Hyperconifold transitions,mirror symmetry,and string theory

Multiply-connected Calabi–Yau threefolds are of particular interest for both string theorists and mathematicians. Recently it was pointed out that one of the generic degenerations of these spaces (occurring at codimension one in moduli space) is an isolated singularity which is a finite cyclic quotient of the conifold; these were called hyperconifolds. It was also shown that if the order of the quotient group is even, such singular varieties have projective crepant resolutions, which are therefore smooth Calabi–Yau manifolds. The resulting topological transitions were called hyperconifold transitions, and change the fundamental group as well as the Hodge numbers. Here Batyrev?s construction of Calabi–Yau hypersurfaces in toric fourfolds is used to demonstrate that certain compact examples containing the remaining hyperconifolds — the Z₃${\mathbb{Z}}_3$ and Z₅${\mathbb{Z}}_5$ cases — also have Calabi–Yau resolutions. The mirrors of the resulting transitions are studied and it is found, surprisingly, that they are ordinary conifold transitions. These are the first examples of conifold transitions with mirrors which are more exotic extremal transitions. The new hyperconifold transitions are also used to construct a small number of new Calabi–Yau manifolds, with small Hodge numbers and fundamental group Z₃${\mathbb{Z}}_3$ or Z₅${\mathbb{Z}}_5$. Finally, it is demonstrated that a hyperconifold is a physically sensible background in Type IIB string theory. In analogy to the conifold case, non-perturbative dynamics smooth the physical moduli space, such that hyperconifold transitions correspond to non-singular processes in the full theory.     

Resolutions of cones over Einstein–Sasaki spaces

Recently an explicit resolution of the Calabi–Yau cone over the inhomogeneous five-dimensional Einstein–Sasaki space Y2,1$Y^{2,1}$ was obtained. It was constructed by specialising the parameters in the BPS limit of recently-discovered Kerr–NUT–AdS metrics in higher dimensions. We study the occurrence of such non-singular resolutions of Calabi–Yau cones in a more general context. Although no further six-dimensional examples arise as resolutions of cones over the Lpqr$L^{pqr}$ Einstein–Sasaki spaces, we find general classes of non-singular cohomogeneity-2 resolutions of higher-dimensional Einstein–Sasaki spaces. The topologies of the resolved spaces are of the form of an R²${\mathbb{R}}^2$ bundle over a base manifold that is itself an S²$S^2$ bundle over an Einstein–Kähler manifold.     

String modular phases in Calabi–Yau families

We investigate the structure of singular Calabi–Yau varieties in moduli spaces that contain a Brieskorn–Pham point. Our main tool is a construction of families of deformed motives over the parameter space. We analyze these motives for general fibers and explicitly compute the L$L$-series for singular fibers for several families. We find that the resulting motivic L$L$-functions agree with the L$L$-series of modular forms whose weight depends both on the rank of the motive and the degree of the degeneration of the variety. Surprisingly, these motivic L$L$-functions are identical in several cases to L$L$-series derived from weighted Fermat hypersurfaces. This shows that singular Calabi–Yau spaces of non-conifold type can admit a string worldsheet interpretation, much like rational theories, and that the corresponding irrational conformal field theories inherit information from the Gepner conformal field theory of the weighted Fermat fiber of the family. These results suggest that phase transitions via non-conifold configurations are physically plausible. In the case of severe degenerations we find a dimensional transmutation of the motives. This suggests further that singular configurations with non-conifold singularities may facilitate transitions between Calabi–Yau varieties of different dimensions.     

Fluxed M5-instantons in F-theory

We analyse the non-perturbative superpotential due to M5-brane instantons in F-theory compactifications on Calabi–Yau fourfolds. The M5 partition function is obtained via holomorphic factorisation by explicitly performing the sum over chiral 3-form fluxes. Comparison with the partition function of fluxed Euclidean D3-brane instantons in Type IIB orientifolds allows us to fix the spin structure on the intermediate Jacobian of the M5-instanton. We furthermore analyse the contribution of the M5-instanton to the superpotential in the presence of _G4$G_4$ gauge flux, where the superpotential is dressed with matter fields. We explicitly evaluate the pullback of _G4$G_4$ onto the M5-brane as a measure for the presence of charged instanton zero modes. This accounts for the M5 charge both under massless U(1)$U(1)$s, if present, and under what corresponds in Type II language to geometrically massive U(1)$U(1)$s.     

Some properties of the Alday–Maldacena minimum

The Alday–Maldacena solution, relevant to the n=4$n=4$ gluon amplitude in N=4$N=4$ SYM at strong coupling, was recently identified as a minimum of the regularized action in the moduli space of solutions of the AdS₅${\mathit{AdS}}_5$σ  -model equations of motion. Analogous solutions of the Nambu–Goto equations for the n=4$n=4$ case are presented and shown to form (modulo the reparametrization group) an equally large but different moduli space, with the Alday–Maldacena solution at the intersection of the σ  -model and Nambu–Goto moduli spaces. We comment upon the possible form of the regularized action for n=5$n=5$. A function of moduli parameters za$z_a$ is written, whose minimum reproduces the BDDK one-loop five-gluon amplitude. This function may thus be considered as some kind of Legendre transform of the BDDK formula and has its own value independently of the Alday–Maldacena approach.     

Composite representation invariants and unoriented topological string amplitudes

Sinha and Vafa [1] had conjectured that the SO   Chern–Simons gauge theory on S³$S^3$ must be dual to the closed A  -model topological string on the orientifold of a resolved conifold. Though the Chern–Simons free energy could be rewritten in terms of the topological string amplitudes providing evidence for the conjecture, we needed a novel idea in the context of Wilson loop observables to extract cross-cap c=0,1,2$c=0,1,2$ topological amplitudes. Recent paper of Marino [2] based on the work of Morton and Ryder [3] has clearly shown that the composite representation placed on the knots and links plays a crucial role to rewrite the topological string cross-cap c=0$c=0$ amplitude. This enables extracting the unoriented cross-cap c=2$c=2$ topological amplitude. In this paper, we have explicitly worked out the composite invariants for some framed knots and links carrying composite representations in U(N)$U(N)$ Chern–Simons theory. We have verified generalised Rudolph's theorem, which relates composite invariants to the invariants in SO(N)$\mathit{SO}(N)$ Chern–Simons theory, and also verified Marino's conjectures on the integrality properties of the topological string amplitudes. For some framed knots and links, we have tabulated the BPS integer invariants for cross-cap c=0$c=0$ and c=2$c=2$ giving the open-string topological amplitude on the orientifold of the resolved conifold.     

Two-dimensional gauge theory and matrix model

We study a matrix model obtained by dimensionally reducing Chern–Simons theory on S³$S^3$. We find that the matrix integration is decomposed into sectors classified by the representation of SU(2)$\mathit{SU}(2)$. We show that the N  -block sectors reproduce SU(N)$\mathit{SU}(N)$ Yang–Mills theory on S²$S^2$ as the matrix size goes to infinity.     

Rational r-matrices,higher rank Lie algebras and integrable proton–neutron BCS models

We study integrable cases of pairing BCS hamiltonians containing several types of fermions. We prove that there exist three classes of such integrable models associated with classical rational r  -matrices and Lie algebras gl(2m)$\mathit{gl}(2m)$, sp(2m)$\mathit{sp}(2m)$ and so(2m)$\mathit{so}(2m)$ correspondingly. We diagonalize the constructed hamiltonians by means of the algebraic Bethe ansatz. In the partial case of two types of fermions (m=2$m=2$) the obtained models may be interpreted as N=Z$N=Z$ proton–neutron integrable models. In particular, in the case of sp(4)$\mathit{sp}(4)$ we recover the famous integrable proton–neutron model of Richardson.     

Weak mirror symmetry of complex symplectic Lie algebras

A complex symplectic structure on a Lie algebra h$\mathfrak{h}$ is an integrable complex structure J$J$ with a closed non-degenerate (2,0)$(2,0)$-form. It is determined by J$J$ and the real part Ω$\Omega$ of the (2,0)$(2,0)$-form. Suppose that h$\mathfrak{h}$ is a semi-direct product g?V$\mathfrak{g}?V$, and both g$\mathfrak{g}$ and V$V$ are Lagrangian with respect to Ω$\Omega$ and totally real with respect to J$J$. This note shows that g?V$\mathfrak{g}?V$ is its own weak mirror image in the sense that the associated differential Gerstenhaber algebras controlling the extended deformations of Ω$\Omega$ and J$J$ are isomorphic.     

The exact decomposition of gauge variables in lattice Yang–Mills theory

In this Letter, we consider lattice versions of the decomposition of the Yang–Mills field a la Cho–Faddeev–Niemi, which was extended by Kondo, Shinohara and Murakami in the continuum formulation. For the SU(N)$\mathit{SU}(N)$ gauge group, we propose a set of defining equations for specifying the decomposition of the gauge link variable and solve them exactly without using the ansatz adopted in the previous studies for SU(2)$\mathit{SU}(2)$ and SU(3)$\mathit{SU}(3)$. As a result, we obtain the general form of the decomposition for SU(N)$\mathit{SU}(N)$ gauge link variables and confirm the previous results obtained for SU(2)$\mathit{SU}(2)$ and SU(3)$\mathit{SU}(3)$.     

The puzzle of apparent linear lattice artifacts in the 2d non-linear σ-model and Symanzik's solution

Lattice artifacts in the 2d O(n) non-linear σ  -model are expected to be of the form O(a²)$\mathrm{O}(a^2)$, and hence it was (when first observed) disturbing that some quantities in the O(3)$\mathrm{O}(3)$ model with various actions show parametrically stronger cutoff dependence, apparently O(a)$\mathrm{O}(a)$, up to very large correlation lengths. In a previous letter Balog et al. (2009) [1] we described the solution to this puzzle. Based on the conventional framework of Symanzik's effective action, we showed that there are logarithmic corrections to the O(a²)$\mathrm{O}(a^2)$ artifacts which are especially large (ln³a${\ln }^{3}a$) for n=3$n=3$ and that such artifacts are consistent with the data. In this paper we supply the technical details of this computation. Results of Monte Carlo simulations using various lattice actions for O(3)$\mathrm{O}(3)$ and O(4)$\mathrm{O}(4)$ are also presented.     

Atomic parity violation in the economical 3–3–1 model

The deviation δQW$\delta Q_{\mathrm{W}}$ of the weak charge from its standard model prediction due to the mixing of the W boson with the charged bilepton Y as well as of the Z   boson with the neutral Z^′$Z^{\prime }$ and the real part of the non-Hermitian neutral bilepton X   in the economical 3–3–1 model is established. Additional contributions to the usual δQW$\delta Q_{\mathrm{W}}$ expression in the extra U(1)$\mathrm{U}(1)$ models and the left–right models are obtained. Our calculations are quite different from previous analyzes in this kind of the 3–3–1 models and give the limit on mass of the Z^′$Z^{\prime }$ boson, the Z–Z^′$Z\text{–}{Z}^{\prime }$ and W–Y$W\text{–}Y$ mixing angles with the more appropriate values: MZ^′>564 GeV$M_{Z^{\prime }}>564\text{GeV}$, −0.018<sinφ<0$-0.018<\sin \phi <0$ and |sinθ|<0.043$|\sin \theta |<0.043$.     

From local to global in F-theory model building

When locally engineering F-theory models some D7$D7$-branes for the gauge group factors are specified and matter is localized on the intersection curves of the compact parts of the world-volumes. In this note, we discuss to what extent one can draw conclusions about F-theory models by just restricting the attention locally to a particular seven-brane. Globally, the possible D7$D7$-branes are not independent from each other and the (compact part of the) D7$D7$-brane can have unavoidable intrinsic singularities. Many special intersecting loci which were not chosen by hand occur inevitably, notably codimension-three loci which are not   intersections of matter curves. We describe these complications specifically in a global SU(5)$SU\left(5\right)$ model and also their impact on the tadpole cancellation condition.     

Very special relativity in curved space–times

The generalization of Cohen and Glashow's very special relativity to curved space–times is considered. Gauging the SIM(2)$\mathit{SIM}(2)$ symmetry does not, in general, provide the coupling to the gravitational background. However, locally SIM(2)$\mathit{SIM}(2)$ invariant Lagrangians can always be constructed. For space–times with SIM(2)$\mathit{SIM}(2)$ holonomy, they describe chiral fermions propagating freely as massive particles.