We propose a new framework for simulating $\text{U}(k)$ Yang-Mills theory on a universal quantum computer. This construction uses the orbifold lattice formulation proposed by Kaplan, Katz, and Unsal, who originally applied it to supersymmetric gauge theories. Our proposed approach yields a novel perspective on quantum simulation of quantum field theories, carrying certain advantages over the usual Kogut-Susskind formulation. We discuss the application of our constructions to computing static properties and real-time dynamics of Yang-Mills theories, from glueball measurements to AdS/CFT, making use of a variety of quantum information techniques including qubitization, quantum signal processing, Jordan-Lee-Preskill bounds, and shadow tomography. The generalizations to certain supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories appear to be straightforward, providing a path towards the quantum simulation of quantum gravity via holographic duality.
We prove that the prescription for construction of supersymmetric lattice gauge theories by orbifolding and deconstruction directly leads to Catterall's geometrical discretization scheme in general. These two prescriptions always give the same lattice discretizations when applied to theories of p-form fields. We also show that the geometrical discretization scheme can be applied to more general theories.
We examine the relation between twisted versions of the extended supersymmetric gauge theories and supersymmetric orbifold lattices. In particular, for the $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in $d=4$, we show that the continuum limit of orbifold lattice reproduces the twist introduced by Marcus, and the examples at lower dimensions are usually Blau-Thompson type. The orbifold lattice point group symmetry is a subgroup of the twisted Lorentz group, and the exact supersymmetry of the lattice is indeed the nilpotent scalar supersymmetry of the twisted versions. We also introduce twisting in terms of spin groups…
A possible extension of the Standard Model of elementary particles is Gauge-Higgs unification, where the Higgs field is identified with (some of) the extra dimensional components of a five-dimensional gauge field. In this scenario there is evidence for the potential and the mass of the Higgs field to be finite. Here we show the behavior of the static potential of a five-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory with orbifold boundary conditions. The potentials are computed within the mean-field approximation including first order corrections.
We examine the relation between supersymmetric lattice gauge theories constructed by the link approach and by orbifolding and show that they are equivalent. We discuss the number of preserved supersymmetries.
We provide a general classification of supersymmetric lattice gauge theories that can be obtained from orbifolding of theories with four and eight supercharges. We impose at least one preserved supercharge on the lattice and Lorentz invariance in the naive continuum limit. Starting with four supercharges, we obtain one two-dimensional lattice gauge theory, identical to the one already given in the literature. Starting with eight supercharges, we obtain a unique three-dimensional lattice gauge theory and infinitely many two-dimensional lattice theories. They can be classified according to seven…
In a lattice gauge-Higgs unification scenario using a Z_2-orbifolded extra-dimension, we find a new global symmetry in a case of SU(2) bulk gauge symmetry. It is a global symmetry on sites in a fixed point with respect to Z_2-orbifolding, independent of the bulk gauge symmetry. It is shown that the vacuum expectation value of a Z_2-projected Polyakov loop is a good order parameter of the new symmetry. The effective theory on lattice is also discussed.
We investigate the orbifold lattice theories constructed from supersymmetric Yang-Mills matrix theories (mother theories) with four and eight supercharges. We show that the vacuum energy of these theories does not receive any quantum correction perturbatively.
We compute the index for orbifold quiver gauge theories. We compare it with the results obtained from the type IIB supergravity (superstring) on AdS_5 \times S^5/Γ.
We consider supersymmetric gauge theories coupled to hyper multiplets on five and six dimensional orbifolds and determine the bulk and local fixed point renormalizations of the gauge couplings. We infer from a component analysis that the hyper multiplet does not induce renormalization of the brane gauge couplings on the five dimensional orbifold S^1/Z_2. This is not due to supersymmetry, since the bosonic and fermionic contributions cancel separately. We extend this investigation to T^2/Z_N orbifolds using supergraph techniques in six dimensions. On general Z_N orbifolds the gauge couplings do…
We study heterotic asymmetric orbifold models. By utilizing the lattice engineering technique, we classify (22,6)-dimensional Narain lattices with right-moving non-Abelian group factors which can be starting points for Z3 asymmetric orbifold construction. We also calculate gauge symmetry breaking patterns.
D-instantons are used to probe the near-horizon geometry of D3-branes systems on orbifold spaces. For fractional D3-branes, D-instanton calculus correctly reproduces the gauge beta-function and U(1)_R anomaly of the corresponding N=2 non-conformal Super Yang-Mills theories. For D3-branes wrapping the orbifold singularity, D-instantons can be identified with gauge instantons on ALE space, providing evidence of AdS/CFT duality for gauge theories on curved spaces.
We consider D3 branes at orbifolded conifold singularities which are not quotient singularities. We use toric geometry and gauged linear sigma model to study the moduli space of the gauge theories on the D3 branes. We find that topologically distinct phases are related by a flop transition. It is also shown that an orbifold singularity can occur in some phases if we give expectation values to some of the chiral fields.
We show how to derive Catterall's supersymmetric lattice gauge theories directly from the general principle of orbifolding followed by a variant of the usual deconstruction. These theories are forced to be complexified due to a clash between charge assignments under U(1)-symmetries and lattice assignments in terms of scalar, vector and tensor components for the fermions. Other prescriptions for how to discretize the theory follow automatically by orbifolding and deconstruction. We find that Catterall's complexified model for the two-dimensional N=(2,2) theory has two independent preserved supe…
We have analyzed the breakdown of global supersymmetry by a non-vanishing expectation value of the fifth component of the graviphoton on warped S^1/Z_2 orbifolds. It has been demonstrated that the setups where such a breakdown is possible correspond to the models where the true gauge symmetry on the orbifold, respecting the Z_2-parities and periodicity, is broken by boundary terms. In the tuned models, giving Randall-Sundrum warp factor, gauge symmetry stays intact, and any <A_5> can be gauged away without violating supersymmetry.
We show how to derive the supersymmetric orbifold lattices of Cohen et al. \cite{Cohen:2003xe,Cohen:2003qw} and Kaplan et al. \cite{Kaplan:2005ta} by direct discretization of an appropriate twisted supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We examine in detail the four supercharge two dimensional theory and the theory with sixteen supercharges in four dimensions. The continuum limit of the latter theory is the well known Marcus twist of ${\cal N}=4$ Yang-Mills. The lattice models are gauge invariant and possess one exact supersymmetry at non-zero lattice spacing.
We consider the gauge coupling running in a six-dimensional SO(10) orbifold GUT model. The bulk gauge symmetry is broken down to the standard model gauge group with an extra U(1)_X by orbifold boundary conditions and the extra U(1)_X is further broken through the U(1)_{B-L} breaking with bulk hyper multiplets. We obtain the corrections of Kaluza-Klein massive modes to the running of the gauge couplings and discuss their implication to the successful gauge coupling unification.
We show that non-Abelian discrete symmetries in orbifold string models have a gauge origin. This can be understood when looking at the vicinity of a symmetry enhanced point in moduli space. At such an enhanced point, orbifold fixed points are characterized by an enhanced gauge symmetry. This gauge symmetry can be broken to a discrete subgroup by a nontrivial vacuum expectation value of the Kähler modulus $T$. Using this mechanism it is shown that the $Δ(54)$ non-Abelian discrete symmetry group originates from a $SU(3)$ gauge symmetry, whereas the $D_4$ symmetry group is obtained from a $SU(2)$…
Witten established correspondence between multiparton amplitudes in four-dimensional maximally supersymmetric gauge theory and topological string theory on supertwistor space $CP^{3|4}$. We extend Witten's correspondence to gauge theories with lower supersymmetries, product gauge groups, and fermions and scalars in complex representations. Such gauge theories arise in high-energy limit of the Standard Model of strong and electroweak interactions. We construct such theories by orbifolding prescription. Much like gauge and string theories, such prescription is applicable equally well to topologi…
We study equivalence classes of boundary conditions in an SU(N) gauge theory on six-dimensional space-time including two-dimensional orbifold. For five kinds of two-dimensional orbifolds $S^1/Z_2 \times S^1/Z_2$ and $T^2/Z_m$ $(m=2,3,4,6)$, orbifold conditions and those gauge transformation properties are given and the equivalence relations among boundary conditions are derived. The classification of boundary conditions related to diagonal representatives is carried out using the equivalence relations.
We discuss Kaluza-Klein (KK) decomposition in 5-dimensional (5D) field theories with orbifold compactification. Kinetic terms localized at orbifold fixed points, which are inevitably present in any realistic model, modify the standard KK mass spectrum and interactions of KK modes. This, in turn, can significantly affect phenomenology of the orbifold models. As an example, we discuss gauge coupling unification in N=1 supersymmetric 5D orbifold SU(5) model. We have found that uncertainties in the predictions of the model related to modification of the KK masses are large and essentially uncontro…
It has been shown that a procedure analogous to orbifolding in string theory, when applied to certain large N field theories, leaves correlators invariant perturbatively. We test nonperturbative agreement of some aspects of the orbifolded and non-orbifolded theories. More specifically, we find that the period matrices of parent and orbifolded Seiberg-Witten theories are related, even away from the 't Hooft limit. We also check that any large N theory which has an infrared conformal fixed point and satisfies certain anomaly positivity constraints required by theories with fixed points will cont…
We discuss the appearance of modular functions at the one-loop gauge and gravitational couplings in (0,2) non-decomposable N=1 four dimensional orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string. We define the limits for the existence of states causing singularities in the moduli space in the perturbative regime for a generic vacuum of the heterotic string. The "proof" provides evidence for the explanation of the stringy Higgs effect.
We introduce Orbifold Reduction, a new method for generating $2d$ $(0,2)$ gauge theories associated to D1-branes probing singular toric Calabi-Yau 4-folds starting from $4d$ $\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories on D3-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau 3-folds. The new procedure generalizes dimensional reduction and orbifolding. In terms of T-dual configurations, it generates brane brick models starting from brane tilings. Orbifold reduction provides an agile approach for generating $2d$ $(0,2)$ theories with a brane realization. We present three practical applications of the new algorithm: the connecti…
When fixing a covariant gauge, most popularly the Landau gauge, on the lattice one encounters the Neuberger 0/0 problem which prevents one from formulating a Becchi--Rouet--Stora--Tyutin symmetry on the lattice. Following the interpretation of this problem in terms of Witten-type topological field theory and using the recently developed Morse theory for orbifolds, we propose a modification of the lattice Landau gauge via orbifolding of the gauge-fixing group manifold and show that this modification circumvents the orbit-dependence issue and hence can be a viable candidate for evading the Neube…
We discuss a new method for gauge symmetry breaking in theories with one extra dimension compactified on the orbifold S^1/Z_2. If we assume that fields and their derivatives can jump at the orbifold fixed points, we can implement a generalized Scherk-Schwarz mechanism that breaks the gauge symmetry. We show that our model with discontinuous fields is equivalent to another with continuous but non periodic fields; in our scheme localized lagrangian terms for bulk fields appear.
We have studied the most general N=2 supergravity in five dimensions in context with the orbifold theory based on $M_4 \times S^1/Z_2$. Various ways to treat the supersymmetry with singular sources placed in orbifold fixed points were proposed in past. Supersymmetric branes were consistently introduced in a bulk where a gauged supergravity was present. In this paper we find that in the $N=2,D=5$ supergravity with general gauging, the possibility to obtain a supersymmetric brane world is constrained. Imposing the compatibility of supersymmetry transformation rules with the orbifold condition, w…
We investigate the classical geometry corresponding to a collection of fractional D3 branes in the orbifold limit of an ALE space. We discuss its interpretation in terms of the world-volume gauge theory on the branes, which is in general a non conformal N=2 Yang-Mills theory with matter. The twisted fields reproduce the perturbative behaviour of the gauge theory. We regulate the IR singularities for both twisted and untwisted fields by means of an enhancon mechanism qualitatively consistent with the gauge theory expectations. The five-form flux decreases logarithmically towards the IR with a c…
We examine orbifolds of the IIB string via gauged supergravity. For the gravity duals of the A_{n-1} quiver gauge theories, we extract the massless degrees of freedom and assemble them into multiplets of N=4 gauged supergravity in five dimensions. We examine the embedding of the gauge group into the isometry group of the scalar manifold, as well as the symmetries of the scalar potential. From this we find that there is a large SU(1,n) symmetry group which relates different RG flows in the dual quiver gauge theory. We find that this symmetry implies an extension of the usual duality between ten…
The string one loop renormalization of the gauge coupling constants is examined in abelian orbifold models. The contributions to string threshold corrections independent of the compactification moduli fields are evaluated numerically for several representative examples of orbifold models. We consider cases with standard and non-standard embeddings as well as cases with discrete Wilson lines background fields which match reasonably well with low energy phenomenology. We examine one loop gauge coupling constants unification in a description incorporating the combined effects of moduli dependent …
Grand unified theory defined on higher-dimensional orbifolds provides a new way to solve the hierarchy problem. In gauge theory on an orbifold many different sets of boundary conditions imposed at orbifold fixed points (branes) are related by large gauge transformations, forming an equivalent class of boundary conditions. Thanks to the Hosotani mechanism the physics remains the same in all theories in a given equivalent class, though the symmetry of boundary conditions differs from each other. Quantum dynamics of Wilson line phases rearranges the gauge symmetry. In the nonsupersymmetric SU(5) …
Chern-Simons gauge theory is formulated on three dimensional $Z_2$ orbifolds. The locus of singular points on a given orbifold is equivalent to a link of Wilson lines. This allows one to reduce any correlation function on orbifolds to a sum of more complicated correlation functions in the simpler theory on manifolds. Chern-Simons theory on manifolds is known to be related to 2D CFT on closed string surfaces; here I show that the theory on orbifolds is related to 2D CFT of unoriented closed and open string models, i.e. to worldsheet orbifold models. In particular, the boundary components of the…
We study a ${\IZ}_2$ orbifold of Type 0B string theory by reflection of six of the coordinates (this theory may also be thought of as a ${\IZ}_4$ orbifold of Type IIB string theory by a rotation by $π$ in three independent planes). We show that the only massless mode localized on the fixed fourplane $\IR^{3,1}$ is a U(1) gauge field. After introducing D3-branes parallel to the fixed fourplane we find non-supersymmetric non-abelian gauge theories on their worldvolume. One of our results is that the theory on equal numbers of electric and magnetic D3-branes placed at the fourplane is the ${\IZ}_…
To solve the doublet-triplet splitting problem in SU(5) grand unified theories, we propose a four dimensional orbifold grand unified theory by acting Z2 on the SU(5) gauge group. Without an adjoint Higgs, the orbifold procedure breaks the SU(5) gauge symmetry down to the standard model gauge group, and removes the triplet component of the fundamental SU(5) Higgs. In the supersymmetric framework, we show that the orbifold procedure removes two triplet superfields of the Higgs multiplets and leaves us with the minimal supersymmetric standard model, which also solves the hierarchy problem and rea…
We study indices for 5d gauge theories on S^1 \times S^4/Z_n. In the large orbifold limit, n \rightarrow \infty, we find evidence that the indices become 4d indices in the presence of a 't Hooft line operator. The non-perturbative part of the index poses some subtleties when being compared to the 4d monopole bubbling which happens in the presence of 't Hooft line operators. We study such monopole bubbling indices and find an interesting connection to the Hilbert series of the moduli space of instantons on an auxiliary ALE space.
The Wess-Zumino couplings for generalized sigma-orbifold fixed-points are presented and the generalized GS 6-form that encoding the complete sigma-standard gauge-gravitational-non standard gauge anomaly and its opposite inflow is derived.
We discuss a gauged $U(1)_R$ supergravity on five-dimensional (5D) orbifold ($S^1/Z_2$) in which both a $Z_2$-even U(1) gauge field and the $Z_2$-odd graviphoton take part in the $U(1)_R$ gauging. Based on the off-shell formulation of 5D supergravity, we analyze the structure of Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) terms allowed in such model. Introducing a $Z_2$-even $U(1)_R$ gauge field accompanies new bulk and boundary FI terms in addition to the known integrable boundary FI term which could be present in the absence of any gauged $U(1)_R$ symmetry. Some physical consequences of these new FI terms are exa…
We extend the proposal of Berenstein, Maldacena and Nastase to Type IIB superstring propagating on pp-wave over ${\bf R}^4/{\bf Z}_k$ orbifold. We show that first-quantized free string theory is described correctly by the large $N$, fixed gauge coupling limit of ${\cal N}=2$ $[U(N)]^k$ quiver gauge theory. We propose a precise map between gauge theory operators and string states for both untwisted and twisted sectors. We also compute leading-order perturbative correction to the anomalous dimensions of these operators. The result is in agreement with the value deduced from string energy spectru…
Orbifolds in field theory are potentially singular objects for at their fixed points the curvature becomes infinite, therefore one may wonder whether field theory calculations near orbifold singularities can be trusted. String theory is perfectly well defined on orbifolds and can therefore be taken as a UV completion of field theory on orbifolds. We investigate the properties of field and string theory near orbifold singularities by reviewing the computation of a one loop gauge field tadpole. We find that in string theory the twisted states give contributions that have a spread of a couple of …
We investigate the gauge coupling renormalization in orbifold field theories preserving 4-dimensional N=1 supersymmetry in the framework of 4-dimensional effective supergravity. As a concrete example, we consider the 5-dimensional Super-Yang-Mills theory on a slice of AdS_5. In our approach, one-loop gauge couplings can be determined by the loop-induced axion couplings and the tree level properties of 4-dimensional effective supergravity which are much easier to be computed.
We study gauge-string duality of D3-branes localized at a point on the resolution of the ALE orbifold $\IC^3/\IZ_3$. By explicitly solving for the warp factor, we demonstrate the holographic RG flow from $AdS_5 \times S^5/\IZ_3$ (far away from the resolution) to the usual $AdS_5\times S^5$ (close to the stack). On the gauge theory side, this maps to the flow between the quiver gauge theory and ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills. We present two possible scenarios for this RG flow depending on the choice of the VEVs. In particular, one of the scenarios proceeds by two steps involving both Higgsing an…
We investigate deconstruction of five dimensional supersymmetric abelian gauge theories compactified on $S_1/Z_2$, with various sets of bulk and matter multiplets. The problem of anomalies, chirality and stability in the deconstructed theories is discussed. We find that for most of the 5d brane/bulk matter assignments there exists the deconstructed version. There are, however, some exceptions.
We have computed one-loop bulk and brane mass renormalization effects in a five-dimensional gauge theory compactified on the M_4 \times S^1/Z_2 orbifold, where an arbitrary gauge group G is broken by the orbifold action to its subgroup H. The space-time components of the gauge boson zero modes along the H generators span the gauge theory on the orbifold fixed point branes while the zero modes of the higher-dimensional components of the gauge bosons along the G/H generators play the role of Higgs fields with respect to the gauge group H. No quadratic divergences in the mass renormalization of t…
We provide a new class of Z_N x Z_M heterotic orbifolds on non-factorisable tori, whose boundary conditions are defined by Lie lattices. Generally, point groups of these orbifolds are generated by Weyl reflections and outer automorphisms of the lattices. We classify abelian orbifolds with and without discrete torsion. Then we find that some of these models have smaller Euler numbers than those of models on factorisable tori T^2 x T^2 x T^2. There is a possibility that these orbifolds provide smaller generation numbers of N=1 chiral matter fields than factorisable models.
We present an orbifold GUT model in which the NMSSM Higgs trilinear couplings are unified with the three Standard Model gauge couplings. The model is constructed as an N=2 supersymmetric SU(8) gauge theory in six dimensions, which is reduced to the NMSSM with extra U(1) factors upon compactification. Such an unification is in good agreement with experiments. The predicted upper limit for the lightest CP-even neutral Higgs boson is somewhat larger than in the MSSM, and can be tested in the upcoming Large Hadron Collider.
We compute threshold effects to gauge couplings in four-dimensional $Z_N$ orientifold models of type I strings with ${\cal N}=2$ and ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry, and study their dependence on the geometric moduli. We also compute the tree-level (disk) couplings of the open sector gauge fields to the twisted closed string moduli of the orbifold in various models and study their effects and that of the one-loop threshold corrections on gauge coupling unification. We interpret the results from the (supergravity) effective theory point of view and comment on the conjectured heterotic-type I duality
We consider supersymmetric non-Abelian gauge theories coupled to hyper multiplets on five and six dimensional orbifolds, S^1/Z_2 and T^2/Z_N, respectively. We compute the bulk and local fixed point renormalizations of the gauge couplings. To this end we extend supergraph techniques to these orbifolds by defining orbifold compatible delta functions. We develop their properties in detail. To cancel the bulk one-loop divergences the bulk gauge kinetic terms and dimension six higher derivative operators are required. The gauge couplings renormalize at the Z_N fixed points due to vector multiplet s…
We discuss the use of BRST symmetry and the resulting Ward identities for orbifold gauge theories as consistency checks in an arbitrary number of dimensions. We verify that both the usual orbifold symmetry breaking and the recently proposed Higgsless symmetry breaking are consistent with the nilpotency of the BRST transformation. Imposing the Ward identities resulting from the BRST symmetry on the 4-point functions of theory, we obtain relations on the coupling constants that are shown to be equivalent to the conditions for tree level unitarity. We present the complete set of these sum rules a…
We study the unitarity bounds of the scattering amplitudes in the extra dimensional gauge theory where the gauge symmetry is broken by the boundary condition. The estimation of the amplitude of the diagram including four massive gauge bosons in the external lines shows that the asymptotic power behavior of the amplitude is canceled. The calculation will be done in the 5 dimensional standard model and the SU(5) grand unified theory, whose 5th dimensional coordinate is compactified on $S^1/Z_2$. The broken gauge theories through the orbifolding preserve the unitarity at high energies similarly t…
We discuss the gauge coupling renormalization in orbifold field theories in which the 4-dimensional graviton and/or matter fields are quasi-localized in extra dimension to generate hierarchically different mass scales and/or Yukawa couplings. In such theories, there can be large calculable Kaluza-Klein threshold corrections to low energy gauge couplings, enhanced by the logarithms of small warp factor and/or of small Yukawa couplings. We present the results on those Kaluza-Klein threshold corrections in generic 5-dimensional theory on $S^1/Z_2\times Z_2$ containing arbitrary 5-dimensional gaug…
A large class of orbifold quiver gauge theories admits the action of finite Heisenberg groups of the form \prod_i Heis(Z_{q_i} x Z_{q_i}). For an Abelian orbifold generated by Γ, the Z_{q_i} shift generator in each Heisenberg group is one cyclic factor of the Abelian group Γ. For general non-Abelian Γ, however, we find that the shift generators are the cyclic factors in the Abelianization of Γ. We explicitly show this for the case Γ=Δ(27), where we construct the finite Heisenberg group symmetries of the field theory. These symmetries are dual to brane number operators counting branes on homolo…
We investigate the AdS/CFT correspondence for quiver gauge theories realized on D3-branes put on abelian orbifolds by using the superconformal index. We assume that on the gravity side the finite $N$ corrections of the index are reproduced by D3-branes wrapped on three particular three-cycles in the internal space ${\cal Y}$, the abelian orbifold of $\boldsymbol{S}^5$. We first establish the relation between baryonic charges on the gauge theory side and the D3-brane wrapping numbers and holonomies on D3-branes. Then we confirm our proposal by comparing the results of localization for gauge the…
We continue the development of the topological membrane approach to open and unoriented string theories. We study orbifolds of topologically massive gauge theory defined on the geometry $[0,1]\timesΣ$, where $Σ$ is a generic compact Riemann surface. The orbifold operations are constructed by gauging the discrete symmetries of the bulk three-dimensional field theory. Multi-loop bosonic string vacuum amplitudes are thereby computed as bulk correlation functions of the gauge theory. It is shown that the three-dimensional correlators naturally reproduce twisted and untwisted sectors in the case of…
We investigate the high-energy behavior of the scattering amplitudes in the extra dimensional gauge theory where the gauge symmetry is broken by the boundary condition. We study, in particular, the 5-dimensional SU(5) grand unified theory whose 5th-dimensional coordinate is compactified on S^1/Z_2. We pay attention to the gauge symmetry compatible with the boundary condition on the orbifold and give the BRST formalism of the 4D theory which is obtained through integration of the 5D theory along the extra dimension. We derive the 4D equivalence theorem on the basis of the Slavnov-Taylor identit…
Six-dimensional orbifold models where the Higgs field is identified with some internal component of a gauge field are considered. We classify all possible T^2/Z_N orbifold constructions based on a SU(3) electroweak gauge symmetry. Depending on the orbifold twist, models with two, one or zero Higgs doublets can be obtained. Models with one Higgs doublet are particularly interesting because they lead to a prediction for the Higgs mass, which is twice the W boson mass at leading order: m_H=2 m_W. The electroweak scale is quadratically sensitive to the cut-off, but only through very specific local…
At large N, a field theory and its orbifolds (given by projecting out some of its fields) share the same planar graphs. If the parent-orbifold relation continues even nonperturbatively, then properties such as confinement and chiral symmetry breaking will appear in both parent and orbifold. N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills has many nonsupersymmetric orbifolds which resemble QCD. A nonperturbative parent-orbifold relation predicts many surprising effects, exactly valid at large N, and expected to suffer only mild 1/N corrections. These include degeneracies among bosonic hadrons and exact predictio…
We explicitly construct soliton solutions in the low energy description of M-theory on S^1/Z_2. It is shown that the 11-dimensional membrane is a BPS solution of this theory if stretched between the Z_2 hyperplanes. A similar statement holds for the 11-dimensional 5--brane oriented parallel to the hyperplanes. The parallel membrane and the orthogonal 5-brane, though solutions, break all supersymmetries. Furthermore, we construct the analog of the gauge 5-brane with gauge instantons on the hyperplanes. This solution varies nontrivially along the orbifold direction due to the gauge anomalies loc…
We review the gauge symmetry breaking mechanism due to orbifold projections in orbifold model building. We explicitly show the existence of a scale of breaking if such a symmetry breaking is due to freely-acting orbifold operators only, i.e. in case the breaking is realized non-locally in the internal space. We show that such a scale is related to the compactification moduli only, and that there are no extra continuous parameters, at least in semirealistic models with N=1 SUSY in four dimensions. In this sense, the mechanism is peculiarly different from the standard Higgs (or Hosotani) symmetr…
We discuss the calculation of threshold corrections to gauge coupling constants for the, only, non-decomposable class of abelian (2, 2) symmetric N=1 four dimensional heterotic orbifold models, where the internal twist is realized as a generalized Coxeter automorphism. The latter orbifold was singled out in earlier work as the only N=1 heterotic $Z_N$ orbifold that satisfy the phenomenological criteria of correct minimal gauge coupling unification and cancellation of target space modular anomalies.