In this work we present an algebraic approach to the dynamics and perturbation theory at tree-level for gauge theories coupled to matter. The field theories we will consider are: Chern-Simons-Matter, Quantum Chromodynamics, and scalar Quantum Chromodynamics. Starting with the construction of the master action in the classical Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, we will extract the $L_{\infty}$-algebra that allow us to recursively calculate the perturbiner expansion from its minimal model. The Maurer-Cartan action obtained in this procedure will then motivate a generating function for all the tree-level scattering amplitudes. There are two interesting outcomes of this construction: a generator for fully-flavoured amplitudes via a localisation on Dyck words; and closed expressions for fermion and scalar lines attached to $n$-gluons with arbitrary polarisations.
The Poisson gauge theory is a semi-classical limit of full non-commutative gauge theory. In this work we construct an L$_\infty^{full}$ algebra which governs both the action of gauge symmetries and the dynamics of the Poisson gauge theory. We derive the minimal set of non-vanishing $\ell$-brackets and prove that they satisfy the corresponding homotopy relations. On the one hand, it provides new explicit non-trivial examples of L$_\infty$ algebras. On the other hand, it can be used as a starting point for bootstrapping the full non-commutative gauge theory. The first few brackets of such a theo…
We show how the gauge and field structure of the tensor hierarchies in Double and $E_{7(7)}$ Exceptional Field Theory fits into $L_\infty$ algebras. Special attention is paid to redefinitions, the role of covariantly constrained fields and intertwiners. The results are connected to Gauged Supergravities through generalized Scherk-Schwarz reductions. We find that certain gauging-dependent parameters generate trivial gauge transformations, giving rise to novel symmetries for symmetries that are absent in their ungauged counterparts.
We review in detail the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism for Lagrangian field theories and its mathematical foundations with an emphasis on higher algebraic structures and classical field theories. In particular, we show how a field theory gives rise to an $L_\infty$-algebra and how quasi-isomorphisms between $L_\infty$-algebras correspond to classical equivalences of field theories. A few experts may be familiar with parts of our discussion, however, the material is presented from the perspective of a very general notion of a gauge theory. We also make a number of new observations and present som…
We continue our study of zero-dimensional field theories in which the fields take values in a strong homotopy Lie algebra. In a first part, we review in detail how higher Chern-Simons theories arise in the AKSZ-formalism. These theories form a universal starting point for the construction of $L_\infty$-algebra models. We then show how to describe superconformal field theories and how to perform dimensional reductions in this context. In a second part, we demonstrate that Nambu-Poisson and multisymplectic manifolds are closely related via their Heisenberg algebras. As a byproduct of our discuss…
Translation-invariant noncommutative gauge theories are discussed in the setting of matrix modeled gauge theories. Using the matrix model formulation the explicit form of consistent anomalies and consistent Schwinger terms for translation-invariant noncommutative gauge theories are derived.
We review and develop the general properties of $L_\infty$ algebras focusing on the gauge structure of the associated field theories. Motivated by the $L_\infty$ homotopy Lie algebra of closed string field theory and the work of Roytenberg and Weinstein describing the Courant bracket in this language we investigate the $L_\infty$ structure of general gauge invariant perturbative field theories. We sketch such formulations for non-abelian gauge theories, Einstein gravity, and for double field theory. We find that there is an $L_\infty$ algebra for the gauge structure and a larger one for the fu…
Non-commutative gauge theories with a non-constant NC-parameter are investigated. As a novel approach, we propose that such theories should admit an underlying L$_\infty$ algebra, that governs not only the action of the symmetries but also the dynamics of the theory. Our approach is well motivated from string theory. We recall that such field theories arise in the context of branes in WZW models and briefly comment on its appearance for integrable deformations of AdS$_5$ sigma models. For the SU(2) WZW model, we show that the earlier proposed matrix valued gauge theory on the fuzzy 2-sphere ca…
We present a general method of constructing Winf and winf gauge theories in terms of d+2 dimensional local fields. In this formulation the \Winf gauge theory Lagrangians involve non-local interactions, but the winf theories are entirely local. We discuss the so-called classical contraction procedure by which we derive the Lagrangian of winf gauge theory from that of the corresponding Winf gauge theory. In order to discuss the relationship between quantum Winf and quantum winf gauge theory we solve d=1 gauge theory models of a Higgs field exactly by using the collective field method. Based on t…
We consider gauge theories in a String Field Theory-inspired formalism. The constructed algebraic operations lead in particular to homotopy algebras of the related BV theories. We discuss invariant description of the gauge fixing procedure and special algebraic features of gauge theories coupled to matter fields.
To appear in Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, published by Elsevier in early 2006. Comments/corrections welcome. The article surveys topological aspects in gauge theories.
$L_{\infty}$ algebras have been recently studied as algebraic frameworks in the formulation of gauge theories in which the gauge symmetries and the dynamics of the interacting theories are contained in a set of products acting on a graded vector space. On the other hand, FDAs are differential algebras that generalize Lie algebras by including higher-degree differential forms on their differential equations. In this article, we review the dual relation between FDAs and $L_{\infty}$ algebras. We study the formulation of standard Chern--Simons theories in terms of $L_{\infty}$ algebras and extend…
In a previous paper it was shown that the recently constructed action for open superstring field theory based on $A_\infty$ algebras can be re-written in Wess-Zumino-Witten-like form, thus establishing its relation to Berkovits' open superstring field theory. In this paper we explain the relation between these two theories from a different perspective which emphasizes the small Hilbert space, and in particular the relation between the $A_\infty$ structures on both sides.
We construct a family of four-dimensional noncommutative deformations of $U(1)$ gauge theory following a general scheme, recently proposed in JHEP 08 (2020) 041 for a class of coordinate-dependent noncommutative algebras. This class includes the $\mathfrak{su}(2)$, the $\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$ and the angular (or $λ$-Minkowski) noncommutative structures. We find that the presence of a fourth, commutative coordinate $x^0$ leads to substantial novelties in the expression for the deformed field strength with respect to the corresponding three-dimensional case. The constructed field theoretical models…
We construct a $W_{\infty}$ gauge field theory of electrons in the lowest Landau level. For this purpose we introduce an external gauge potential $\cal A $ such that its $W_{\infty}$ gauge transformations cancel against the gauge transformation of the electron field. We then show that the electromagnetic interactions of electrons in the lowest Landau level are obtained through a non-linear realization of $\cal A$ in terms of the $U(1)$ gauge potential $A^{\m}$. As applications we derive the effective Lagrangians for circular droplets and for the $\n =1$ quantum Hall system.
We give a general formula for gauge states at the discrete momenta in Liouville theory. These discrete gauge states carry the $w_\infty$ charges. As in the case of the 26D (or 10D) string theory, they are decoupled from the correlation functions and can be considered as the symmetry parameters in the old covariant quantization of the theory.
We study the prepotential of N=2 gauge theories using the instanton counting techniques introduced by Nekrasov. For the SO theories without matter we find a closed expression for the full prepotential and its string theory gravitational corrections. For the more subtle case of Sp theories without matter we discuss general features and compute the prepotential up to instanton number three. We also briefly discuss SU theories with matter in the symmetric and antisymmetric representations. We check all our results against the predictions of the corresponding Seiberg-Witten geometries.
We study refined and motivic wall-crossing formulas in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with SU(2) gauge group and N_f < 4 matter hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation. Such gauge theories provide an excellent testing ground for the conjecture that "refined = motivic."
A consistent description of gauge theories on coordinate dependent non-commutative (NC) space-time is a long-standing problem with a number of solutions, none of which is free from criticism. In this work, we discuss the approach proposed in arXiv:1803.00732, based on the conjecture that any consistent gauge theory can be described in terms of the $L_\infty$-structure. Starting with a well-defined commutative gauge theory, we represent it, together with the non-commutative deformation, as a part of a bigger $L_\infty$-algebra by setting some initial brackets $\ell_1$, $\ell_2$, etc. Then, solv…
In this note we determine the graviton-graviton OPE and the null states in any $w_{1+\infty}$ symmetric theory on the celestial sphere. Our analysis shows that there exists a discrete \textit{infinite} family of such theories. The MHV-sector and the quantum self dual gravity are two members of this infinite family. Although the Bulk Lagrangian description of this family of theories is not currently known to us, the graviton scattering amplitudes in these theories are heavily constrained due to the existence of null states. Presumably they are exactly solvable in the same way as the minimal mod…
The lattice formulation of gauge theories in a renormalizable gauge is discussed. The formulation invokes a new phase diagram, and it may allow for a lattice definition of Chiral Gauge Theories.
We introduce a new map between a q-deformed gauge theory on a general GL_{q}(N)-covariant quantum hyperplane and an ordinary gauge theory in a full analogy with Seiberg-Witten map. Perturbative analysis of the q-deformed QED at the classical level is presented and gauge fixing a la BRST is discussed
The brief review of the duality between gauge theories and closed strings propagating in the curved space is based on the lectures given at ITEP Winter School - 2005
On the example of topologically massive gauge field theory we find the origin of possible inconsistency of working with gauge fixing terms (together with relevant ghost sector)
We investigate strings theories as defined from four dimensional gauge theories. It is argued that novel (super)string theories exist up to 26 dimensions. Some of them may support weakly curved geometries.
We thereby prove that a large class of topologically massive theories of the Cremmer-Scherk-Kalb-Ramond-type in any $d$ dimensions corresponds to gauge non-invariant first-order theories that can be interpreted as self-dual models.
We consider gauge theories on noncommutative euclidean space . In particular, we discuss the structure of gauge group following standard mathematical definitions and using the ideas of hep-th/0102182.
We propose a generating functional for nonrelativistic gauge invariant actions. In particular, we consider actions without the usual magnetic term. Like in the Born-Infeld theory, there is an upper bound to the electric field strength in these gauge theories.
In this paper we describe a systematic method to compute elliptic genera of (2,2) supersymmetric gauge theories in two dimensions with gauge group G/Gamma (for G semisimple and simply-connected, Gamma a subgroup of the center of G) with various discrete theta angles. We apply the technique to examples of pure gauge theories with low-rank gauge groups. Our results are consistent with expectations from decomposition of two-dimensional theories with finite global one-form symmetries and with computations of supersymmetry breaking for some discrete theta angles in pure gauge theories. Finally, we …
First, we briefly review the description of gravity theories as gauge theories in three and four dimensions. Specifically, we recall the procedure in which the results of General Relativity in three and four dimensions are recovered in a gauge-theoretic approach. Also, the procedure is applied for the case of the Weyl gravity, too. Then, after reminding briefly the formulation of gauge theories on noncommutative spaces, we review our most recent works in which gravity models are constructed as gauge theories on noncommutative spaces.
The matrix model computations of effective superpotential terms in N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions have been proposed to apply more generally to gauge theories in higher dimensions. We discuss aspects of five-dimensional gauge theory compactified on a circle, which leads to a unitary matrix model.
The inaction approach introduced previously for phi^4 is generalized to gauge theories. It combines the advantages of the effective field theory and causal approaches to quantum fields. Also, it suggests ways to generalizing gauge theories.
Various gauge invariant but non-Yang-Mills dynamical models are discussed: Précis of Chern-Simons theory in (2+1)-dimensions and reduction to (1+1)-dimensional B-F theories; gauge theories for (1+1)-dimensional gravity-matter interactions; parity and gauge invariant mass term in (2+1)-dimensions.
Gauge theories are formulated on the noncommutative two-sphere. These theories have only finite number of degrees of freedom, nevertheless they exhibit both the gauge symmetry and the SU(2) "Poincaré" symmetry of the sphere. In particular, the coupling of gauge fields to chiral fermions is naturally achieved.
Higher Derivative (HD) Field Theories can be transformed into second order equivalent theories with a direct particle interpretation. In a simple model involving abelian gauge symmetries we examine the fate of the possible gauge fixings throughout this process. This example is a useful test bed for HD theories of gravity and provides a nice intuitive interpretation of the "third ghost" occurring there and in HD gauge theories when a HD gauge fixing is adopted.
In this short note we extend the results of Alfaro and Damgaard on the origin of antifields to theories with a gauge algebra that is open or reducible.
We show for the case of interacting massless vector bosons, how the structure of Yang-Mills theories emerges automatically from a more fundamental concept, namely perturbative quantum gauge invariance. It turns out that the coupling in a non-abelian gauge theory is necessarily of Yang-Mills type plus divergence- and coboundary couplings. The extension of the method to massive gauge theories is briefly discussed.
Gauge fixing and the observable fields for both abelian and non-abelian gauge theories with spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry are studied. We explicitly show that it is possible to globally fix the gauge in the broken sector and hence construct physical fields even in the non-abelian theory. We predict that any high temperature restoration of gauge symmetry will be accompanied by a confining transition.
In this talk, we briefly review the basic concepts of anomalous gauge theories. It has been known for some time how theories with local anomalies can be handled. Recently it has been pointed out that global anomalies, which obstruct the quantization of certain gauge theories in the temporal gauge, get bypassed in canonical quantization.
In free completely symmetric tensor gauge field theories on Minkowski space-time, all gauge invariant functions and Killing tensor fields are computed, both on-shell and off-shell. These problems are addressed in the metric-like formalisms.
Gauge theories with the orthogonal Cayley-Klein gauge groups $SO(2;j)$ and $SO(3;{\bf j})$ are regarded. For nilpotent values of the contraction parameters ${\bf j}$ these groups are isomorphic to the non-semisimple Euclid, Newton, Galilei groups and corresponding matter spaces are fiber spaces with degenerate metrics. It is shown that the contracted gauge field theories describe the same set of fields and particle mass as $SO(2), SO(3)$ gauge theories, if Lagrangians in the base and in the fibers all are taken into account. Such theories based on non-semisimple contracted group provide more s…
In this note, we use techniques from integrable systems to study relations between gauge theories. The Gauge/Bethe correspondence, introduced by Nekrasov and Shatashvili, identifies the supersymmetric ground states of an N=(2,2) supersymmetric gauge theory in two dimensions with the Bethe states of a quantum integrable system. We make use of this correspondence to relate three different quiver gauge theories which correspond to three different formulations of the Bethe equations of an integrable spin chain called the tJ model.
We discuss the gauge natural formulation of supersymmetric theories and supergravity, with the aim to show that the standard and the supersymmetric frameworks admit in fact a unifying mathematical language.
We give a classification and overview of the confining N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. For simplicity we consider only theories based on simple gauge groups and no tree-level superpotential. Classification of these theories can be done according to whether or not there is a superpotential generated for the confined degrees of freedom. The theories with the superpotential include s-confining theories and also theories where the gauge fields participate in the confining spectrum, while theories with no superpotential include theories with a quantum deformed moduli space and theories with an a…
This thesis is about conceptual aspects of gauge theories. Gauge theories lie at the heart of modern physics: in particular, they constitute the standard model of particle physics. At its simplest, the idea of gauge is that nature is best described using a descriptively redundant language; the different descriptions are said to be related by a gauge symmetry. The over-arching question the thesis aims to answer is: how can descriptive redundancy be fruitful for physics?
We apply the recent proposal for mirrors of nonabelian (2,2) supersymmetric two-dimensional gauge theories to make predictions for two-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories with exceptional gauge groups G2, F4, E6, E7, and E8. We compute the mirror Landau-Ginzburg models and predict excluded Coulomb loci and Coulomb branch relations (quantum cohomology). We also discuss the relationship between weight lattice normalizations and theta angle periodicities in the proposal, and explore different conventions for the mirrors. Finally, we discuss the behavior of pure gauge theories with exception…
We classify 5d N=1 gauge theories carrying a simple gauge group that can arise by mass-deforming 5d SCFTs and 6d SCFTs (compactified on a circle, possibly with a twist). For theories having a 6d UV completion, we determine the tensor branch data of the 6d SCFT and capture the twist in terms of the tensor branch data. We also determine the dualities between these 5d gauge theories, thus determining the sets of gauge theories having a common UV completion.
We present a pedagogical introduction into noncommutative gauge theories, their stringy origin, and non-perturbative effects, including monopole and instanton solutions
We describe the explicit construction of groves, the smallest gauge invariant classes of tree Feynman diagrams in gauge theories. The construction is valid for gauge theories with any number of group factors which may be mixed. It requires no summation over a complete gauge group multiplet of external matter fields. The method is therefore suitable for defining gauge invariant classes of Feynman diagrams for processes with many observed final state particles in the standard model and its extensions.
We study the low-energy dynamics in three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ exceptional gauge theories with matters in a fundamental representation, especially focusing on confinement phases and on a quantum structure of the Coulomb branch in the moduli space of vacua. We argue that the confinement phases of these exceptional gauge theories have a single Coulomb branch. The 3d s-confinement phases for the exceptional gauge groups are associated with quantum-deformed moduli spaces of the corresponding 4d $\mathcal{N}=1$ exceptional gauge theories.
We calculate conformal anomalies in noncommutative gauge theories by using the path integral method (Fujikawa's method). Along with the axial anomalies and chiral gauge anomalies, conformal anomalies take the form of the straightforward Moyal deformation in the corresponding conformal anomalies in ordinary gauge theories. However, the Moyal star product leads to the difference in the coefficient of the conformal anomalies between noncommutative gauge theories and ordinary gauge theories. The $β$ (Callan-Symanzik) functions which are evaluated from the coefficient of the conformal anomalies coi…
We examine the gauge generating nature of the translational subgroup of Wigner's little group for the case of massless tensor gauge theories and show that the gauge transformations generated by the translational group is only a subset of the complete set of gauge transformations. We also show that, just like the case of topologically massive gauge theories, translational groups act as generators of gauge transformations in gauge theories obtained by extending massive gauge noninvariant theories by a Stuckelberg mechanism. The representations of the translational groups that generate gauge tran…
We construct novel web diagrams with a trivalent or quadrivalent gluing for various 6d/5d theories from certain Higgsings of 6d conformal matter theories on a circle. The theories realized on the web diagrams include 5d Kaluza-Klein theories from circle compactifications of the 6d $G_2$ gauge theory with 4 flavors, the 6d $F_4$ gauge theory with 3 flavors, the 6d $E_6$ gauge theory with 4 flavors and the 6d $E_7$ gauge theory with 3 flavors. The Higgsings also give rise to 5d Kaluza-Klein theories from twisted compactifications of 6d theories including the 5d pure SU(3) gauge theory with the C…
