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Higgs branch RG flows via decay and fission

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Magnetic quivers have been an instrumental technique for advancing our understanding of Higgs branches of supersymmetric theories with eight supercharges. In this work, we present the "decay and fission"algorithm for unitary magnetic quivers. It enables the derivation of the complete phase (Hasse) diagram and is characterized by the following key attributes: First and foremost, the algorithm is inherently simple, just relying on convex linear algebra. Second, any magnetic quiver can only undergo decay or fission processes; these reflect the possible Higgs branch RG flows (Higgsings), and the quivers thereby generated are the magnetic quivers of the new RG fixed points. Third, the geometry of the decay or fission transition (i.e., the transverse slice) is simply read off. As a consequence, the algorithm does not rely on a complete list of minimal transitions, but rather outputs the transverse slice geometry automatically. As a proof of concept, its efficacy is showcased across various scenarios, encompassing superconformal field theories from dimensions 3 to 6, instanton moduli spaces, and little string theories.
Original languageEnglish
Article number126013
Number of pages39
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume109
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2024

Funding

We thank Christopher Beem, Simone Giacomelli, Julius Grimminger, Jie Gu, Amihay Hanany, Patrick Jefferson, Yunfeng Jiang, Monica Kang, Hee-Cheol Kim, Sung-Soo Kim, Craig Lawrie, Lorenzo Mansi, Carlos Nunez, Matteo Sacchi, and Sakura Sch\u00E4fer-Nameki for many discussions on this topic. We are grateful for support and stimulating discussions during the following events: A.\u2009B. at String Theory Seminar of DESY/University Hamburg on June 26, 2023. M.\u2009S. at workshop \u201CSymplectic Singularities and Supersymmetric QFT\u201D in Amiens on July 20, 2023. Z.\u2009Z. at Oxford\u2019s String Theory seminar on January 22, 2023, KIAS String Seminars on February 13, 2023, Swansea University on May 31, 2023, Seoul National University CTP seminars October 17, 2023, and IPMU string-math seminar on December 22, 2023. A.\u2009B. is partly supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant No. 772408-Stringlandscape. This research was supported in part by Grant No. NSF PHY-2309135 to the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP). M.\u2009S. is supported by Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [grant DOI: 10.55776/STA73], START project \u201CPhases of quantum field theories: Symmetries and vacua\u201D STA 73-N. M.\u2009S. also acknowledges support from the Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna. M.\u2009S. was previously supported by Shing-Tung Yau Center, Southeast University. Z.\u2009Z. is supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant No. 864828 \u201CAlgebraic Foundations of Supersymmetric Quantum Field Theory\u201D (SCFTAlg). Z.\u2009Z. is grateful of the hospitality of New College, Oxford where the final stages of this work is completed.

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 103024 Quantum field theory
  • 103012 High energy physics

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