corresponding dyons are also constructed. Finally, new Chern-Simons densities expressed in te…
We show that gravitating Merons in $D$-dimensional massive Yang-Mills theory can be mapped to solutions of the Einstein-Skyrme model. The identification of the solutions relies on the fact that, when considering the Meron ansatz for the gauge connection $A=λU^{-1}dU$, the massive Yang-Mills equations reduce to the Skyrme equations for the corresponding group element $U$. In the same way, the energy-momentum tensors of both theories can be identified and therefore lead to the same Einstein equations. Subsequently, we focus on the $SU(2)$ case and show that introducing a mass for the Yang-Mills …
We extend a well-known D-brane construction of the AdS/dCFT correspondence to non-abelian defects. We focus on the bulk side of the correspondence and show that there exists a regime of parameters in which the low-energy description consists of two approximately decoupled sectors. The two sectors are gravity in the ambient spacetime, and a six-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The Yang-Mills theory is defined on a rigid AdS_4 x S^2 background and admits sixteen supersymmetries. We also consider a one-parameter deformation that gives rise to a family of Yang-Mills theories on asympt…
Some aspects of the multidimensional soliton geometry are considered. It is shown that some simples (2+1)-dimensional equations are exact reductions of the Self-Dual Yang-Mills equation or its higher hierarchy.
We propose a reformulation of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in terms of new variables. These variables are appropriate for describing the theory in its infrared limit, and indicate that it admits knotlike configurations as stable solitons. As a consequence we arrive at a dual picture of the Yang-Mills theory where the short distance limit describes asymptotically free, massless point gluons and the large distance limit describes extended, massive knotlike solitons.
This is a short review of classical solutions with gravitating Yang-Mills fields in $D>4$ spacetime dimensions. The simplest SO(4) symmetric particlelike and SO(3) symmetric vortex type solutions in the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory in D=5 are considered, and their various generalizations with or without an event horizon, for other symmetries, in more general theories, and also in $D>5$ are described. In addition, supersymmetric solutions with gravitating Yang-Mills fields in string theory are discussed.
A generalization of the two-dimensional Yang-Mills and generalized Yang-Mills theory is introduced in which the building B-F theory is nonlocal in the auxiliary field. The classical and quantum properties of this nonlocal generalization are investigated and it is shown that for large gauge groups, there exist a simple correspondence between the properties a nonlocal theory and its corresponding local theory.
Using an infinite number of fields, we construct actions for D=4 self-dual Yang-Mills with manifest Lorentz invariance and for D=10 super-Yang-Mills with manifest super-Poincaré invariance. These actions are generalizations of the covariant action for the D=2 chiral boson which was first studied by McClain, Wu, Yu and Wotzasek.
The canonical Bartnik-McKinnon solitons are regular solutions of the coupled Einstein-Yang-Mills system in which gravity may balance the repulsive nature of the Yang-Mills field. We examine the role played by gravity in balancing the system and determine its strength. In particular, we obtain an analytic lower bound on the fundamental mass-to-radius ratio, max{2m(r)/r}>2/3, which is a necessary condition for the existence of globally regular Einstein-Yang-Mills solitons. Our analytical results are in accord with numerical calculations.
Recently new Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) soliton solutions were presented which describe superconducting strings with Kasner asymptotic (hep-th/0610183). Here we study the static cylindrically symmetric SU(2) EYM system in more detail. The ansatz for the gauge field corresponds to superposition of the azimuthal $B_ϕ$ and the longitudinal $B_z$ components of the color magnetic field. We derive sum rules relating data on the symmetry axis to asymptotic data and show that generic asymptotic structure of regular solutions is Kasner. Solutions starting with vacuum data on the axis generically are div…
We will discuss an integrable structure for weakly coupled superconformal Yang-Mills theories, describe certain equivalences for the Yangian algebra, and fill a technical gap in our previous study of this subject.
Some aspects of the multidimensional soliton geometry are considered. The relation between soliton equations in 2+1 dimensions and the Self-Dual Yang-Mills and Bogomolny equations are discussed.
The planar Yang-Mills theory in three spatial dimensions is examined in a particular representation which explicitly embodies factorization. The effective planar Yang-Mills theory Hamiltonian is constructed in this representation.
Recent developments in the determination of the planar S-matrix of N=4 Super Yang-Mills are closely related to its Yangian symmetry. Here we provide evidence for a yet unobserved additional symmetry: the Yangian level-one helicity operator.
The BCFW recursion relation in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory is solved using Yang-Baxter $R$-operators in the NMHV sector. Explicit expressions for $\mathcal{R}$-invariants are obtained in terms of the chains of $R$-operators acting on an appropriate basic state.
The large-N behavior of Yang-Mills and generalized Yang-Mills theories in the double-scaling limit is investigated. By the double-scaling limit, it is meant that the area of the manifold on which the theory is defined, is itself a function of N. It is shown that phase transitions of different orders occur, depending on the functional dependence of the area on N. The finite-size scalings of the system are also investigated. Specifically, the dependence of the dominant representation on A, for large but finite N is determined.
We present new relations for scattering amplitudes of color ordered gluons and gravitons in Einstein-Yang-Mills theory. Tree-level amplitudes of arbitrary multiplicities and polarizations involving up to three gravitons and up to two color traces are reduced to partial amplitudes of pure Yang-Mills theory. In fact, the double-trace identities apply to Einstein-Yang-Mills extended by a dilaton and a B-field. Our results generalize recent work of Stieberger and Taylor for the single graviton case with a single color trace. As the derivation is made in the dimension-agnostic Cachazo-He-Yuan forma…
We analyze in an effective Lagrangian framework the connection between Super QCD (Super Yang Mills) and QCD (Yang Mills) by highlighting the crucial role that the zero modes play in the process of decoupling gluinos and squarks.
We show that the solutions of SU(2) Yang-Mills-dilation and Einstein-Yang-Mills-dilaton theories described in a sequence of papers by Kleihaus and Kunz are not regular in the gauge field part.
The existence of a "bonus" U(1) level-one Yangian symmetry of N=4 super-Yang-Mills has recently been proposed. We provide evidence for this proposal by constructing the BRST-invariant nonlocal charge in the pure spinor sigma model corresponding to this bonus level-one symmetry. We also construct analogous charges for bonus U(1) symmetries at all odd levels of the Yangian.
We consider spatial coarse-graining in statistical ensembles of non-selfintersecting and one-fold selfintersecting center-vortex loops as they emerge in the confining phase of SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics. This coarse-graining is due to a noisy environment and described by a curve shrinking flow of center-vortex loops locally embedded in a two-dimensional flat plane. The renormalization-group flow of an effective `action', which is defined in purely geometric terms, is driven by the curve shrinking evolution. In the case of non-selfintersecting center-vortex loops, we observe critical behav…
By comparision with numerical results in the maximal Abelian projection of lattice Yang-Mills theory, it is argued that the nonperturbative dynamics of Yang Mills theory can be described by a set of fields that take their values in the coset space SU(2)/U(1). The Yang-Mills connection is parameterized in a special way to separate the dependence on the coset field. The coset field is then regarded as a collective variable, and a method to obtain its effective action is developed. It is argued that the physical excitations of the effective action may be knot solitons. A procedure to calculate th…
We define a natural generalized symmetry of the Yang-Mills equations as an infinitesimal transformation of the Yang-Mills field, built in a local, gauge invariant, and Poincaré invariant fashion from the Yang-Mills field strength and its derivatives to any order, which maps solutions of the field equations to other solutions. On the jet bundle of Yang-Mills connections we introduce a spinorial coordinate system that is adapted to the solution subspace defined by the Yang-Mills equations. In terms of this coordinate system the complete classification of natural symmetries is carried out in a st…
For semisimple groups, possibly multiplied by U(1)'s, the number of Yang-Mills gauge fields is equal to the number of generators of the group. In this paper, it is shown that, for non-semisimple groups, the number of Yang-Mills fields can be larger. These additional Yang-Mills fields are not irrelevant because they appear in the gauge transformations of the original Yang-Mills fields. Such non-semisimple Yang-Mills theories may lead to physical consequences worth studying. The non-semisimple group with only two generators that do not commute is studied in detail.
Exploiting the formulation of the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations as a Riemann-Hilbert factorization problem, we present a theory of pulling back soliton hierarchies to the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations. We show that for each map $ \C^4 \to \C^{\infty } $ satisfying a simple system of linear equations formulated below one can pull back the (generalized) Drinfeld-Sokolov hierarchies to the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations. This indicates that there is a class of solutions to the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations which can be constructed using the soliton techniques like the $τ$ function method. In p…
Contour gauges are discussed in the framework of canonical formalism. We find flux operator algebras with the structure constants of underlying Yang-Mills theory.
Using the Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY) formalism, we prove a recursive expansion of tree level single trace Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) amplitudes with arbitrary number of gluons and gravitons, which is valid for general spacetime dimensions and any helicity configurations. The recursion is written in terms of fewer-graviton EYM amplitudes and pure Yang-Mills (YM) amplitudes, which can be further carried out until we reach an expansion in terms of pure YM amplitudes in Kleiss-Kuijf (KK) basis. Our expansion then generates naturally a spanning tree structure rooted on gluons whose vertices are gravitons…
This article contains lecture notes of M. Shifman from the Saalburg Summer School 2004. The topic is supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, in particular the gluino condensate in pure SUSY gluodynamics.
We show that the `instantonic' soliton of five-dimensional Yang-Mills theory and the closely related BPS monopole of four-dimensional Yang-Mills/Higgs theory continue to be exact static, and stable, solutions of these field theories even after the inclusion of gravitational, electromagnetic and, in the four-dimensional case, dilatonic interactions, provided that certain non-minimal interactions are included. With the inclusion of these interactions, which would be required by supersymmetry, these exact self-gravitating solitons saturate a gravitational version of the Bogomol'nyi bound on the e…
We present new soliton and hairy black hole solutions of su(N) Einstein-Yang-Mills theory in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. These solutions are described by N+1 independent parameters, and have N-1 gauge field degrees of freedom. We examine the space of solutions in detail for su(3) and su(4) solitons and black holes. If the magnitude of the cosmological constant is sufficiently large, we find solutions where all the gauge field functions have no zeros. These solutions are of particular interest because we anticipate that at least some of them will be linearly stable.
We construct a four-parameter class of self-dual instanton solutions of the classical SU(2)-Yang-Mills equations in a closed Euclidean Robertson-Walker space-time.
Using the first order formalism (BFYM) of the Yang-Mills theory we show that it displays an embedded topological sector corresponding to the field content of the Topological Yang-Mills theory (TYM). This picture arises after a proper redefinition of the fields of BFYM and gives a clear representation of the non perturbative part of the theory in terms of the topological sector. In this setting the calculation of the $vev$ of a YM observable is translated into the calculation of a corresponding (non topological) quantity in TYM. We then compare the topological observables of TYM with a similar …
The large-group behavior of the nonlocal YM$_2$'s and gYM$_2$'s on a cylinder or a disk is investigated. It is shown that this behavior is similar to that of the corresponding local theory, but with the area of the cylinder replaced by an effective area depending on the dominant representation. The critical areas for nonlocal YM$_2$'s on a cylinder with some special bounary conditions are also obtained.
Recently, Witten proposed a topological string theory in twistor space that is dual to a weakly coupled gauge theory. In this lectures we will discuss aspects of the twistor string theory. Along the way we will learn new things about Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes. The string theory sheds light on Yang-Mills perturbation theory and leads to new methods for computing Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes.
It is known that the Yangian of PSU(2,2|4) is a symmetry of the tree-level S-matrix of N=4 super Yang-Mills. On the other hand, the complete one-loop dilatation operator in the same theory commutes with the level-one Yangian generators only up to certain boundary terms found by Dolan, Nappi and Witten. Using a result by Zwiebel, we show how the Yangian symmetry of the tree-level S-matrix of N=4 super Yang-Mills implies precisely the Yangian invariance, up to boundary terms, of the one-loop dilatation operator.
We propose $N=2$ holomorphic Yang-Mills theory on compact Kähler manifolds and show that there exists a simple mapping from the $N=2$ topological Yang-Mills theory. It follows that intersection parings on the moduli space of Einstein-Hermitian connections can be determined by examining the small coupling behavior of the $N=2$ holomorphic Yang-Mills theory. This paper is a higher dimensional generalization of the Witten's work on physical Yang-Mills theory in two dimensions.
We conjecture that every rational Yangian invariant in N=4 SYM theory satisfies a recently introduced notion of cluster adjacency. We provide evidence for this conjecture by using the Sklyanin Poisson bracket on Gr(4,n) to check numerous examples.
The self-duality Yang-Mills equations in pseudoeuclidean spaces of dimensions $d\leq 8$ are investigated. New classes of solutions of the equations are found. Extended solutions to the D=10, N=1 supergravity and super Yang-Mills equations are constructed from these solutions.
Strongly self-dual Yang-Mills fields in even dimensional spaces are characterised by a set of constraints on the eigenvalues of the Yang-Mills fields $F_{μν}$. We derive a topological bound on ${\bf R}^8$, $\int_{M} ( F,F )^2 \geq k \int_{M} p_1^2$ where $p_1$ is the first Pontrjagin class of the SO(n) Yang-Mills bundle and $k$ is a constant. Strongly self-dual Yang-Mills fields realise the lower bound.
We write a gravity theory with Yang-Mills type action using the biconformal gauging of the conformal group. We show that the resulting biconformal Yang-Mills gravity theories describe 4-dim, scale-invariant general relativity in the case of slowly changing fields. In addition, we systematically extend arbitrary 4-dim Yang-Mills theories to biconformal space, providing a new arena for studying flat space Yang-Mills theories. By applying the biconformal extension to a 4-dim pure Yang-Mills theory with conformal symmetry, we establish a 1-1, onto mapping between a set of gravitational gauge theor…
We investigate Yang-Mills instantons on a 7-dimensional manifold of G_2 holonomy. By proposing a spherically symmetric ansatz for the Yang-Mills connection, we have ordinary differential equations as the reduced instanton equation, and give some explicit and numerical solutions.
The analysis in previous publications of the instanton constraints required to produce a finite action of the theory is carried out also for N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory.
Non-commutative supersymmetric Yang-Mills with rational Theta is dual to an ordinary supersymmetric Yang-Mills with a 't Hooft flux. It is believed that the simplest description is via the ordinary supersymmetric Yang-Mills. We claim, however, that the two descriptions form a hierarchy. The SYM description is the proper description in the ultra violet while the non-commutative description takes over in the infra red.
We consider a Yang-Mills theory in loop space with an affine Lie gauge group. The Chapline-Manton coupling, the coupling between Yang-Mills fields and an abelian antisymmetric tensor field of second rank via the Chern-Simons term, is systematically derived within the framework of the Yang-Mills theory. The generalized Chapline-Manton couplings, the couplings among non-abelian tensor fields of second rank, Yang-Mills fields, and an abelian tensor field of third rank, are also derived by applying the non-linear realization method to the Yang-Mills theory. These couplings are accompanied by {\it …
