Daily Papers

We consider four dimensional CHL models with sixteen spacetime supersymmetries obtained from orbifolds of type IIA superstring on K3 x T^2 by a Z_N symmetry acting (possibly) non-geometrically on K3. We show that most of these models (in particular, for geometric symmetries) are self-dual under a weak-strong duality acting on the heterotic axio-dilaton modulus S by a "Fricke involution" S --> -1/NS. This is a novel symmetry of CHL models that lies outside of the standard SL(2,Z)-symmetry of the parent theory, heterotic strings on T^6. For self-dual models this implies that the lattice of purely electric charges is N-modular, i.e. isometric to its dual up to a rescaling of its quadratic form by N. We verify this prediction by determining the lattices of electric and magnetic charges in all relevant examples. We also calculate certain BPS-saturated couplings and verify that they are invariant under the Fricke S-duality. For CHL models that are not self-dual, the strong coupling limit is dual to type IIA compactified on T^6/Z_N, for some Z_N-symmetry preserving half of the spacetime supersymmetries.

Canonical threefold singularities in M-theory and Type IIB string theory give rise to superconformal field theories (SCFTs) in 5d and 4d, respectively. In this paper, we study canonical hypersurface singularities whose resolutions contain residual terminal singularities and/or 3-cycles. We focus on a certain class of `trinion' singularities which exhibit these properties. In Type IIB, they give rise to 4d N=2 SCFTs that we call D_p^b(G)-trinions, which are marginal gaugings of three SCFTs with G flavor symmetry. In order to understand the 5d physics of these trinion singularities in M-theory, we reduce these 4d and 5d SCFTs to 3d N=4 theories, thus determining the electric and magnetic quivers (or, more generally, quiverines). In M-theory, residual terminal singularities give rise to free sectors of massless hypermultiplets, which often are discretely gauged. These free sectors appear as `ugly' components of the magnetic quiver of the 5d SCFT. The 3-cycles in the crepant resolution also give rise to free hypermultiplets, but their physics is more subtle, and their presence renders the magnetic quiver `bad'. We propose a way to redeem the badness of these quivers using a class S realization. We also discover new S-dualities between different D_p^b(G)-trinions. For instance, a certain E_8 gauging of the E_8 Minahan-Nemeschansky theory is S-dual to an E_8-shaped Lagrangian quiver SCFT.

The study of continuous spin particles, as general low-energy implications of relativity and quantum mechanics, has intensified in recent years with potential experimental signatures. In this note we show that these particles are absent in perturbative super-string theories, generalising a result in arXiv:1302.4771 to the supersymmetric case. This stands out as a general low-energy prediction of all perturbative superstring constructions.

We present deep observations in targeted regions of the string landscape through a combination of analytic and dedicated numerical methods. Specifically, we devise an algorithm designed for the systematic construction of Type IIB flux vacua in finite regions of moduli space. Our algorithm is universally applicable across Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications and can be used to enumerate flux vacua in a region given sufficient computational efforts. As a concrete example, we apply our methods to a two-modulus Calabi-Yau threefold, demonstrating that systematic enumeration is feasible and revealing intricate structures in vacuum distributions. Our results highlight local deviations from statistical expectations, providing insights into vacuum densities, superpotential distributions, and moduli mass hierarchies. This approach opens pathways for precise, data-driven mappings of the string landscape, complementing analytic studies and advancing the understanding of the distribution of flux vacua. This allows us to obtain different types of solutions with hierarchical suppressions, e.g.~vacua with small values of the Gukov-Vafa-Witten superpotential |W_0|. We find an example with |W_0| = 5.547 times 10^{-5} at large complex structure, without light directions and the use of non-perturbative effects.

Type IIB supergravity enjoys a discrete non-Abelian duality group, which has potential quantum anomalies. In this paper we explicitly compute these, and present the bordism group that controls them, modulo some physically motivated assumptions. Quite surprisingly, we find that they do not vanish, which naively would signal an inconsistency of F-theory. Remarkably, a subtle modification of the standard 10d Chern-Simons term cancels these anomalies, a fact which relies on the ***specific*** field content of type IIB supergravity. We also discover other ways to cancel this anomaly, via a topological analog of the Green-Schwarz mechanism. These alternative type IIB theories have the same low energy supergravity limit as ordinary type IIB, but a different spectrum of extended objects. They could either be part of the Swampland, or connect to the standard theory via domain walls.

In this note we construct large ensembles of supersymmetry breaking solutions arising in the context of flux compactifications of type IIB string theory. This class of solutions was previously proposed in arXiv:hep-th/0402135 for which we provide the first explicit examples in Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications with discrete fluxes below their respective tadpole constraint. As a proof of concept, we study the degree 18 hypersurface in weighted projective space CP_{1,1,1,6,9}. Furthermore, we look at 10 additional orientifolds with h^{1,2}=2,3. We find several flux vacua with hierarchical suppression of the vacuum energy with respect to the gravitino mass. These solutions provide a crucial stepping stone for the construction of explicit de Sitter vacua in string theory. Lastly, we also report the difference in the distribution of W_0 between supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric minima.

We classify four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with a simple gauge group admitting a large N limit that flow to non-trivial superconformal fixed points in the infrared. We focus on the cases where the large N limit can be taken while keeping the flavor symmetry fixed so that the putative holographic dual has a fixed gauge group. We find that they can be classified into three types -- Type I, Type II, and Type III -- exhibiting universal behavior. Type I theories have a neq c in the large N limit and scale linearly in N; the gap of scaling dimensions among BPS operators behaves as 1/N. Type II theories have a=c in the large N limit, and satisfy a simeq c simeq 27{128} dim G, and Type III theories have a simeq c simeq 1{4} dim G. For Type II and Type III theories, the gap of scaling dimensions stays O(1) in the large N limit. We enumerate relevant and marginal operators of these theories and find that non-trivial conformal manifolds emerge upon relevant deformations. Moreover, we find that a modified version of the AdS Weak Gravity Conjecture, based on the supersymmetric Cardy formula, holds for all of these theories, even for finite N.

BPS decoupling limits of string and M-theory have led to profound insights into gravity and non-perturbative quantum theory, most notably with the AdS/CFT correspondence. In this paper, we initiate the study of twisted BPS decoupling limits, in which the relevant BPS states carry momentum along circle fibers geometrically twisted over a base space. Prime examples are found in type IIB string theory on AdS_5times S^5, for which the twisted limits involve the BPS states of the global symmetry algebra PSU(2,2|4). In general, string fluctuations in a twisted BPS decoupling limit are described by non-relativistic sigma-models on emergent non-Lorentzian target spaces with a natural symplectic structure. This further supports the broader connection between BPS limits and non-Lorentzian geometry. We introduce analogous limits of D-branes as well, probing the same symplectic structure as the string. For AdS_5times S^5, twisted BPS decoupling limits are dual to Spin Matrix theory limits of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, providing tractable and explicit quantum-mechanical descriptions of non-perturbative regimes of AdS/CFT.

We study the N=2 four-dimensional superconformal index in various interesting limits, such that only states annihilated by more than one supercharge contribute. Extrapolating from the SU(2) generalized quivers, which have a Lagrangian description, we conjecture explicit formulae for all A-type quivers of class S, which in general do not have one. We test our proposals against several expected dualities. The index can always be interpreted as a correlator in a two-dimensional topological theory, which we identify in each limit as a certain deformation of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory. The structure constants of the topological algebra are diagonal in the basis of Macdonald polynomials of the holonomies.

We study an infinite family of strongly coupled four-dimensional mathcal N=2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) distinguished by a trivial Higgs branch, known as the (A_2,D_{3m+1}) Argyre-Douglas theories. We propose that their associated vertex operator algebras (VOAs) are the doublet algebras mathcal A(4m+2), an infinite family of non-rational vertex operator superalgebras with a remarkably simple strong generating set of only three fields. We provide several highly nontrivial checks of this proposal. In particular, we reproduce the four-dimensional conformal anomalies a and c from the VOA and analytically prove the exact equality between the Schur index of the SCFT and the supercharacter of the VOA. A key ingredient is a diagonal-gauging realization of the (A_2,D_{3m+1}) theories in terms of two simpler building blocks, which makes the Schur-index computation tractable. Remarkably, we find that the resulting Schur index of the (A_2,D_{3m+1}) theory coincides with that of mathcal N=4 SU(2) Super-Yang-Mills theory, up to an overall prefactor and an appropriate identification of fugacities. We also discuss a generalization to the two-parameter family (A_{2s},D_{(2s+1)m+1}), whose members likewise have trivial Higgs branches and admit diagonal-gauging realizations. A particularly interesting subfamily is (A_{2s},D_{2s+2}), for which the four-dimensional conformal anomalies coincide, a=c. Our results reveal a systematic connection between Higgsless SCFTs, diagonal gauging, and strongly finite but non-rational vertex operator algebras.

Four-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories have families of protected correlation functions that possess the structure of two-dimensional chiral algebras. In this paper, we explore the chiral algebras that arise in this manner in the context of theories of class S. The class S duality web implies nontrivial associativity properties for the corresponding chiral algebras, the structure of which is best summarized in the language of generalized topological quantum field theory. We make a number of conjectures regarding the chiral algebras associated to various strongly coupled fixed points.

We investigate the stability of superconducting strings as bound states of strings and fermion zero modes at both the classical and quantum levels. The dynamics of these superconducting strings can result in a stable configuration, known as a vorton. We mainly focus on global strings, but the majority of the discussion can be applied to local strings. Using lattice simulations, we study the classical dynamics of superconducting strings and confirm that they relax to the vorton configuration through Nambu-Goldstone boson radiation, with no evidence of over-shooting that would destabilize the vorton. We explore the tunneling of fermion zero modes out of the strings. Both our classical analysis and quantum calculations yield consistent results: the maximum energy of the zero mode significantly exceeds the fermion mass, in contrast to previous literature. Additionally, we introduce a world-sheet formalism to evaluate the decay rate of zero modes into other particles, which constitute the dominant decay channel. We also identify additional processes that trigger zero-mode decay due to non-adiabatic changes of the string configuration. In these decay processes, the rates are suppressed by the curvature of string loops, with exponential suppression for large masses of the final states. We further study the scattering with light charged particles surrounding the string core produced by the zero-mode current and find that a wide zero-mode wavefunction can enhance vorton stability.

We study two-Higgs-doublet models, extensions of the Standard Model (SM) containing two Higgs doublets rather than one. Tree-level Higgs-mediated interactions that change quark or lepton flavor are conventionally suppressed by a discrete Z_2 symmetry. Motivated by string compactifications, we instead impose a non-invertible Fibonacci selection rule at a matching scale Λ for that purpose. This rule also forbids the independent mass parameter that normally allows the additional Higgs particles to become arbitrarily heavy, while renormalization-group evolution regenerates it below Λ. An allowed Z_2-breaking quartic interaction simultaneously avoids stable cosmological domain walls. In the exact alignment limit, requiring perturbative unitarity and boundedness from below up to the matching scale bounds the masses of the three non-SM Higgs states; for Λ=10^{19},GeV, they lie below about 150,GeV. The scanned parameter space predicts a suppressed Higgs diphoton signal strength within the projected reach of the HL-LHC. This illustrates how a stringy non-invertible selection rule can leave testable signatures in Higgs physics.

It has been shown that a gravitational dual to a superconductor can be obtained by coupling anti-de Sitter gravity to a Maxwell field and charged scalar. We review our earlier analysis of this theory and extend it in two directions. First, we consider all values for the charge of the scalar field. Away from the large charge limit, backreaction on the spacetime metric is important. While the qualitative behaviour of the dual superconductor is found to be similar for all charges, in the limit of arbitrarily small charge a new type of black hole instability is found. We go on to add a perpendicular magnetic field B and obtain the London equation and magnetic penetration depth. We show that these holographic superconductors are Type II, i.e., starting in a normal phase at large B and low temperatures, they develop superconducting droplets as B is reduced.

We consider the superconformal index of class S theories of type D, which arise by compactification of the (2,0) D_n theories on a punctured Riemann surface C. We also allow for the presence of twist lines on C associated to the Z_2 outer automorphism of D_n. For a two-parameter slice (p=0, q, t) in the space of superconformal fugacities, we determine the 2d TQFT that computes the index.

To each four dimensional Ngeq 2 supersymmetric quantum field theory, one can associate an algebraic completely integrable (ACI) system that encodes the low energy dynamics of theory. In this paper we explicitly derive the appropriate ACI systems for the global forms of N=4 super Yang-Mills (sYM) using isogenies of polarised abelian varieties. In doing so, we relate the complex moduli of the resulting varieties to the exactly marginal coupling of the theory, thus allowing us to probe the S-duality groups of the global forms. Finally, we comment on whether the resulting varieties are the Jacobians of a minimal genus Riemann surface, coming to the conclusion that many global forms of N=4 sYM do not admit a minimal genus Seiberg-Witten curve that correctly reproduces the global form.

Every four-dimensional {cal N}=2 superconformal field theory comes equipped with an intricate algebraic invariant, the associated vertex operator algebra. The relationships between this invariant and more conventional protected quantities in the same theories have yet to be completely understood. In this work, we aim to characterize the connection between the Higgs branch of the moduli space of vacua (as an algebraic geometric entity) and the associated vertex operator algebra. Ultimately our proposal is simple, but its correctness requires the existence of a number of nontrivial null vectors in the vacuum Verma module of the vertex operator algebra. Of particular interest is one such null vector whose presence suggests that the Schur index of any {cal N}=2 SCFT should obey a finite order modular differential equation. By way of the "high temperature" limit of the superconformal index, this allows the Weyl anomaly coefficient a to be reinterpreted in terms of the representation theory of the associated vertex operator algebra. We illustrate these ideas in a number of examples including a series of rank-one theories associated with the "Deligne-Cvitanović exceptional series" of simple Lie algebras, several families of Argyres-Douglas theories, an assortment of class {cal S} theories, and {cal N}=4 super Yang-Mills with su(n) gauge group for small-to-moderate values of n.

We study aspects of the vertex operator algebra (VOA) corresponding to Argyres-Douglas (AD) theories engineered using the 6d N=(2, 0) theory of type J on a punctured sphere. We denote the AD theories as (J^b[k],Y), where J^b[k] and Y represent an irregular and a regular singularity respectively. We restrict to the `minimal' case where J^b[k] has no associated mass parameters, and the theory does not admit any exactly marginal deformations. The VOA corresponding to the AD theory is conjectured to be the W-algebra W^{k_{2d}}(J,Y), where k_{2d}=-h+ b{b+k} with h being the dual Coxeter number of J. We verify this conjecture by showing that the Schur index of the AD theory is identical to the vacuum character of the corresponding VOA, and the Hall-Littlewood index computes the Hilbert series of the Higgs branch. We also find that the Schur and Hall-Littlewood index for the AD theory can be written in a simple closed form for b=h. We also test the conjecture that the associated variety of such VOA is identical to the Higgs branch. The M5-brane construction of these theories and the corresponding TQFT structure of the index play a crucial role in our computations.

We study the superconformal indices of 4d theories coming from 6d N=(2,0) theory of type Γon a Riemann surface, with the action of the outer-automorphism σin the trace. We find that the indices are given by the partition function of a deformed 2d Yang-Mills on the Riemann surface with gauge group G which is S-dual to the subgroup of Γfixed by σ. In the 2-parameter deformed version, we find that it is governed not by Macdonald polynomials of type G, but by Macdonald polynomials associated to twisted affine root systems.