Numerical study of entanglement entropy in lattice gauge theory

The entropy of entanglement between a three-dimensional slab of thickness l and its complement is studied numerically for four-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory. We find a signature of a nonanalytic behavior of the entanglement entropy, which was predicted recently for large N_c confining gauge theories in the framework of AdS/CFT correspondence. The derivative of the entanglement entropy over l is likely to have a discontinuity at some l=l_c. It is argued that such behavior persists even at finite temperatures, probably turning into a sort of crossover for temperatures larger than the temperature of the deconfinement phase transition. We also confirm that the entanglement entropy contains quadratically divergent l-independent term, and that the nondivergent terms behave as l⁻² at small distances.     

Dynamical supersymmetry breaking and gauge anomalies

Some aspects of supersymmetric gauge theories and discussed. It is shown that dynamical supersymmetry breaking does not occur in supersymmetric QED in higher dimensions. The cancellation of both local (perturbative) and global (non-perturbative) gauge anomalies are also discussed in supersymmetric gauge theories. We argue that there is no dynamical supersymmetry breaking in higher dimensions in any supersymmetric gauge theories free of gauge anomalies. It is also shown that for supersymmetric gauge theories in higher dimensions with a compact connected simple gauge group, when the local anomaly-free condition is satisfied, there can be at most a possibleZ ₂ global gauge anomaly in extended supersymmetricSO(10) (or spin (10)) gauge theories inD=10 dimensions containing additional Weyl fermions in a spinor representation ofSO(10) (or spin (10)). In four dimensions with local anomaly-free condition satisfied, the only possible global gauge anomalies in supersymmetric gauge theories areZ ₂ global gauge anomalies for extended supersymmetricSP(2N) (N=rank) gauge theories containing additional Weyl fermions in a representation ofSP(2N) with an odd 2nd-order Dynkin index.     

Understanding fields using strings: A review

In addition to being a prime candidate for a fundamental unified theory of all interactions in nature, string theory provides a natural setting to understand gauge field theories. This is linked to the concept of ‘D-branes’: extended, solitonic excitations of string theory which can be studied using techniques of string theory and which support gauge fields localized along their world-volumes. It follows that the techniques of string theory can be very useful even for those particle physicists who are not specifically interested in unification and/or quantum gravity. In this talk I attempt to review how strings help us to understand fields. The discussion is restricted to 3+1 spacetime dimensions.     

Vortex free energy and string tension at strong and intermediate coupling

We present results of high temperature expansions up to order g^?24 for the vortex free energy respectively string tension in pure lattice gauge theories with gauge groups SU(2) and Z₂ in 3 and 4 dimensions. For SU(2) in 4 dimensions the result is compared with Monte Carlo calculations of Creutz and is in good agreement. An intermediate coupling region is seen, where the string tension smoothly interpolates between strong coupling and weak coupling behaviour.     

Deffect free energies in lattice gauge theories with matter fields

We introduce and analyze different defect free energies in lattice gauge theories with matter fields. We investigate in which way the behaviour of these defect free energies characterizes different phase (and different regimes not separated by bulk phase boundaries) of such theories. Our main analytical results concern the ₂ model, but some of our concepts and method extend to a fairly general class of models, including non-abelian lattice gauge theories.We also estimate masses of topological solitons (vortices and magnetic monopoles) in terms of defect free energies of line defects.     

Topological gauge theories and group cohomology

We show that three dimensional Chern-Simons gauge theories with a compact gauge groupG (not necessarily connected or simply connected) can be classified by the integer cohomology groupH ⁴(BG,Z). In a similar way, possible Wess-Zumino interactions of such a groupG are classified byH ³(G,Z). The relation between three dimensional Chern-Simons gauge theory and two dimensional sigma models involves a certain natural map fromH ⁴(BG,Z) toH ³(G,Z). We generalize this correspondence to topological spin theories, which are defined on three manifolds with spin structure, and are related to what might be calledZ ₂ graded chiral algebras (or chiral superalgebras) in two dimensions. Finally we discuss in some detail the formulation of these topological gauge theories for the special case of a finite group, establishing links with two dimensional (holomorphic) orbifold models.     

Superstring theory

Dual string theories, initially developed as phenomenological models of hadrons, now appear more promising as candidates for a unified theory of fundamental interactions. Type I superstring theory (SST I), is a ten-dimensional theory of interacting open and closed strings, with one supersymmetry, that is free from ghosts and tachyons. It requires that an SO(n) or Sp(2n) gauge group be used. A light-cone-gauge string action with space-time supersymmetry automatically incorporates the superstring restrictions and leads to the discovery of type II superstring theory (SST II). SST II is an interacting theory of closed strings only, with two D = 10 supersymmetries, that is also free from ghosts and tachyons. By taking six of the spatial dimensions to form a compact space, it becomes possible to reconcile the models with our four-dimensional perception of spacetime and to define low-energy limits in which SST I reduces to N = 4, D = 4 super Yang-Mills theory and SST II reduces to N = 8, D = 4 supergravity theory. The superstring theories can be described by a light-cone-gauge action principle based on fields that are functionals of string coordinates. With this formalism any physical quantity should be calculable. There is some evidence that, unlike any conventional field theory, the superstring theories provide perturbatively renormalizable (SST I) or finite (SST II) unifications of gravity with other interactions.     

Melting Crystal, Quantum Torus and Toda Hierarchy

Searching for the integrable structures of supersymmetric gauge theories and topological strings, we study melting crystal, which is known as random plane partition, from the viewpoint of integrable systems. We show that a series of partition functions of melting crystals gives rise to a tau function of the one-dimensional Toda hierarchy, where the models are defined by adding suitable potentials, endowed with a series of coupling constants, to the standard statistical weight. These potentials can be converted to a commutative sub-algebra of quantum torus Lie algebra. This perspective reveals a remarkable connection between random plane partition and quantum torus Lie algebra, and substantially enables to prove the statement. Based on the result, we briefly argue the integrable structures of five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and A-model topological strings. The aforementioned potentials correspond to gauge theory observables analogous to the Wilson loops, and thereby the partition functions are translated in the gauge theory to generating functions of their correlators. In topological strings, we particularly comment on a possibility of topology change caused by condensation of these observables, giving a simple example.     

String theory as a universal language

Some new results and new speculations on various topics are submitted. They include discussion of open strings in the AdS space, unusual features of D branes, and conformal gauge theories in higher dimensions. The infrared screening of the cosmological constant and the “brane worlds” are also discussed.     

Semi-local cosmic strings and the cosmological constant problem

We study the cosmological constant problem in a three-dimensional N = 2 supergravity theory with gauge groupSU (2)_global × U(1)_local. The model we consider is known to admit string-like configurations, the so-called semi-local cosmic strings. We show that the stability of these solitonic solutions is provided by supersymmetry through the existence of a lower bound for the energy, even though the manifold of the Higgs vacuum does not contain non-contractible loops. Charged Killing spinors do exist over configurations that saturate the Bogomol'nyi bound, as a consequence of an Aharonov-Bohm-like effect. Nevertheless, there are no physical fermionic zero modes on these backgrounds. The exact vanishing of the cosmological constant does not imply, then, Bose-Fermi degeneracy. This provides a non-trivial example of the recent claim made by Witten on the vanishing of the cosmological constant in three dimensions without unphysical degeneracies.     

Calculation of BRS cohomology with spectral sequences

A method for finding the general form of the BRS cohomology spaceH for the various gauge and supersymmetry theories is presented. The method is adapted for use in the space of integrated local polynomials of the gauge fields and ghosts with arbitrary numbers of fields and dervivatives. The technique uses the Hodge decomposition in a Fock space with a Euclidean inner product, and combines this with spectral sequences to generate simple and soluble equations whose solutions span a simple spaceE isomorphic to the complicated spaceH. The technique is illustrated for pedagogic purposes by the detailed calculation of the ghost charge zero and one sectors ofH for Yang-Mills theory with gauge groupSO (32) in ten dimensions. The method is appropriate for supersymmetric theories, gravity, supergravity and superstrings where higher order terms with many derivatives occur naturally in the effective action.Research supported in part by the Robert A. Welch Foundation and NSF Grants PHY 77-18762 and PHY 9009850     

Methods in hamiltonian lattice field theory (II). Linked-cluster expansions

The linked cluster series expansion proposed by Nickel is extended to the ground state and axial string tension of lattice gauge theory. Proofs of these expansions and applications to Z₂ and U(1) gauge theory in 2 + 1 dimensions are presented. We also propose a new finite cluster scaling method based on the linked-cluster expansion and test it against known results for Z₂ gauge theory. The utility of the method in studying more complicated lattice gauge theories is emphasized.     

Nonstandard parafermions and string compactification

Nonstandard parafermions are built and their central charges and dimensions are calculated. We then construct new N=2 superconformal field theories by tensoring the parafermions with a free boson. We study the spectrum and modular transformations of these theories. Superstring and heterotic strings in four dimensions are then obtained by tensoring the new superconformal field theories along with some minimal models. The generations and antigenerations are studied. We give an example of the ¹²(5,7) theory which is shown to have two net generations.     

Moduli and (un)attractor black hole thermodynamics

We investigate four-dimensional spherically symmetric black hole solutions in gravity theories with massless, neutral scalars non-minimally coupled to gauge fields. In the non-extremal case, we explicitly show that, under the variation of the moduli, the scalar charges appear in the first law of black hole thermodynamics. In the extremal limit, the near horizon geometry is AdS ₂ × S ² and the entropy does not depend on the values of moduli at infinity. We discuss the attractor behaviour by using Sen’s entropy function formalism as well as the effective potential approach and their relation with the results previously obtained through special geometry method. We also argue that the attractor mechanism is at the basis of the matching between the microscopic and macroscopic entropies for the extremal non-BPS Kaluza–Klein black hole.     

M‐strings,elliptic genera and N = 4 string amplitudes

We study mass‐deformed N = 2 gauge theories from various points of view. Their partition functions can be computed via three dual approaches: firstly, (p,q)‐brane webs in type II string theory using Nekrasov's instanton calculus, secondly, the (refined) topological string using the topological vertex formalism and thirdly, M theory via the elliptic genus of certain M‐strings configurations. We argue for a large class of theories that these approaches yield the same gauge theory partition function which we study in detail. To make their modular properties more tangible, we consider a fourth approach by connecting the partition function to the equivariant elliptic genus of ℂ² through a (singular) theta‐transform. This form appears naturally as a specific class of one‐loop scattering amplitudes in type II string theory on T², which we calculate explicitly.     

Quantum Wall Crossing in $${{\mathcal N}=2}$$ Gauge Theories

We study refined and motivic wall-crossing formulas in N=2{{\mathcal 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.”     

On the roughening transition in abelian lattice gauge theories

We study the width of the confining string between static quarks in abelian lattice gauge theories using strong coupling expansions. We consider gauge groups Z_n and U(1) in 3 and 4 dimensions. This extends previous work with Lüscher, where SU(2) and Z₂ were studied. In ν = 3 dimensions we find evidence for a roughening transition. It is characterized by a divergence of the string width for an infinitely far separated quark-antiquark pair, while the string tension remains non-zero. In ν = 4 dimensions for the abelian groups we do not have evidence for a roughening transition away from a phase transition.     

Superalgebras in N = 1 gauge theories

N = 1 supersymmetric gauge theories with global flavor symmetries contain a gauge invariant W-superalgebra which acts on its moduli space of gauge invariants. With adjoint matter, this superalgebra reduces to a graded Lie algebra. When the gauge group is SO(n_c), with vector matter, it is a W-algebra, and the primary invariants form one of its representation. The same superalgebra exists in the dual theory, but its construction in terms of the dual fields suggests that duality may be understood in terms of a charge conjugation within the algebra. We extend the analysis to the gauge group E₆.