The algebra of spacetime supersymmetry generators in the RNS formalism for the superstring closes only up to a picture-changing operation. After adding non-minimal variables and working in the "large" Hilbert space, the algebra closes without picture-changing and spacetime supersymmetry can be made manifest. The resulting non-minimal version of the RNS formalism is related by a field redefinition to the pure spinor formalism.
We point out that off-shell four-dimensional supersymmetry implies strange hermiticity properties for the N=1 RNS superstring. However, these hermiticity properties become natural when the N=1 superstring is embedded into an N=2 superstring.
A covariant action for closed D=11 superstring with local $κ$-symmetry and global supersymmetry transformations obeying the algebra $\{Q_α,Q_β\}=CΓ^{μν}P_μn_ν$ is suggested. Physical sector variables of the model and their dynamics exactly coincide with those of the D=10 type IIA Green-Schwarz superstring. It is shown that action of the D=10 type IIA Green-Schwarz superstring can be considered as a partially gauge fixed version of the D=11 superstring action.
The free action for the massless sector of the Type II superstring was recently constructed using closed RNS superstring field theory. The supersymmetry transformations of this action are shown to satisfy an N=2 D=10 SUSY algebra with Ramond-Ramond central charges.
The hybrid formalism for the superstring is used to compute one-loop amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external d=4 supergravity states. These one-loop N-point amplitudes are expressed as Koba-Nielsen-like formulas with manifest d=4 supersymmetry.
We study the dynamics of Green-Schwarz superstring on the gravitational wave background corresponding to the Matrix string theory and the supersymmetry transformation rules of the superstring. The dynamics is obtained in the light-cone formulation and is shown to agree with that derived from the Matrix string theory. The supersymmetry structure has the corrections due to the effect of the background and is identified with that of the low energy one-loop effective action of Matrix string theory in two superstring background in the weak string coupling limit.
The SO(32) heterotic superstring on a Calabi-Yau manifold can spontaneously break supersymmetry at one-loop order even when it is unbroken at tree-level. It is known that calculating the supersymmetry-breaking effects in this model gives a relatively accessible test case of the subtleties of superstring perturbation theory in the RNS formalism. In the present paper, we calculate the relevant amplitudes in the pure spinor approach to superstring perturbation theory, and show that the regulator used in computing loop amplitudes in the pure spinor formalism leads to subtleties somewhat analogous …
We propose random matrix models which have $N=\half$ supersymmetry in zero dimension. The supersymmetry breaks down spontaneously. It is shown that the double scaling limit can be defined in these models and the breakdown of the supersymmetry remains in the continuum limit. The exact non-trivial partition functions of the string theories corresponding to these matrix models are also obtained.
We realize the 16 unbroken supersymmetries on a BPS D-brane as invariances of the action of the corresponding open superstring field theory. We work in the small Hilbert space approach, where a symmetry of the action translates into a symmetry of the associated cyclic $A_\infty$ structure. We compute the supersymmetry algebra, being careful to disentangle the components which produce a translation, a gauge transformation, and a symmetry transformation which vanishes on-shell. Via the minimal model theorem, we illustrate how supersymmetry of the action implies supersymmetry of the tree level op…
We propose a new formulation of the $D=3$ type II superstring which is manifestly invariant under both target-space $N=2$ supersymmetry and worldsheet $N=(1,1)$ super reparametrizations. This gives rise to a set of twistor (commuting spinor) variables, which provide a solution to the two Virasoro constraints. The worldsheet supergravity fields are shown to play the rôle of auxiliary fields.
We investigate space-time supersymmetry in the WZW-like open superstring field theory, whose complete action was recently constructed. Starting from a natural space-time supersymmetry transformation at the linearized level, we construct a nonlinear transformation so as to keep the complete action invariant. Then we show that the transformation satisfies the supersymmetry algebra up to an extra transformation, unphysical on the asymptotic string fields. This guarantees that the constructed transformation in fact acts as space-time supersymmetry on the physical S-matrix.
The physical states of D=5 holomorphic Chern-Simons theory correspond to on-shell D=10 open superstring states in the cohomology of $q_+$, where $q_+$ is one of the 16 spacetime supersymmetry generators. Scattering amplitudes of these states can be computed either using the usual Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz (RNS) superstring prescription with N=1 worldsheet supersymmetry, or using a topological $\hat c$=5 string theory with twisted N=2 worldsheet supersymmetry. It will be argued that the relation between D=5 holomophic Chern-Simons and the RNS superstring is identical to the relation between the the …
We discuss supersymmetric Ward identities relating various scattering amplitudes in type I open superstring theory. We show that at the disk level, the form of such relations remains exactly the same, to all orders in alpha', as in the low-energy effective field theory describing the alpha'-> 0 limit. This result holds in D=4 for all compactifications, even for those that break supersymmetry. We apply SUSY relations to the computations of N-gluon MHV superstring amplitudes, simplifying the existing results for N<7 and deriving a compact expression for N=7.
In this paper we consider superstring propagation in a nontrivial NS-NS background. We deform the world sheet stress tensor and supercurrent with an infinitesimal B_{μν} field. We construct the gauge-covariant super-Poincare generators in this background and show that the B_{μν} field spontaneously breaks spacetime supersymmetry. We find that the gauge-covariant spacetime momenta cease to commute with each other and with the spacetime supercharges. We construct a set of "magnetic" super-Poincare generators that are conserved for constant field strength H_{μνλ}, and show that these generators o…
The cosmological compactification of D=10, N=1 supergravity-super-Yang-Mills theory obtained from superstring theory is studied. The constraint of unbroken N=1 supersymmetry is imposed. A duality transformation is performed on the resulting consistency conditions. The original equations as well as the transformed equations are solved numerically to obtain new configurations with a nontrivial scale factor and a dynamical dilaton. It is shown that various classes of solutions are possible, which include cosmological solutions with no initial singularity.
We study the cosmology of perturbative heterotic superstring theory during the radiation-like era for semi-realistic backgrounds with initial $\N=1$ supersymmetry. This analysis is valid for times after the Hagedorn era (or alternatively inflation era) but before the electroweak symmetry breaking transition. We find an attraction to a radiation-like era with the ratio of the supersymmetry breaking scale to temperature stabilized. This provides a dynamical mechanism for setting the supersymmetry breaking scale and its corresponding hierarchy with the Planck scale. For the internal space, we fin…
Motivated by Ooguri and Vafa, we study superstrings in flat R^4 in a constant self-dual graviphoton background. The supergravity equations of motion are satisfied in this background which deforms the N=2 d=4 flat space super-Poincare algebra to another algebra with eight supercharges. A D-brane in this space preserves a quarter of the supercharges; i.e. N=1/2 supersymmetry is realized linearly, and the remaining N=3/2 supersymmetry is realized nonlinearly. The theory on the brane can be described as a theory in noncommutative superspace in which the chiral fermionic coordinates $θ^α$ of N=1 d=…
We obtain the non-perturbative effective potential for the dual five-dimensional N=4 strings in the context of finite-temperature regarded as a breaking of supersymmetry into four space-time dimensions. Using the properties of gauged N=4 supergravity we derive the universal thermal effective potential describing all possible high-temperature instabilities of the known N=4 superstrings. These strings undergo a high-temperature transition to a new phase in which five-branes condense. This phase is described in detail, using both the effective supergravity and non-critical string theory in six di…
We construct superstring theories that obey the new supersymmetry algebra {Q_a , Q_b}=γ_{ab}^{mn} P_{1m} P_{2n}, in a Green-Schwarz formalism, with kappa supersymmetry also of the new type. The superstring is in a system with a superparticle so that their total momenta are $P_{2n},P_{1m}$ respectively. The system is covariant and critical in (10,2) dimensions if the particle is massless and in (9,2) dimensions if the particle is massive. Both the superstring and superparticle have coordinates with two timelike dimensions but each behaves effectively as if they have a single timelike dimension.…
The superstring is quantized in a manner which manifestly preserves a U(5) subgroup of the (Wick-rotated) ten-dimensional super-Poincaré invariance. This description of the superstring contains critical N=2 worldsheet superconformal invariance and is a natural covariantization of the U(4)-invariant light-cone Green-Schwarz description.
We obtain a bosonization prescription that allows to represent the energy-momentum tensor and supersymmetry generators of non-critical superstring theories with minimal matter as those of topological supergravity. Superstrings with $N=1$ and $N=2$ world-sheet supersymmetry are considered. The topological symmetry associated with the topological supergravity representation is studied. It is shown, in particular, that the compatibility of this topological structure with the supersymmetry enhances the superconformal symmetry of the models concerned.
The self-dual superstring has been described previously in a Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond formulation with local N=2 or 4 world-sheet supersymmetry. We present a Green-Schwarz-type formulation, with manifest spacetime supersymmetry.
String theories with (N,N') local world-sheet supersymmetries are related to each other by marginal deformations. This connects N=1 and N=0 theories in which the target-spaces are interpreted as space-times, N=2 theories in which the target spaces can be interpreted as world-volumes, and theories with $N\ge 3$, in which the central charge vanishes -- theories with zero target-space dimensions.
Considered are superparticle and superstring models invariant under supersymmetry in a target superspace and local extended worldsheet supersymmetry the latter replacing the fermionic $κ$--symmetry of the conventional Green--Schwarz formulations. (Talk given at the Conference on Geometry of Constrained Dynamical Systems, Cambridge, June 15-18, 1994).
The free action for massless Ramond-Ramond fields is derived from closed superstring field theory using the techniques of Siegel and Zwiebach. For the uncompactified Type IIB superstring, this gives a manifestly Lorentz-covariant action for a self-dual five-form field strength. Upon compactification to four dimensions, the action depends on a U(1) field strength from 4D N=2 supergravity. However, unlike the standard Maxwell action, this action is manifestly invariant under the electromagnetic duality transformation which rotates $F_{mn}$ into $ε_{mnpq} F^{pq}$.
We describe a systematic method of studying the action of the T-duality group O(d,d) on space-time fermions and R-R field strengths and potentials in type-II string theories, based on space-time supersymmetry. The formalism is then used to show that the couplings of non-Abelian D-brane charges to R-R potentials can be described by an appropriate Clifford multiplication.
A superspace formulation of type II superstring background with manifest T-duality symmetry is presented. This manifestly T-dual formulation is constructed in a space spanned by two sets of nondegenerate super-Poincare algebra. Supertorsion constraints are obtained from consistency of the kappa-symmetric Virasoro constraints. All superconnections and vielbein fields are solved in terms of a prepotential which is one of the vielbein components. AdS5xS5 background is explained in this formulation.
We construct a manifestly $N=(4,0)$ world-sheet supersymmetric twistor-like formulation of the $D=6$ Green-Schwarz superstring, using the principle of double (target-space and world-sheet) Grassmann analyticity. The superstring action contains two Lagrange multiplier terms and a Wess-Zumino term. They are written down in the analytic subspace of the world-sheet harmonic $N=(4,0)$ superspace, the target manifold being too an analytic subspace of the harmonic $D=6\;\; N=1$ superspace. The kappa symmetry of the $D=6$ superstring is identified with a Kac-Moody extension of the world-sheet $N=(4,0)…
We consider a 2-parameter class of solvable closed superstring models which `interpolate' between Kaluza-Klein and dilatonic Melvin magnetic flux tube backgrounds. The spectrum of string states has similarities with Landau spectrum for a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field. The presence of spin-dependent `gyromagnetic' interaction implies breaking of supersymmetry and possible existence (for certain values of magnetic parameters) of tachyonic instabilities. We study in detail the simplest example of the Kaluza-Klein Melvin model describing a superstring moving in flat but non-trivial …
We discuss manifestly SL(2,C)x SU(4) and kappa invariant superstring action in AdS(5) x S(5) background in the framework of Green-Schwarz formulation. The action is formulated in terms of 16 Poincare fermionic coordinates which through AdS/CFT correspondence should represent N=4 SYM superspace and 16 superconformal fermionic coordinates. The action is also manifestly invariant with respect to the usual N=4 Poincare superalgebra transformations. kappa-symmetry gauge fixing and the derivation of light-cone gauge action is simplified.
Superstring perturbation theory based on the 1PI effective theory approach has been useful for addressing the problem of mass renormalization and vacuum shift. We derive Ward identities associated with space-time supersymmetry transformation in this approach. This leads to a proof of the equality of renormalized masses of bosons and fermions and identities relating fermionic amplitudes to bosonic amplitudes after taking into account the effect of mass renormalization. This also relates unbroken supersymmetry to a given order in perturbation theory to absence of tadpoles of massless scalars to …
We review work done in collaboration with C.B. Thorn on Super-Galilei invariant field theory and its application to the reformulation of superstring theory in terms of constituent superstring-bits.
We reexamine genus one super-Green functions with general boundary conditions twisted by $(α, β)$ for $(σ, τ)$ directions in the eigenmode expansion and derive expressions as infinite series of hypergeometric functions. Using these, we compute one-loop superstring amplitudes with non-maximal supersymmetry, taking an example of massless vector emissions of open string type I ${\cal Z}_2$ orbifold.
It was previously shown that most of the superstrings can be obtained from those with higher world-sheet supersymmetry as spontaneously broken phases. In this paper, we show that the small $N=4$ superstring, which was left out of this hierarchy of the universal string, can be obtained from the large $N=4$ strings. We also show that the $N=2$ string is a special vacuum of small $N=4$ string. Thus all the known superstring theories can be derived from a universal string by spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry.
We propose a new formulation of the heterotic $D=10$ Green-Schwarz superstring whose worldsheet is a superspace with two even and eight odd coordinates. The action is manifestly invariant under both target-space supersymmetry and a worldsheet reparametrisation supergroup. It contains only a finite set of auxiliary fields. The key ingredient are the commuting spinor (twistor) variables, which naturally arise as worldsheet superpartners of the target space Grassmann coordinates. These spinors parametrise the sphere $S^8$ regarded as a coset space of the $D=10$ Lorentz group. The sphere is associ…
We show that supersymmetry can be broken mainly by hidden matter condensates in the observable matter direction in generic superstring models. This happens only when the fields whose VEVs give masses to hidden matter do not decouple at the condensation scale. We find how the parameters of the string model and the vacuum determine whether supersymmetry is broken mainly by hidden matter or gaugino condensates and in the matter or moduli directions.
We examine the problem of supersymmetry breaking in realistic superstring standard--like models which are constructed in the free fermionic formulation. We impose a supersymmetric vacuum at the Planck scale by requiring vanishing F and D constraints at the cubic level of the superpotential. We then study possible scenarios for supersymmetry breaking by examining the role of nonrenormalizable terms and hidden sector gaugino and matter condensates. We argue that in some scenarios hierarchical supersymmetry breaking in the observable sector is possible.
We briefly cover the early history of supersymmetry, describe the relation of SUSY quantum field theories to superstring theories and explain why they are considered a likely tool to describe the phenomenology of high energy particle theory beyond the Standard Model.
Multiloop superstring amplitudes are calculated in the explicit form by the solution of Ward identities. A naive generalization of Belavin-Knizhnik theorem to the superstring is found to be incorrect since the period matrix turns out to be depended on the spinor structure over the terms proportional to odd moduli. These terms appear because fermions mix bosons under the two-dim. supersymmetry transformations. The closed, oriented superstring turns out to be finite, if it possesses the ten-dimensional supersymmetry, as well as the two-dimentional one. This problem needs a further study.
We extend the discussion of arXiv:1007.5254 on massive Regge excitations on the first mass level of four-dimensional superstring theory. For the lightest massive modes of the open string sector, universal supermultiplets common to all four-dimensional compactifications with N = 1, 2 and N = 4 spacetime supersymmetry are constructed respectively -- both their vertex operators and their supersymmetry variations. Massive spinor helicity methods shed light on the interplay between individual polarization states.
String theories inspire a new formalism for their low-energy limits. In this approach to these field theories, spacetime duality and stringy left/right handedness are manifest. Enlarged tangent-space symmetries allow the different fields (graviton, axion, Yang-Mills) to be treated as a single multiplet, even in the bosonic case, except for the dilaton (multiplet), which appears as the measure. (Based on a talk given at Strings '93, May 24-29, Berkeley, CA. A section added after the talk discusses modifications for nonabelian Yang-Mills.)
It is shown that the bosonic angular degrees of freedom in the one dimensional Marinari-Parisi superstring can be integrated out exactly in the Hamiltonian formulation without having to perform the Dabholkar truncation. The resulting Hamiltonian is that of a supersymmetric Calogero system plus a four fermions interaction. This extra interaction vanishes for all physical states with fermion number zero or one where supersymmetry is manifest. We confirm that supersymmetry is nonperturbativly broken by instanton effects.
We review the origin of soft supersymmetry-breaking terms in N=1 supergravity models of particle physics. We first consider general formulae for those terms in general models with a hidden sector breaking supersymmetry at an intermediate energy scale. The results for some simple models are given. We then consider the results obtained in some simple superstring models in which particular assumptions about the origin of supersymmetry breaking are made. These are models in which the seed of supersymmetry breaking is assumed to be originated in the dilaton/moduli sector of the theory.
We discuss bound-states of D-branes in truly L-R asymmetric and thus non-geometric Type II vacuum configurations with extended supersymmetry. We argue for their stability as a result of residual supersymmetry and coupling to R-R potentials surviving in the massless spectrum. We then identify the open string excitations of these L-R asymmetric BPS D-branes. Finally, we briefly comment on possible applications and extensions.
This article is devoted to an overview of superstring perturbation theory from the point of view of super Riemann surfaces. We aim to elucidate some of the subtleties of superstring perturbation that caused difficulty in the early literature, focusing on a concrete example -- the $SO(32)$ heterotic string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold, with the spin connection embedded in the gauge group. This model is known to be a significant test case for superstring perturbation theory. Supersymmetry is spontaneously broken at 1-loop order, and to treat correctly the supersymmetry-breaking effects …
SUSY breaking and its mediation are among the most important problems of supersymmetric generalizations of the standard model. The idea of gravity-mediated SUSY breaking, proposed in 1982 by Arnowitt, Chamseddine and Nath, and independently by Barbieri, Ferrara and Savoy, fits naturally into superstring theory, where it can be realized at both classical as well as quantum levels. This talk is dedicated to Pran Nath on his 65th birthday.
As was observed by Grigoriev and Tseytlin, the Pohlmeyer-reduced AdS_2 x S^2 superstring theory possesses N=(2,2) worldsheet supersymmetry. We show, at the classical level, that the AdS_3 x S^3 and AdS_5 x S^5 superstring theories in the Pohlmeyer-reduced form reveal hidden N=(4,4) and N=(8,8) worldsheet supersymmetries. Our consideration is based on the modified mass-deformed gauged WZW action for the superstring equations. We present the explicit form of the supersymmetry transformations for both the off-shell action and the superstring equations. The characteristic feature of these transfor…
We study vertex operators for super Yang-Mills and multi D-branes in covariant form using Green-Schwarz formalism. We introduce the contact terms naturally and prove space-time supersymmetry and gauge invariance. The nonlinear realization of broken supersymmetry in the presence of D-branes is also discussed. The shift of fermionic coordinate δ^{(-)}Ψ=ηbecomes exact symmetry of D-brane in the static gauge, where $η$ is a constant spinor in U(1) direction.
In a previous work (arXiv:0902.3750 [hep-th]) we studied the world-sheet conformal invariance for superstrings in type IIB R-R plane-wave in semi-light-cone gauge. Here we give further justification to the results found in that work through alternative arguments using dynamical supersymmetries. We show that by using the susy algebra the same quantum definition of the energy-momentum (EM) tensor can be derived. Furthermore, using certain Jacobi identities we indirectly compute the Virasoro anomaly terms by calculating second order susy variation of the EM tensor. Certain integrated form of all …
We describe finite temperature N=4 superstrings in D=5 by an effective four-dimensional supergravity of the thermal winding modes that can become tachyonic and trigger the instabilities at the Hagedorn temperature. Using a domain-wall ansatz, exact solutions to special BPS-type first order equations are found. They preserve half of the supersymmetries, contrary to the standard perturbative superstring at finite temperature that breaks all supersymmetries. Our solutions show no indication of any tachyonic instability and provide evidence for a new BPS phase of finite temperature superstrings th…
This thesis is the discussion of heterotic and type I string phenomenology. The heterotic string model is based on the free--fermionic formalism. This is the first case where non--Abelian VEV's, as opposed to singlet VEV's are required for the cancellation of the Fayet--Iliopoulos term. It is noted that non--Abelian fields are the only fields that can give rise to the satisfaction of the D--flat constraints in this model. The type I models are based on T^6/Z_2x(Z_2)^s and T^6/Z_2xZ_2x(Z_2)^s compactifications. The first example has N=2 supersymmetry and includes a rank reduction of the D5 gaug…
We present N=2 supersymmetry transformations, both in N=1, D=4 Minkowski and anti-de Sitter superspaces, for higher superspin massless theories. It is noted that the existence of dual versions of massless supermultiplets with arbitrary superspin s may provide a basis for understanding duality in N=1, D=4 superstring theory. We further conjecture that the N=1, D=4 supergravity pre-potential together with all higher superspin s pre-potentials are components of an N=1, D=4 superstring pre-potential.
We develop off-shell formulations for ${\cal N}=1$ and ${\cal N}=2$ anti-de Sitter supergravity theories in three spacetime dimensions that contain gauge two-forms in the auxiliary field sector. These formulations are shown to allow consistent couplings of supergravity to the Green-Schwarz superstring with ${\cal N}=1$ or ${\cal N}=2$ spacetime supersymmetry. In addition to being $κ$-symmetric, the Green-Schwarz superstring actions constructed are also invariant under super-Weyl transformations of the target space. We also present a detailed study of models for spontaneously broken local super…
We show the existence of a supersymmetry-breaking mechanism in string theory, where N=4 supersymmetry is broken spontaneously to N=2 and N=1 with moduli-dependent gravitino masses. The BPS spectrum of the theory with lower supersymmetry is in one-to-one correspondence with the spectrum of the heterotic N=4 string. The mass splitting of the N=4 spectrum depends on the moduli as well as the three R-symmetry charges. In the case of N=4 \to N=2, the perturbative N=2 prepotential is determined by the perturbative N=4 BPS states. This observation led us to suggest a method that determines the exact …
We study the superstring vacua constructed from the conformal field theories of the type H_4 x M, where H_4 denotes the super Nappi-Witten model (super WZW model on the 4-dimensional Heisenberg group H_4) and M denotes an arbitrary N=2 rational superconformal field theory with c=9. We define (type II) superstring vacua with 8 supercharges, which are twice as many as those on the backgrounds of H_4 x CY_3. We explicitly construct as physical vertices the space-time SUSY algebra that is a natural extension of H_4 Lie algebra. The spectrum of physical states is classified into two sectors: (1) st…
The multi-loop amplitudes for the closed, oriented superstring are represented by finite dimensional integrals of explicit functions calculated through the super-Schottky group parameters and interaction vertex coordinates on the supermanifold. The integration region is proposed to be consistent with the group of the local symmetries of the amplitude and with the unitarity equations. It is shown that, besides the SL(2) group, super-Schottky group and modular one, the total group of the local symmetries includes an isomorphism between sets of the forming group transformations, the period matrix…
