We construct rigid supersymmetric gauge theories on Riemannian five-manifolds. We follow a holographic approach, realizing the manifold as the conformal boundary of a six-dimensional bulk supergravity solution. This leads to a systematic classification of five-dimensional supersymmetric backgrounds with gravity duals. We show that the background metric is furnished with a conformal Killing vector, which generates a transversely holomorphic foliation with a transverse Hermitian structure. Moreover, we prove that any such metric defines a supersymmetric background. Finally, we construct supersymmetric Lagrangians for gauge theories coupled to arbitrary matter on such backgrounds.
We calculate partition functions for supersymmetric heterotic theories on Melvin background with Wilson line. These functions coincide with partition functions for some of non-supersymmetric heterotic theories in appropriate limits. This suggests that non-supersymmetric heterotic theories are equivalent to supersymmetric theories on supersymmetry-breaking backgrounds, just as in the case of recently conjectured IIA-0A duality.
We determine the action for five-dimensional maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills in off-shell supergravity backgrounds. The resulting theory contains novel five-dimensional BF type couplings as well as cubic scalar interactions which vanish in flat space.
It is shown that all affine Toda theories admit (1,0) supersymmetric extensions. The construction is based on classical Lie algebras and supersymmetric massive sigma models. The supersymmetrized affine Toda theories have a unique, supersymmetric vacuum, their mass matrix is well defined and their energy functional is positive semi-definite.
The aim of these notes is to provide a short introduction to supersymmetric theories: supersymmetric quantum mechanics, Wess-Zumino models and supersymmetric gauge theories. A particular emphasis is put on the underlying structures and non-perturbative effects in N=1, N=2 and N=4 Yang-Mills theories. (Extended version of lectures given at the TROISIEME CYCLE DE LA PHYSIQUE EN SUISSE ROMANDE)
We investigate the various properties Janus supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. A novel vacuum structure is found and BPS monopoles and dyons are studied. Less supersymmetric Janus theories found before are derived by a simpler method. In addition, we find the supersymmetric theories when the coupling constant depends on two and three spatial coordinates.
We construct supersymmetric theories on the SU(3)xU(1) symmetric squashed five-sphere with 2, 4, 6, and 12 supercharges. We first determine the Killing equation by dimensional reduction from 6d, and use Noether procedure to construct actions. The supersymmetric Yang-Mills action is straightforwardly obtained from the supersymmetric Chern-Simons action by using a supersymmetry preserving constant vector multiplet.
Manifestly invariant renormalization scheme for supersymmetric gauge theories is proposed. This scheme is applied to supersymmetric quantum electrodynamics.
Starting from Seiberg's electric-magnetic duality for supersymmetric QCD, we construct dual pairs of non-supersymmetric gauge theories. This is accomplished by first taking the large N limit of supersymmetric QCD and its dual partner and then performing a special ``orbifold projection'' recently introduced by Kachru and Silverstein. We argue that in the large N limit the two projected theories remain dual. The non-supersymmetric gauge theories which can be studied in this fashion have non-supersymmetric field content, chiral fermions and exactly massless scalar matter.
We examine if there exists a zero-energy supersymmetric ground state for the fundamental five-brane. Looking for an $SO(6)\times SO(2)$- invariant ground state, we construct, in the light-cone gauge, perturbatively a Nicolai map up to third order in the inverse five-brane tension. We show that the Nicolai map equilibrates and the five-brane has a zero-energy normalizable supersymmetric vacuum state. For the other p-branes, we argue that only the three-brane has a zero-energy ground state.
We consider the ultra-violet divergence structure of general noncommutative supersymmetric $U(N_c)$ gauge theories, and seek theories which are all-orders finite.
We present new supersymmetric extensions of Conformal Toda and $A^{(1)}_N$ Affine Toda field theories. These new theories are constructed using methods similar to those that have been developed to find supersymmetric extensions of two-dimensional bosonic sigma models with a scalar potential. In particular, we show that the Conformal Toda field theory admits a (1,1)-supersymmetric extension, and the $A^{(1)}_N$ Affine Toda field admits a (1,0)-supersymmetric extension.
We present a closed-form expression for the supersymmetric non-Abelian Chern-Simons action in conventional five-dimensional N=1 superspace. Our construction makes use of the superform formalism to generate supersymmetric invariants. Similar ideas are applied to construct supersymmetric actions for off-shell supermultiplets with an intrinsic central charge. In particular, the large tensor multiplet is described in superspace for the first time.
In this talk I review some recent results concerning multi-instanton calculus in supersymmetric field theories. More in detail, I will show how these computations can be efficiently performed using the formalism of topological field theories.
We discuss the ways of constructing the exact superpotential for N=1 supersymmetric theories and propose a new approach. As a consequence, a new structure of the superpotential is found.
We give a recipe relating holomorphic quantities in supersymmetric field theory to their descendants in non-supersymmetric Z_2 orbifold field theories. This recipe, consistent with a recent proposal of Strassler, gives exact results for bifermion condensates, domain wall tensions and gauge coupling constants in the planar limit of the orbifold theories.
Supersymmetric field theories on noncommutative spaces are constructed. We present two different representations of noncommutative space, but we can obtain supersymmetry algebla and supersymmetric Yang-Mills action independent of its representation. As a result, we will see that the action has a close relationship with IIB matrix model.
Effective superpotentials are considered which include glueball chiral superfields among their arguments in supersymmetric gauge theories. It is seen that the accommodation of glueball superfields is suitable for their complete determination.
We propose scattering matrices for N=1 supersymmetric integrable quantum field theories in 1+1 dimensions which involve unstable particles in their spectra. By means of the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz we analyze the ultraviolet behaviour of some of these theories and identify the effective Virasoro central charge of the underlying conformal field theories.
Sufficient conditions are proven for 't Hooft's consistency conditions to hold at points in the moduli space of supersymmetric gauge theories. Known results for anomaly matching in supersymmetric QCD are rederived as a sample application of the results. The results can be used to show that the anomaly matching conditions hold for s-confining theories.
We introduce supersymmetric Rényi entropies for $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories in five dimensions. The matrix model representation is obtained using the localization method and the large-$N$ behavior is studied. The gravity dual is a supersymmetric charged topological AdS$_6$ black hole in the Romans $F(4)$ supergravity. The variation of the supersymmetric Rényi entropy due to the insertion of a BPS Wilson loop is computed. We find perfect agreements between the large-$N$ and the dual gravity computations both with and without the Wilson loop operator.
We discuss some properties of noncommutative supersymmetric field theories which do not involve gauge fields. We concentrate on the renormalizability issue of these theories.
We consider the non-supersymmetric "magic" theories based on the split quaternion and the split complex division algebras. We show that these theories arise as "Ehlers" $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ and $SL(3,\mathbb{R})$ truncations of the maximal supergravity theory, exploiting techniques related to very-extended Kac-Moody algebras. We also generalise the procedure to other $SL(n,\mathbb{R})$ truncations, resulting in additional classes of non-supersymmetric theories, as well as to truncations of non-maximal theories. Finally, we discuss duality orbits of extremal black-hole solutions in some of these …
Lectures presented at the 33rd Karpacz Winter School ``Duality: Strings and Fields'' briefly introducing dualities in four-dimensional quantum field theory, and summarizing results found in supersymmetric field theories. The first lecture describes physical aspects of electric-magnetic (EM), strong-weak coupling (S), and infrared (IR) dualities. The second lecture focuses on results and conjectures concerning S-duality in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories. The third lecture discusses IR-dualities and their relation to S-duality in N=1 supersymmetric field theories.
We review recent developments in two-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric gauge theories focusing on the implementation and applications of localization techniques.
We study (4,4) supersymmetric field theories in two dimensions with a one dimensional Coulomb branch. These theories have applications in string theory. Our analysis explains the known relation between $A-D-E$ groups and modular invariants of affine SU(2).
Recently Seiberg has conjectured a duality symmetry connecting different theories of the supersymmetric QCD type. We provide support for this conjecture by analyzing a flat direction of the theory along which the two dual theories go over to the same theory in the IR.
We study a series of $N\!=\!1$ supersymmetric integrable particle theories in $d=1+1$ dimensions. These theories are represented as integrable perturbations of specific $N\!=\!1$ superconformal field theories. Starting from the conjectured $S$-matrices for these theories, we develop the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA), where we use that the 2-particle $S$-matrices satisfy a free fermion condition. Our analysis proves a conjecture by E.~Melzer, who proposed that these $N\!=\!1$ supersymmetric TBA systems are ``folded'' versions of $N\!=\!2$ supersymmetric TBA systems that were first studied by…
The Wess-Zumino term is constructed for supersymmetric QCD with two colors and flavors, and is shown to correctly reproduce the anomalous Ward identities. Supersymmetric QCD is also shown not to have topologically stable skyrmion solutions because of baryon flat directions, which allow them to unwind. The generalization of these results to other supersymmetric theories with quantum modified constraints is discussed.
We introduce simple and more advanced concepts that have played a key role in the development of supersymmetric systems. This is done by first describing various supersymmetric quantum mechanics models. Topics covered include the basic construction of supersymmetric field theories, the phase structure of supersymmetric systems with and without gauge particles, superconformal theories and infrared duality in both field theory and string theory. A discussion of the relation of conformal symmetry to a vanishing vacuum energy (cosmological constant) is included.
Herein, we consider a topologically twisted version of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in five dimensions which was introduced by Witten in 2011. We consider this theory on a five manifold of the form M_4 x I for M_4 an oriented Riemannian four manifold. The complete and unique action of the theory in bulk is written down and is shown to be invariant under two scalar supersymmetries.
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.
We compute the supersymmetric Renyi entropy across an entangling three-sphere for five-dimensional superconformal field theories using localization. For a class of USp(2N) gauge theories we construct a holographic dual 1/2 BPS black hole solution of Euclidean Romans F(4) supergravity. The large N limit of the gauge theory results agree perfectly with the supergravity computations.
We obtain an explicit expression for the supersymmetric Wilson loop in terms of chiral superfields and supercurrents in superspace. The result turns out to be different from what one would expect from the simple replacement of Lie algebra valued connection in the exponent with the corresponding super-Lie algebraic one. Genralizing the super particle coupling represented by the supersymmetric Wilson loop, we show that there exists a unique dimensionless coupling of the superstring to abelian supersymmetric gauge theories that respects all the known symmetries. The coupling is expressed in terms…
We discuss $5d$ and $6d$ supersymmetric gauge theories in the target-space with compactified directions and with the matter hypermultiplets in fundamental representations in the framework of integrable systems. In particular, we consider the prepotentials of these theories and derive explicit formulas for their perturbative parts.
We study the $N=1$ supersymmetric $G_2$ gauge theories with $N_f$ flavors of quarks in the fundamental vector representation. We find dynamically generated superpotentials, smooth quantum moduli space, quantum moduli space with additional mesons, non trivial IR fixed points.
Recent work on the numerical solution of supersymmetric gauge theories is described. The method used is SDLCQ (supersymmetric discrete light-cone quantization). An application to N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in 2+1 dimensions at large N_c is summarized. The addition of a Chern-Simons term is also discussed.
We present the exact effective superpotentials in $4d$, $N=1$ supersymmetric $SU(2)$ gauge theories with $N_3$ triplets and $N_2$ doublets of matter superfields. For the theories with a single triplet matter superfield we present the exact gauge couplings for arbitrary bare masses and Yukawa couplings.
We study the fermionic zero modes around 1 instanton operators for 5d supersymmetric gauge theories of type USp, SO and the exceptional groups. The major motivation is to try to understand the global symmetry enhancement pattern in these theories.
We present a systematic classification of half-supersymmetric solutions of gauged N=2, D=5 supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector multiplets for which at least one of the Killing spinors generate a time-like Killing vector.
We discuss asymptotic safety in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 1$ supersymmetric gauge theories. Our main conclusion is that in a reasonable definition of this phenomenon there are currently no controlled examples of it; there are reasons to believe that it does not occur.
We show under suitable assumptions that zero-modes decouple from the dynamics of non-zero modes in the light-front formulation of some supersymmetric field theories. The implications for Lorentz invariance are discussed.
A previous analysis of possible constraints of Yang-Mills instantons in the presence of spontaneous symmetry breaking is extended to supersymmetric QCD. It is again found that a constraint is necessary for the gauge field in second and fourth order of the gauge breaking parameter v. While the supersymmetric zero mode is well behaved to all orders, the lifted superconformal and quark zero modes show nonpermissible behaviour, but only at first order in v.
The classification of 1/4-supersymmetric solutions of five dimensional gauged supergravity coupled to arbitrary many abelian vector multiplets, which was initiated in hep-th/0401129, is completed. The structure of all solutions for which the Killing vector constructed from the Killing spinor is null is investigated in both the gauged and the ungauged theories and some new solutions are constructed.
We review some results of applying the higher covariant derivative regularization to the investigation of quantum corrections structure in N=1 supersymmetric theories. In particular, we demonstrate that all integrals, defining the Gell-Mann--Low function in supersymmetric theories, are integrals of total derivatives. As a consequence, there is an identity for Green functions, which does not follow from any known symmetry of the theory, in N=1 supersymmetric theories. We also discuss how to derive the exact $β$-function by methods of the perturbation theory.
In these lectures I present a basic introduction to supersymmetry, especially to N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories and their renormalization, in the Wess-Zumino gauge. I also discuss the various ways supersymmetry may be broken in order to account for the lack of exact supersymmetry in the actual world of elementary particles.
Contrary to popular belief conformality does not require zero beta functions. This follows from the work of Jack and Osborn, and examples in non-supersymmetric theories were recently found by some of us. In this note we show that such examples are absent in unitary N=1 supersymmetric four-dimensional field theories. More specifically, we show to all orders in perturbation theory that the beta-function vector field of such theories does not admit limit cycles. A corollary of our result is that unitary N=1 supersymmetric four-dimensional theories cannot be superscale-invariant without being supe…
We refine a previous proposal for obtaining the multi-instanton partition function from the supersymmetric index of the 1d supersymmetric gauge theory on the worldline of D0-branes. We provide examples where the refinements are crucial for obtaining the correct result.
In this paper we discuss the strong coupling limit of chiral N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory via their embedding into M-theory. In particular we focus on the brane box models of Hanany and Zaffaroni and show that after a T-duality transformation their M-theory embedding is described by supersymmetric 3-cycles; its geometry will encode the holomorphic non-perturbative information about the gauge theory.
We use the generalized Konishi anomaly equations and R-symmetry anomaly to compute the exact perturbative and non-perturbative gravitational F-terms of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. We formulate the general procedure for computation and consider chiral and non-chiral SU(N) gauge theories.
Abstrct: We show that the action of self-dual supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four-dimensions, which describes the consistent massless background fields for $~N=2$~ superstring, generates the actions for $~N=1$~ and $~N=2$~ supersymmetric non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories in three-dimensions after appropriate dimensional reductions. Since the latters play important roles for supersymmetric integrable models, this result indicates the fundamental significance of the $~N=2$~ superstring theory controlling (possibly all) supersymmetric integrable models in lower-dimensions.
We construct Euclidean 5d supersymmetric gauge theories on the five-sphere with vector and hypermultiplets. The SUSY transformation and the action are explicitly determined from the standard Noether procedure as well as from off-shell supergravity. Using localization techniques, the path-integral is shown to be restricted to the integration over a generalization of instantons on CP^2 and the Coulomb moduli.
We consider rigid supersymmetric theories in four-dimensional Riemannian spin manifolds. We build the Lagrangian directly in Euclidean signature from the outset, keeping track of potential boundary terms. We reformulate the conditions for supersymmetry as a set of conditions on the torsion classes of a suitable SU(2) or trivial G-structure. We illustrate the formalism with a number of examples including supersymmetric backgrounds with non-vanishing Weyl tensor.
