A recent theorem of Foscolo-Haskins-Nordström which constructs complete $G_2$-holonomy orbifolds from circle bundles over Calabi-Yau cones can be utilised to construct and investigate a large class of generalisations of the $M$-theory flop transition. We see that in many cases a UV perturbative gauge theory appears to have an infrared dual described by a smooth $G_2$-holonomy background in $M$-theory. Various physical checks of this proposal are carried out affirmatively.
This paper has been withdrawn. The interpretation of tension spectrum of cosmic superstrings in terms of KK momentum is invalid as presented in section 2. A new paper based on calculations of the KK spectrum presented here will be submitted.
We construct modular invariant partition functions for type II strings on a conifold and a singular Eguchi-Hanson instanton by means of the SL(2,R)/U(1) version of Gepner models. In the conifold case, we find an extra massless hypermultiplet in the IIB spectrum and argue that it may be identified as a soliton. In the Eguchi-Hanson case, our formula is new and different from the earlier result, in particular does not contain graviton. The lightest IIB fields are combined into a six-dimensional (2,0) tensor multiplet with a negative mass square. We give an interpretation to it as a doubleton-lik…
We construct the first known example of a near horizon supergravity solution for a pair of NS5-branes, intersecting on R^{1,3} and localised in all directions except a single transverse circle. We do this by establishing an explicit map between the conifold metric and the near horizon geometry of two intersecting NS5-branes, clarifying and correcting a number of open issues in the literature en route. Our technique is general in nature and may be applied to a whole class of 1/4-BPS five-brane webs and their geometric duals. These 1/4-BPS solutions may have an interesting holographic interpreta…
Recent work initiated by Strominger has lead to a consistent physical interpretation of certain types of transitions between different string vacua. These transitions, discovered several years ago, involve singular conifold configurations which connect distinct Calabi-Yau manifolds. In this paper we discuss a number of aspects of conifold transitions pertinent to both worldsheet and spacetime mirror symmetry. It is shown that the mirror transform based on fractional transformations allows an extension of the mirror map to conifold boundary points of the moduli space of weighted Calabi-Yau mani…
We make some comments on the derivation of N=2 super-conformal field theories with smooth gauge group from M2-branes placed at conifold singularities, giving a detailed prescription for two specific examples: the singular cones over the Q^{111} and M^{110} manifolds.
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 reconsider the study of the geometric transitions and brane/flux dualities in various dimensions. We first give toric interpretations of the topology changing transitions in the Calabi-Yau conifold and the $Spin(7)$ manifold. The latter, for instance, can be viewed as three intersecting Calabi-Yau conifolds according to $\cp^2$ toric graph. Orbifolds of such geometries are given in terms of del Pezzo complex surfaces. Second we propose a four-dimensional F-theory interpretation of type IIB geometric transitions on the Calabi-Yau conifold. This gives a dual description of the M-theory flop i…
In the space of couplings of the 4D N=1 gauge theory associated to D3 branes probing Calabi-Yau singularities, there is a manifold over which superconformal invariance is preserved. The AdS/CFT correspondence is valid precisely for this "conformal manifold". We identify the conformal manifold for all the Y^{p,q} toric singularities, paying special attention to the case of the conifold, Y^{1,0}. For a general Y^{p,q} the conformal manifold is three dimensional, while for the conifold it is five dimensional. There is always an exactly marginal deformation, analogous to the beta-deformation of N=…
Motivated by similarities between quantum Hall systems à la Susskind and aspects of topological string theory on conifold as well as results obtained in hep-th/0601020, we study the dynamics of D-string fluids running in deformed conifold in presence of a strong and constant RR background B-field. We first introduce the basis of D-string system in fluid approximation and then derive the holomorphic non commutative gauge invariant field action describing its dynamics in conifold. This study may be also viewed as embedding Susskind description for Laughlin liquid in type IIB string theory. FQH s…
In this paper we examine the evolution of the effective field theory describing a conifold transition in type IIB string theory. Previous studies have considered such dynamics starting from the cosmological approximation of homogeneous fields, here we include the effects of inhomogeneities by using a real-time lattice field theory simulation. By including spatial variations we are able to simulate the effect of currents and the gauge fields which they source. We identify two different regimes where the inhomogeneities have opposite effects, one where they aid the system to complete the conifol…
It has recently been suggested that a superpotential for the baryonic branch of the Klebanov-Strassler field theory (KS) should exist for a sector of the dual supergravity fields. In this note we would like to argue that if extended to cover the whole set of supergravity fields a would-be superpotential does not have a perturbative expansion around the known KS superpotential. Since the family of supergravity duals to the baryonic branch is an expansion around the warped deformed conifold, our argument most likely indicates that there is no such superpotential, and hints that some one-paramete…
We construct a D3-brane wrapped on S^1, which is fibred over the resolved conifold as its transverse space. Whereas a fractional D3-brane on the resolved conifold is not supersymmetric and has a naked singularity, our solution is supersymmetric and regular everywhere. We also consider an $S^1$-wrapped D3-brane on the resolved cone over T^{1,1}/Z_2, as well as on the deformed conifold. In the former case, we obtain a regular supergravity dual to a certain four-dimensional field theory whose Lorentz and conformal symmetries are broken in the IR region and restored in the UV limit.
We study large N dualities for a class of ${\cal N} = 1$ theories realized on type IIB D5 branes wrapping 2-cycles of local Calabi-Yau threefolds which is obtained from resolving orbifolded conifolds or as effective field theories on D4 branes in type IIA brane configurations. The field theory is $\mathcal{N} =1$ supersymmetric $\prod U(N_{ij})$ Yang-Mills gauge theory. Strong coupling effects are analyzed in the deformed geometry. We propose open-closed string duality via a geometric transition in toric geometry. The T-dual type IIA picture and M-theory lifting are also considered.
Low-energy effective field theories arising from Calabi-Yau string compactifications are generically inconsistent or ill-defined at the classical level because of conifold singularities in the moduli space. It is shown, given a plausible assumption on the degeneracies of black hole states, that for type II theories this inconsistency can be cured by nonperturbative quantum effects: the singularities are resolved by the appearance of massless Ramond-Ramond black holes. The Wilsonian effective action including these light black holes is smooth near the conifold, and the singularity is reproduced…
We have investigated the features of the gauge vector field in a braneworld scenario built as a warped product between a 3-brane and a 2-cycle of the resolved conifold. This scenario allowed us to study how the gauge field behaves when the transverse manifold evolves upon a geometric flow that controls the singularity at the origin. Besides, since the transverse manifold has a cylindrical symmetry according to the 3-brane, this geometry can be regarded as a near brane correction of the string-like branes. Indeed, by means of a new warp function and the angular metric component of the resolved …
We show that for a large class of d=4 N=2 conformal field theories the 1/N correction to the chiral anomaly of the U(1) R-current can be shown to arise from the D7-branes present in the dual orientifolded orbifold string theories, generalizing a result in the literature for the simplest case. We also study the U(1)_R anomaly for d=4 N=1 conformal field theories that arise from orientifolds of the conifold. We find agreement between the field- and string-theoretic calculations, confirming a prediction of the AdS/CFT correspondence at order 1/N for string theories on AdS_5 x T^{11}/Z_2.
This paper lays groundwork for the detailed study of the non-trivial renormalization group flow connecting supersymmetric fixed points in four dimensions using string theory on AdS spaces. Specifically, we consider D3-branes placed at singularities of Calabi-Yau threefolds which generalize the conifold singularity and have an ADE classification. The $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal theories dictating their low-energy dynamics are infrared fixed points arising from deforming the corresponding ADE $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories by mass terms for adjoint chiral fields. We probe the g…
We study the quark-antiquark interaction in the large N limit of the superconformal field theory on D-3branes at a Calabi-Yau conical singularity. We compute the Wilson loop in the AdS_5xT^{11} supergravity background for the SU(2N)x SU(2N) theory. We also calculate the Wilson loop for the Higgs phase where the gauge group is broken to SU(N)x SU(N)x SU_D(N). This corresponds to a two center configuration with some of the branes at the singularity and the rest of them at a smooth point. The calculation exhibits the expected Coulomb dependence for the interaction. The angular distribution of the…
We have studied the localization of scalar field on a 3-brane embedded in a six dimensional warped bulk of the form $M_{4}\times C_{2}$, where $M_{4}$ is a 3-brane and $C_{2}$ is a 2-cycle of a six resolved conifold $\mathcal{C}_{6}$ over a $T^{1,1}$ space. Since the resolved conifold is singularity-free in $r=0$ depending on a resolution parameter $a$, we have analyzed the behavior of the localization of scalar field when we vary the resolution parameter. On one hand, this enable us to study the effects that a singularity has on the field. On the other hand we can use the resolution parameter…
We discuss the geometric engineering and large n transition for an N=1 U(n) chiral gauge theory with one adjoint, one conjugate symmetric, one antisymmetric and eight fundamental chiral multiplets. Our IIB realization involves an orientifold of a non-compact Calabi-Yau A_2 fibration, together with D5-branes wrapping the exceptional curves of its resolution as well as the orientifold fixed locus. We give a detailed discussion of this background and of its relation to the Hanany-Witten realization of the same theory. In particular, we argue that the T-duality relating the two constructions maps …
In this paper we study the N=1 supersymmetric field theories realized on the world-volume of type IIB D3-branes sitting at orientifolds of non-orbifold singularities (conifold and generalizations). Several chiral models belong to this family of theories. These field theories have a T-dual realization in terms of type IIA configurations of relatively rotated NS fivebranes, D4-branes and orientifold six-planes, with a compact $x^6$ direction, along which the D4-branes have finite extent. We compute the spectrum on the D3-branes directly in the type IIB picture and match the resulting field theor…
We assemble a few remarks on the supergravity solution of hep-th/0007191, whose UV asymptotic form was previously found in hep-th/0002159. First, by normalizing the R-R fluxes, we compare the logarithmic flow of couplings in supergravity with that in field theory, and find exact agreement. We also write the 3-form field strength $G_3 = F_3 - τH_3$ present in the solution in a manifestly SO(4) invariant (2,1) form. In addition, we discuss various issues related to the chiral symmetry breaking and wrapped branes.
We investigate solutions of type II supergravity which have the product R^4 x M^6 structure with non-compact M^6 factor and which preserve at least four supersymmetries. In particular, we consider various conifolds and the N=1 supersymmetric NS5-brane wrapped on 2-sphere solution recently discussed in hep-th/0008001. In all of these cases, we explicitly construct the complex structures, and the Kaehler and parallel (3,0) forms of the corresponding M^6. In addition, we verify that the above solutions preserve, respectively, eight and four supersymmetries of type II theory. We also demonstrate t…
A method to solve various aspects of the strong coupling expansion of the superconformal field theory duals of AdS_5 x X geometries from first principles is proposed. The main idea is that at strong coupling the configurations that dominate the low energy dynamics of the field theory compactified on a three sphere are given by certain non-trivial semi-classical configurations in the moduli space of vacua. We show that this approach is self-consistent and permits one to express most of the dynamics in terms of an effective N=4 SYM dynamics. This has the advantage that some degrees of freedom th…
In this paper, we extend our previous analysis concerning the formation of inhomogeneous condensates in strongly-coupled fermion effective field theories on curved spaces and include the case of conifold geometries that represent the simplest tractable case of manifolds with curvature singularities. In the set-up considered here, by keeping the genuine thermodynamical temperature constant, we may single out the role that curvature effects play on the breaking/restoration of chiral symmetry and on the appearance of inhomogeneous phases. The first goal of this paper is to construct a general exp…
We study the supersymmetric embeddings of different D-brane probes in the AdS_5 x T^{1,1} geometry. The main tool employed is kappa symmetry and the cases studied include D3-, D5- and D7-branes. We find a family of three-cycles of the T^{1,1} space over which a D3-brane can be wrapped supersymmetrically and we determine the field content of the corresponding gauge theory duals. Supersymmetric configurations of D5-branes wrapping a two-cycle and of spacetime filling D7-branes are also found. The configurations in which the entire T^{1,1} space is wrapped by a D5-brane (baryon vertex) and a D7-b…
Motivated by the simplicity and direct phenomenological applicability of field-theoretic orbifold constructions in the context of grand unification, we set out to survey the immensely rich group-theoretical possibilities open to this type of model building. In particular, we show how every maximal-rank, regular subgroup of a simple Lie group can be obtained by orbifolding and determine under which conditions rank reduction is possible. We investigate how standard model matter can arise from the higher-dimensional SUSY gauge multiplet. New model building options arise if, giving up the global o…
We consider a U(1) Gauged Linear Sigma Model (GLSM) with (2,2) supersymmetry, leading to a susy vacua of the resolved conifold. It possesses the non-Abelian global symmetry SU(2)xSU(2). A non-Abelian T-duality can be constructed which can be described by gauging the global non-Abelian symmetry. This leads to a dual action, in terms of the dual model Kaehler and superpotential terms, which include twisted chiral superfields dependence. Comparing the effective potentials for the U(1) fields on the original and the dual models we determine the instanton corrections to the dual action. We obtain t…
Lorentz-invariant expectation values for antisymmetric tensor field strengths in Calabi-Yau compactification of IIA string theory are considered. These are found to impart magnetic and/or electric charges to the dilaton hypermultiplet. This results in a potential which can have supersymmetric minima at zero coupling or at conifold points in the moduli space. The latter occurs whenever the dilaton charge is aligned with that of the light black hole at the conifold. It is shown that there is a flat direction extending from the conifold along which there is a black hole condensate whose strength …
Recently proposed mechanism of the black hole condensation at conifold singularity in type II string is an interesting idea from which we can interpret the phase of the universal moduli space of the string vacua. It might also be expected that the true physics is on the conifold singularity after supersymmetry breaking. We derive a mass formula for the extreme black holes caused by the self-dual 5-form field strength, which is stable and supersymmetric. It is shown that the formula can be written by the moduli parameters of Calabi-Yau manifold and can be calculated explicitly.
We revisit the singular IIB supergravity solution describing M fractional 3-branes on the conifold [hep-th/0002159]. Its 5-form flux decreases, which we explain by showing that the relevant \NN=1 SUSY SU(N+M)xSU(N) gauge theory undergoes repeated Seiberg-duality transformations in which N -> N-M. Far in the IR the gauge theory confines; its chiral symmetry breaking removes the singularity of hep-th/0002159 by deforming the conifold. We propose a non-singular pure-supergravity background dual to the field theory on all scales, with small curvature everywhere if the `t Hooft coupling g_s M is la…
We study fractional branes in ${\CN}=2$ orbifold and ${\CN}=1$ conifold theories. Placing a large number $N$ of regular D3-branes at the singularity produces the dual ${\bf AdS}_5\times X^5$ geometry, and we describe the fractional branes as small perturbations to this background. For the orbifolds, $X^5={\bf S}^5/Γ$ and fractional D3-branes excite complex scalars from the twisted sector which are localized on the fixed circle of $X^5$. The resulting solutions are given by holomorphic functions and the field-theoretic beta-function is simply reproduced. For $N$ regular and $M$ fractional D3-br…
We consider the conundrum of generating de Sitter space from higher-dimensional geometry, with particular attention to KKLT-type constructions arXiv:hep-th/0301240 and their 5d implications. We show that even in the probe approximation with small $g_s$, a consistent higher-dimensional solution requires a deformation of a modulus field playing the role of a Goldberger-Wise stabilizing field in Randall-Sundrum type geometries that occurs through a shift in a the throat length. We identify the light radion field that sets the length of the throat, whose origin is the dynamical conifold deformatio…
We construct spacetime supersymmetric, modular invariant partition functions of strings on the conifold-type singularities which include contributions from the discrete-series representations of SL(2, R). The discrete spectrum is automatically consistent with the GSO projection in the continuous sector, and contains massless matter fields localized on a four-dimensional submanifold at the tip of a cigar. In particular, they are in the 27+1 of E6 for the E8 x E8 heterotic string. We speculate about a possible realization of local E6 GUT by using this framework.
We consider the dynamics of p anti-D3 branes inside the Klebanov-Strassler geometry, the deformed conifold with M units of RR 3-form flux around the S^3. We find that for p<<M the system relaxes to a nonsupersymmetric NS 5-brane ``giant graviton'' configuration, which is classically stable, but quantum mechanically can tunnel to a nearby supersymmetric vacuum with M-p D3 branes. This decay mode is exponentially suppressed and proceeds via the nucleation of an NS 5-brane bubble wall. We propose a dual field theory interpretation of the decay as the transition between a nonsupersymmetric ``baryo…
Just as parallel threebranes on a smooth manifold are related to string theory on $AdS_5\times {\bf S}^5$, parallel threebranes near a conical singularity are related to string theory on $AdS_5\times X_5$, for a suitable $X_5$. For the example of the conifold singularity, for which $X_5=(SU(2)\times SU(2))/U(1)$, we argue that string theory on $AdS_5\times X_5$ can be described by a certain ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theory which we describe in detail.
In light of the AdS/CFT correspondence, it is natural to try to define a conformal field theory in a large N, strong coupling limit via a supergravity compactification on the product of an Einstein manifold and anti-de Sitter space. We consider the five-dimensional manifolds T^{pq} which are coset spaces (SU(2) x SU(2))/U(1). The central charge and a part of the chiral spectrum are calculated, respectively, from the volume of T^{pq} and the spectrum of the scalar laplacian. Of the manifolds considered, only T^{11} admits any supersymmetry: it is this manifold which characterizes the supergravi…
We explore the connection of anti-de-Sitter supergravity in six dimensions, based on the exceptional F(4) superalgebra, and its boundary superconformal singleton theory. The interpretation of these results in terms of a D4-D8 system and its near horizon geometry is suggested.
The conjecture that the states of the fermionic quasi-particles in minimal conformal field theories are eigenstates of the integrals of motion to certain eigenvalues is checked and shown to be correct only for the Ising model.
Recently, some of the authors have introduced a new interpretation of matrix models in which covariant derivatives on any curved space can be expressed by large-N matrices. It has been shown that the Einstein equation follows from the equation of motion of IIB matrix model in this interpretation. In this paper, we generalize this argument to covariant derivatives with torsion. We find that some components of the torsion field can be identified with the dilaton and the $B$-field in string theory. However, the other components do not seem to have string theory counterparts. We also consider the …
Noncommutative coordinates are decomposed into a sum of geometrical ones and a universal quantum shift operator. With the help of this operator, the mapping of a commutative field theory into a noncommutative field theory (NCFT) is introduced. A general measure for the Lorentz-invariance violation in NCFT is also derived.
The Bohmian interpretation of the many-fingered time (MFT) Tomonaga-Schwinger formulation of quantum field theory (QFT) describes MFT fields, which provides a covariant Bohmian interpretation of QFT without introducing a preferred foliation of spacetime.
We investigate recent results for the electrical conductivity and the fermionic self-energy, obtained in a holographic bottom-up model for a relativistic charge-neutral conformal field theory. We present two possible field-theoretic derivations of these results, using either a semiholographic or a holographic point of view. In the semiholographic interpretation, we also show how, in general, the conductivity should be calculated in agreement with Ward identities. The resulting field-theory interpretation may lead to a better understanding of the holographic dictionary in applied AdS/CMT.
We express the Poisson brackets of local fields of the affine Toda field theories in terms of the Drinfeld-Sokolov dressing operator. For this, we introduce a larger space of fields, containing ``half screening charges'' and ``half integrals of motions''. In addition to local terms, the Poisson brackets contain nonlocal terms related to trigonometric r-matrices.
It is possible to provide a thermodynamic interpretation for the field equations in any diffeomorphism invariant theory of gravity. This insight, in turn, leads us to the possibility of deriving the gravitational field equations from another variational principle without using the metric as a dynamical variable. I review this approach and discuss its implications.
It has been proposed that the incorporation of an observer independent minimal length scale into the quantum field theories of the standard model effectively describes phenomenological aspects of quantum gravity. The aim of this paper is to interpret this description and its implications for scattering processes.
A new approach is proposed for an electromagnetic field geometrisation. We show that interacting Maxwell and Dirac fields can be considered as a single connected space-time 4-manifold. The Dirac spinors appear wihtin such approach as basic fanctions for the manifold fundamental group representation and electric and magnertic fields appear as components of a curvature tensor of the manifold covering space.
