A direct anomaly calculation method for general supersymmetric models by path integral measure in superspace is established. It includes the traditional Konishi anomaly as a specific case. As another example, superconformal anomaly in $\mathcal N = 1, D = 4$ conformal supergravity is calculated.
We are solving for the case of flat superspace some homological problems that were formulated by Berkovits and Howe. (Our considerations can be applied also to the case of supertorus.) These problems arise in the attempt to construct integrals invariant with respect to supersymmetry. They appear also in other situations, in particular, in the pure spinor formalism in supergravity.
Supersymmetric terms in the effective action of N=2 supergravity in four dimensions are generically classified into chiral-superspace integrals and full-superspace integrals. For a theory of N=2 vector multiplets coupled to supergravity, a special class of couplings is given by chiral-superspace integrals that are governed by a holomorphic prepotential function. The quantum entropy of BPS black holes in such theories depends on the prepotential according to a known integral formula. We show, using techniques of localization, that a large class of full-superspace integrals in the effective acti…
We reconstruct the action of $N=1, D=4$ Wess-Zumino and $N=1, 2, D=4$ super-Yang-Mills theories, using integral top forms on the supermanifold ${\cal M}^{(4|4)}$. Choosing different Picture Changing Operators, we show the equivalence of their rheonomic and superspace actions. The corresponding supergeometry and integration theory are discussed in detail. This formalism is an efficient tool for building supersymmetric models in a geometrical framework.
We study Chevalley-Eilenberg cohomology of physically relevant Lie superalgebras related to supersymmetric theories, providing explicit expressions for their cocycles in terms of their Maurer-Cartan forms. We then include integral forms in the picture by defining a notion of integral forms related to a Lie superalgebra. We develop a suitable generalization of Chevalley-Eilenberg cohomology extended to integral forms and we prove that it is isomorphic to the ordinary Chevalley-Eilenberg cohomology of the Lie superalgebra. Next we study equivariant Chevalley-Eilenberg cohomology for coset supers…
We show how manifestly supersymmetric action for Wess-Zumino model can be constructed within the unfolded dynamics approach. The off-shell unfolded system for N = 1, D = 4 scalar supermultiplet is found. The action is presented in the form of integral of a closed 4-form over any (4, 0) surface in superspace as well as a superspace integral of an integral form or a chiral integral form. The proposed method is argued to provide a most general tool for the analysis of manifestly supersymmetric functionals.
Elliptic hypergeometric integrals describe superconformal indices of 4d supersymmetric field theories. We show that all 't Hooft anomaly matching conditions for Seiberg dual theories can be derived from $SL(3,\mathbb{Z})$-modular transformation properties of the kernels of dual indices.
We reveal a new mechanism of conformal symmetry breaking at Born level. It occurs in generalized form factors with several local operators and an on-shell state of massless particles. The effect is due to hidden singularities on collinear configurations of the momenta. This conformal anomaly is different from the holomorphic anomaly of amplitudes. We present a number of examples in four and six dimensions. We find an application of the new conformal anomaly to finite loop momentum integrals with one or more massless legs. The collinear region around a massless leg creates a contact anomaly, ma…
In this note, we revise the problem of the axial anomaly in the framework of very special relativity following Fujikawa's path integral approach. We show nonperturbatively that no VSR contribution is present in the path integral measure in $(3+1)$-dimensional spacetime. Furthermore, we extend our results to $(1+1)$ dimensions, as well as to the two-dimesional curved spacetime.
By using integral forms we derive the superspace action of D=3, N=1 supergravity as an integral on a supermanifold. The construction is based on target space picture changing operators, here playing the role of Poincare' duals to the lower-dimensional spacetime surfaces embedded into the supermanifold. We show how the group geometrical action based on the group manifold approach interpolates between the superspace and the component supergravity actions, thus providing another proof of their equivalence.
We consider conformal and 't Hooft anomalies in six-dimensional ${\cal N}=(1,0)$ superconformal field theories, focusing on those conformal anomalies that determine the two- and three-point functions of conserved flavor and $SU(2)_R$ currents, as well as stress tensors. By analyzing these correlators in superspace, we explain why the number of independent conformal anomalies is reduced in supersymmetric theories. For instance, non-supersymmetric CFTs in six dimensions have three independent conformal $c$-anomalies, which determine the stress-tensor two- and three-point functions, but in superc…
We calculate the $U(1)$ axial-anomaly in two and four dimensions using a modified path integral method coupled to a Pauli-Villars regulator field in the noncommutative QED. Pauli-Villars regularization method provides us with unambiguous way to connect the modified path integral formalism with perturbative axial Ward identities at each step of calculations.
In this paper we will consider the Almheiri-Polchinski model of the AdS$_2$ back reaction coupled with Liouville field, which is necessary for quantum consistency. In this model, the Liouville field is determined classically by a bulk conformal transformation. The boundary time is also reparametrized by this transformation. It is shown that the on-shell action on the boundary for the gravity sector is given by a bulk integral containing the Liouville field. This integral stems from Weyl anomaly and is SL(2,R) invariant. A prescription is given for computing correlation functions of the operato…
We study the large source asymptotics of the generating functional in quantum field theory using the holographic renormalization group, and draw comparisons with the asymptotics of the Hopf characteristic function in fractal geometry. Based on the asymptotic behavior, we find a correspondence relating the Weyl anomaly and the fractal dimension of the Euclidean path integral measure. We are led to propose an equivalence between the logarithmic ultraviolet divergence of the Shannon entropy of this measure and the integrated Weyl anomaly, reminiscent of a known relation between logarithmic diverg…
In recent years, there have been controversy concerning the anomaly mediated gaugino mass in the superspace formalism of supergravity. In this paper, we reexamine the gaugino mass term in this formalism by paying particular attention to symmetry which controls gaugino masses in supergravity. We first discuss super-Diffeomorphism invariance of path-integral measures of charged superfields. As we will show, the super-Diffeomorphism invariant measure is not invariant under a super-Weyl transformation, which is the origin of the anomaly mediated gaugino mass. We show how the anomaly mediated gaugi…
Invariant Path-Integral Quantization and Anomaly Cancellation
University of Graz (Uni Graz)(格拉茨大学);Masaryk University (MUNI)(马萨里克大学);Mons University (UMONS)(蒙斯大学);Politecnico di Torino (PoliTo)(都灵理工大学);Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Section of Torino(意大利国家核物理研究所,都灵分部);Universidad Católica De La Santísima Concepción(圣心天主教大学)
In this paper we calculate the scale anomaly for a quantum field theoretic 2D-nonrelativistic Bose gas with contact interactions using Fujikawa's method, both in vacuum and in many-body systems. The use of path integrals for these problems is novel and motivated by a recently developed path-integral framework for addressing questions about scaling in these systems. A natural class of regulators is found that produces the correct value of the anomaly traditionally calculated via other methods, e.g., diagrammatically via the beta function.
We derive the relativistic thermodynamic scale equation using imaginary-time path integrals, with complex scalar field theory taken as a concrete example. We use Fujikawa's method to derive the scaling anomaly for this system using a matrix regulator. We make a general scaling argument to show how for anomalous systems, the $β$ function of the vacuum theory can be derived from measurement of macroscopic thermodynamic parameters.
We showed that there is no SU(2) Witten anomaly in a large class of 4d N = 2 supersymmetric Heterotic string compactifications. The consistency conditions we consider are the modularity of the new supersymmetric index, the integrality of BPS indices, and the discrete Peccei-Quinn shift symmetries. We also found an example where these conditions are not sufficient to show that the theory is anomaly free. This suggests that there are more conditions in the worldsheet SCFT essential for consistent string compactifications.
A symmetry-twisted boundary condition of the path integral provides a suitable framework for the semi-classical analysis of nonperturbative quantum field theories (QFTs), and we reinterpret it from the viewpoint of the Hilbert space. An appropriate twist with the unbroken symmetry can potentially produce huge cancellations among excited states in the state-sum, without affecting the ground states; we call this effect "quantum distillation". Quantum distillation can provide the underlying mechanism for adiabatic continuity, by preventing a phase transition under $S^1$ compactification. We revis…
Vafa-Witten (VW) theory is a topologically twisted version of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. S-duality suggests that the partition function of VW theory with gauge group SU(N) transforms as a modular form under duality transformations. Interestingly, Vafa and Witten demonstrated the presence of a modular anomaly, when the theory has gauge group SU(2) and is considered on the complex projective plane P2. This modular anomaly could be expressed as an integral of a modular form, and also be traded for a holomorphic anomaly. We demonstrate that the modular anomaly for gauge group SU(3) invo…