We present a superfield formulation of the chiral de Rham complex (CDR) of Malikov-Schechtman-Vaintrob in the setting of a general smooth manifold, and use it to endow CDR with superconformal structures of geometric origin. Given a Riemannian metric, we construct an N=1 structure on CDR (action of the N=1 super--Virasoro, or Neveu--Schwarz, algebra). If the metric is K"ahler, and the manifold Ricci-flat, this is augmented to an N=2 structure. Finally, if the manifold is hyperk"ahler, we obtain an N=4 structure. The superconformal structures are constructed directly from the Levi-Civita connection. These structures provide an analog for CDR of the extended supersymmetries of nonlinear sigma-models.
Suppose that a finite group $G$ acts on a smooth complex variety $X$. Then this action lifts to the Chiral de Rham Complex of $X$ and to its cohomology by automorphisms of the vertex algebra structure. We define twisted sectors for the Chiral de Rham Complex (and their cohomologies) as sheaves of twisted vertex algebra modules supported on the components of the fixed-point sets $X^{g}, g \in G$. Each twisted sector sheaf carries a BRST differential and is quasi-isomorphic to the de Rham complex of $X^{g}$. Putting the twisted sectors together with the vacuum sector and taking $G$--invariants, …
We construct two commuting N=2 structures on the space of sections of the chiral de Rham complex (CDR) of a Calabi-Yau manifold. We use this extra supersymmetry to construct a non-linear automorphism of CDR preserving these N=2 structures. Finally, we show how to extend these results to construct a commuting pair of N=4 super-vertex algebras in the Hyper-Kahler case.
Given a compact complex algebraic variety with an effective action of a finite group $G$, and a class $α\in H^2(G,U(1))$, we introduce an orbifold elliptic genus with discrete torsion $α$, denoted $Ell^α_{orb}(X,G, q, y)$. We give an interpretation of this genus in terms of the chiral de Rham complex attached to the orbifold $[X/G]$. If $X$ is Calabi-Yau and $G$ preserves the volume form, $Ell^α_{orb}(X,G, q, y)$ is a weak Jacobi form. We also obtain a formula for the generating function of the elliptic genera of symmetric products with discrete torsion.
On any Calabi-Yau manifold X one can define a certain sheaf of chiral N=2 superconformal field theories, known as the chiral de Rham complex of X. It depends only on the complex structure of X, and its local structure is described by a simple free field theory. We show that the cohomology of this sheaf can be identified with the infinite-volume limit of the half-twisted sigma-model defined by E. Witten more than a decade ago. We also show that the correlators of the half-twisted model are independent of the Kahler moduli to all orders in worldsheet perturbation theory, and that the relation to…
In this paper, we study the perturbative aspects of the half-twisted variant of Witten's topological A-model on a complex orbifold X/G, where G is an isometry group of X. The objective is to furnish a purely physical interpretation of the mathematical theory of the Chiral de Rham complex on orbifolds recently constructed by Frenkel and Szczesny in [Chiral de Rham complex and orbifolds, arXiv: math.AG/0307181]. In turn, one can obtain a novel understanding of the holomorphic (twisted) N=2 superconformal structure underlying the untwisted and twisted sectors of the quantum sigma model, purely in…
The space of the global sections of chiral de Rham complex on a compact Ricci-flat Kähler manifold is calculated and it is expressed as an invariant subspace of a $βγ-bc$ system under the action of certain Lie algebra.
We review different constructions of the supersymmetry subalgebras of the chiral de Rham complex on special holonomy manifolds. We describe the difference between the holomorphic-anti-holomorphic sectors based on a local free ghost system vs the decomposition in left-right sectors from a local Boson-Fermion system. We describe the topological twist in the case of $G_2$ and $Spin_7$ manifolds. We describe the construction of these algebras as quantum Hamiltonian reduction of Lie superalgebras at the minimal or superprincipal nilpotent.
We show that the chiral de Rham complex of a generalized Calabi-Yau manifold carries N=2 supersymmetry. We discuss the corresponding topological twist for this N=2 algebra. We interpret this as an algebroid version of the super-Sugawara or Kac-Todorov construction.
We propose a physical interpretation of the chiral de Rham complex as a formal Hamiltonian quantization of the supersymmetric non-linear sigma model. We show that the chiral de Rham complex on a Calabi-Yau manifold carries all information about the classical dynamics of the sigma model. Physically, this provides an operator realization of the non-linear sigma model. Mathematically, the idea suggests the use of Hamiltonian flow equations within the vertex algebra formalism with the possibility to incorporate both left and right moving sectors within one mathematical framework.
The chiral de Rham complex of Malikov, Schechtman, and Vaintrob, is a sheaf of differential graded vertex algebras that exists on any smooth manifold $Z$, and contains the ordinary de Rham complex at weight zero. Given a closed 3-form $H$ on $Z$, we construct the twisted chiral de Rham differential $D_H$, which coincides with the ordinary twisted differential in weight zero. We show that its cohomology vanishes in positive weight and coincides with the ordinary twisted cohomology in weight zero. As a consequence, we propose that in a background flux, Ramond-Ramond fields can be interpreted as …
In this paper, we study the perturbative aspects of the half-twisted variant of Witten's topological A-model coupled to a non-dynamical gauge field with Kahler target space X being a G-manifold. Our main objective is to furnish a purely physical interpretation of the equivariant cohomology of the chiral de Rham complex, recently constructed by Lian and Linshaw in [arXiv:math/0501084], called the "chiral equivariant cohomology". In doing so, one finds that key mathematical results such as the vanishing in the chiral equivariant cohomology of positive weight classes, lend themselves to straightf…
In this paper, we study the perturbative aspects of a "B-twisted" two-dimensional $(0,2)$ heterotic sigma model on a holomorphic gauge bundle $\mathcal E$ over a complex, hermitian manifold $X$. We show that the model can be naturally described in terms of the mathematical theory of ``Chiral Differential Operators". In particular, the physical anomalies of the sigma model can be reinterpreted as an obstruction to a global definition of the associated sheaf of vertex superalgebras derived from the free conformal field theory describing the model locally on $X$. In addition, one can also obtain …
Interpreting the chiral de Rham complex (CDR) as a formal Hamiltonian quantization of the supersymmetric non-linear sigma model, we suggest a setup for the study of CDR on manifolds with special holonomy. We show how to systematically construct global sections of CDR from differential forms, and investigate the algebra of the sections corresponding to the covariantly constant forms associated with the special holonomy. As a concrete example, we construct two commuting copies of the Odake algebra (an extension of the N=2 superconformal algebra) on the space of global sections of CDR of a Calabi…
Let $Z$ be a principal circle bundle over a base manifold $M$ equipped with an integral closed $3$-form $H$ called the flux. Let $\widehat{Z}$ be the T-dual circle bundle over $M$ with flux $\widehat{H}$. Han and Mathai recently constructed the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-graded space of exotic differential forms $\mathcal{A}^{\bar{k}}(\widehat{Z})$. It has an additional $\mathbb{Z}$-grading such that the degree zero component coincides with the space of invariant twisted differential forms $Ω^{\bar{k}}(\widehat{Z}, \widehat{H})^{\widehat{\mathbb{T}}}$, and it admits a differential that extends the twisted…
We construct a sheaf of N=2 vertex algebras naturally associated to any Poisson manifold. The relation of this sheaf to the chiral de Rham complex is discussed. We reprove the result about the existence of two commuting N = 2 superconformal structures on the space of sections of the chiral de Rham complex of a Calabi-Yau manifold, but now calculated in a manifest N=2 formalism. We discuss how the semi-classical limit of this sheaf of N=2 vertex algebras is related to the classical supersymmetric non-linear sigma model.
We construct an embedding of two commuting copies of the N=2 superconformal vertex algebra in the space of global sections of the twisted chiral-anti-chiral de Rham complex of a generalized Calabi-Yau metric manifold, including the case when there is a non-trivial H-flux and non-vanishing dilaton. The 4 corresponding BRST charges are well defined on any generalized Kahler manifold. This allows one to consider the half-twisted model defining thus the chiral de Rham complex of a generalized Kahler manifold. The classical limit of this result allows one to recover the celebrated generalized Kahle…
We explore two-dimensional sigma models with (0,2) supersymmetry through their chiral algebras. Perturbatively, the chiral algebras of (0,2) models have a rich infinite-dimensional structure described by the cohomology of a sheaf of chiral differential operators. Nonperturbatively, instantons can deform this structure drastically. We show that under some conditions they even annihilate the whole algebra, thereby triggering the spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry. For a certain class of Kähler manifolds, this suggests that there are no harmonic spinors on their loop spaces and gives a physica…
