Hanany-Witten Effect Research Articles

The 1/4-BPS building blocks of brane interactions

We study, from the perspective of supersymmetry and space-time Killing spinors, the local brane densities involved in 1/4-BPS intersecting brane systems. In particular, we classify the possible local brane structures that have maximal (16) supersymmetries in 1/4-BPS intersecting brane backgrounds. Applied to BPS black holes, this classification reveals the allowed local microstructure for pure microstates. We further use these structures with local 16 supersymmetries as building blocks to generalise to 1/8-BPS systems. Moreover, we give examples of 1/8-BPS black holes for which the local supersymmetries are compatible with the combination of different entropy-generating effects from brane interaction. Finally, applying our classification to BPS domain walls, we illustrate how our formalism may possibly describe the local picture of the Hanany-Witten effect.

Noninvertible Symmetries from Holography and Branes.

We propose a systematic approach to deriving symmetry generators of quantum field theories in holography. Central to this analysis are the Gauss law constraints in the Hamiltonian quantization of symmetry topological field theories (SymTFTs), which are obtained from supergravity. In turn, we realize the symmetry generators from world-volume theories of D-branes in holography. Our main focus is on noninvertible symmetries, which have emerged in the past year as a new type of symmetry in d≥4 QFTs. We exemplify our proposal in the holographic confinement setup, dual to 4D N=1 Super-Yang Mills. In the brane picture, the fusion of noninvertible symmetries naturally arises from the Myers effect on D-branes. In turn, their action on line defects is modeled by the Hanany-Witten effect.

Towards an “AdS1/CFT0” correspondence from the D(−1)/D7 system?

We argue that a type IIB Euclidean supergravity solution of the form ℝ × S1× \U0001d54b8 with imaginary self-dual F1 flux through ℝ × S1 belongs to the chain of AdSd× Sd× \U0001d54b10−2d vacua with (imaginary) self-dual Fd flux, where d ≤ 5. Such vacua come from the near-horizon of D(d − 2)/D(8 − d) branes and are supersymmetric for odd values of d. For d = 1 we speculate that the hallmark of conformal symmetry for the matrix model dual is a vanishing free energy. The matrix dual was recently constructed by [1] by adding matrix interactions coming from strings stretching between the D(−1) and D7 branes to the IKKT matrix model. We find that the corresponding supergravity solution indeed has vanishing on-shell action. Specific F5 fluxes need to be switched on as a consequence of (a T-dual version of) the Hanany-Witten effect.

More on a dessin on the base: Kodaira exceptional fibers and mutually (non-)local branes

A “dessin d'enfant” is a graph embedded on a two-dimensional oriented surface named by Grothendieck. Recently we have developed a new way to keep track of non-localness among 7-branes in F-theory on an elliptic fibration over P1 by drawing a triangulated “dessin” on the base. To further demonstrate the usefulness of this method, we provide three examples of its use. We first consider a deformation of the I0⁎ Kodaira fiber. With a dessin, we can immediately find out which pairs of 7-branes are (non-)local and compute their monodromies. We next identify the paths of string(-junction)s on the dessin by solving the mass geodesic equation. By numerically computing their total masses, we find that the Hanany-Witten effect has not occurred in this example. Finally, we consider the orientifold limit in the spectral cover/Higgs bundle approach. We observe the characteristic configuration presenting the cluster sub-structure of an O-plane found previously.

Hanany-Witten effect and SL(2, ℤ) dualities in matrix models

We provide tests of dualities for three-dimensional $$ \mathcal{N}=4 $$ quiver SCFTs with brane realizations in IIB string theory, by matching their exact partition functions on S 3. The dualities are generated by SL(2, ℤ) transformations and Hanany-Witten 5-brane moves. These contain mirror symmetry as well as dualities identifiying fixed points of Yang-Mills quivers and Chern-Simons theories. The partition function is given by a matrix model, that can be nicely rearranged into a sequence of factors mimicking the brane realization. Identities obeyed by these elementary factors can be used to match the partition functions of dual theories, providing tests for the full web of dualities. In particular we are able to check mirror symmetry for linear and circular quivers with gauge nodes of arbitrary ranks. Our analysis also leads to a proof of a conjectured formula evaluating the matrix models of linear quiver SCFTs.

Winding branes and persistent currents

A D5 brane winding around a stack of D3 branes can be used as a model of persistent current in a thin superconducting ring, with the number N of D3s corresponding to the number of transverse channels in the ring. We consider, in the large N limit, existence and properties of a gapped superconducting state with a uniform winding number density q. We find that there is a gapped classical solution for any q, no matter how large, but when q is larger than a certain q_m the state is unstable with respect to decay by phase slips. We argue that this decay produces strings via a version of the Hanany-Witten effect (in a non-transverse, non-supersymmetric arrangement of branes). This parallels the requirement of quasiparticle production in a clean (disorder-free) wire in field theory of superconductivity.

Matrix embeddings on flatR3and the geometry of membranes

We show that given three hermitian matrices, what one could call a fuzzy representation of a membrane, there is a well defined procedure to define a set of oriented Riemann surfaces embedded in $R^3$ using an index function defined for points in $R^3$ that is constructed from the three matrices and the point. The set of surfaces is covariant under rotations, dilatations and translation operations on $R^3$, it is additive on direct sums and the orientation of the surfaces is reversed by complex conjugation of the matrices. The index we build is closely related to the Hanany-Witten effect. We also show that the surfaces carry information of a line bundle with connection on them. We discuss applications of these ideas to the study of holographic matrix models and black hole dynamics.

Non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d string models

We study the realization of non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d field theory and string theory compactifications. The underlying structure generalizes the Abelian case, and follows from the interplay between gaugings of non-Abelian isometries of the scalar manifold and field identifications making axion-like fields periodic. We present several classes of string constructions realizing non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries. In particular, compactifications with torsion homology classes, where non-Abelianity arises microscopically from the Hanany-Witten effect, or compactifications with non-Abelian discrete isometry groups, like twisted tori. We finally focus on the more interesting case of magnetized branes in toroidal compactifications and quotients thereof (and their heterotic and intersecting duals), in which the non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries imply powerful selection rules for Yukawa couplings of charged matter fields. In particular, in MSSM-like models they correspond to discrete flavour symmetries constraining the quark and lepton mass matrices, as we show in specific examples.

Geometry of open strings ending on backreacting D3-branes

We investigate open string theory on backreacting D3-branes using a spacetime approach. We study in detail the half-BPS supergravity solutions describing open strings ending on D3-branes, in the near horizon of the D3-branes. We recover quantitatively several non-trivial features of open string physics including the appearance of D3-brane spikes, the polarization of fundamental strings into D5-branes, and the Hanany-Witten effect. Finally we detail the computation of the gravitational potential between two open strings, and contrast it with the holographic computation of Wilson lines. We argue that the D-brane backreaction has a large influence on the low-energy gravity, which may lead to experimental tests for string theory brane-world scenarios.

Chern-Simons Theories and Wrapped M-Branes in Their Gravity Duals

We investigate a class of N=4 quiver Chern-Simons theories and their gravity duals. We define the group of fractional D3-brane charges in a type IIB brane setup with taking account of D3-brane creation due to Hanany-Witten effect, and confirm that it agrees with the 3-cycle homology of the dual geometry, which describes the charges of fractional M2-branes, M5-branes wrapped on 3-cycles. The relation between the fractional brane charge and the torsion of the three-form potential field is partially established. We also discuss the duality between baryonic operators in the Chern-Simons theories and M5-branes wrapped on 5-cycles in the dual geometries. The degeneracy and the conformal dimension of the operators are reproduced on the gravity side. We also comment on the relation between wrapped M2-branes and monopole operators. The baryonic operators we consider are not gauge invariant. We argue that the gauge invariance cannot be imposed on all the operators corresponding to wrapped M-branes in AdS4/CFT3 correspondence.

D-brane construction for non-Abelian walls

Supersymmetric $U({N}_{\mathrm{C}})$ gauge theory with ${N}_{\mathrm{F}}$ massive hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation is given by the brane configuration made of ${N}_{\mathrm{C}}$ fractional $\mathrm{D}p$-branes stuck at the ${\mathbf{Z}}_{2}$ orbifold singularity on ${N}_{\mathrm{F}}$ separated $\mathrm{D}(p+4)$-branes. We show that non-Abelian walls in this theory are realized as kinky fractional $\mathrm{D}p$-branes interpolating between $\mathrm{D}(p+4)$-branes. Wall solutions and their duality between ${N}_{\mathrm{C}}$ and ${N}_{\mathrm{F}}\ensuremath{-}{N}_{\mathrm{C}}$ imply extensions of the s-rule and the Hanany-Witten effect in brane dynamics. We also find that the reconnection of fractional D-branes occurs in this system. Diverse phenomena in non-Abelian walls found in field theory can be understood very easily by this brane configuration.

QED and String Theory

We analyze the D9-D9bar system in type IIB string theory using Dp-brane probes. It is shown that the world-volume theory of the probe Dp-brane contains two-dimensional and four-dimensional QED in the cases with p=1 and p=3, respectively, and some applications of the realization of these well-studied quantum field theories are discussed. In particular, the two-dimensional QED (the Schwinger model) is known to be a solvable theory and we can apply the powerful field theoretical techniques, such as bosonization, to study the D-brane dynamics. The tachyon field created by the D9-D9bar strings appears as the fermion mass term in the Schwinger model and the tachyon condensation is analyzed by using the bosonized description. In the T-dualized picture, we obtain the potential between a D0-brane and a D8-D8bar pair using the Schwinger model and we observe that it consists of the energy carried by fundamental strings created by the Hanany-Witten effect and the vacuum energy due to a cylinder diagram. The D0-brane is treated quantum mechanically as a particle trapped in the potential, which turns out to be a system of a harmonic oscillator. As another application, we obtain a matrix theory description of QED using Taylor's T-duality prescription, which is actually applicable to a wide variety of field theories including the realistic QCD. We show that the lattice gauge theory is naturally obtained by regularizing the matrix size to be finite.

The `s-rule' exclusion principle and vacuum interpolation in worldvolume dynamics

We show how the worldvolume realization of the Hanany-Witten effect for a supersymmetric D5-brane in a D3 background also provides a classical realization of the `s-rule' exclusion principle. Despite the supersymmetry, the force on the D5-brane vanishes only in the D5 `ground state', which is shown to interpolate between 6-dimensional Minkowski space and an $OSp(4^*|4)$-invariant $adS_2\times S^4$ geometry. The M-theory analogue of these results is briefly discussed.

Page charge of D-branes and its behavior in topologically nontrivialBfields

The RR Page charges for the D(2p+1)-branes with B-field in type IIB supergravity are constructed consistently from brane source currents. The resulting Page charges are B-independent in the nontrivial and intricate way. It is found that in topologically trivial B-field the Page charge is conserved, but in the topologically nontrivial B-field it is no longer to be conserved, instead there is a jump between two Page charges defined in each patch, and we interpret this jump as Hanany-Witten effect.

T-duality and the case of the disappearing brane

When an NS5-brane crosses a D6-brane, a D4-brane is created stretching between them by the Hanany-Witten effect. However, the T-dual situation involves a Kaluza-Klein monopole crossing a D5-brane and should not result in brane creation. Thus, the newly created D4-brane disappears when T-duality is applied. The T-duality is in a direction transverse to the D4-brane so that one would naively have expected the creation of a D5-brane in the T-dual picture. This situation is investigated via the corresponding supergravity solutions and the tension with the naive result is resolved. Along the way, a differential form version of the supergravity T-duality relations is developed and some comments are made concerning the flux-expulsion properties of D6-branes.

RR charges of D2-branes in group manifold and Hanany-Witten effect

By exploiting the correspondence between the Cardy boundary state in SU(2) group manifold and the BPS D3-brane configuration in the full asymptotically flat geometry of NS5-branes, we show that the Hanany-Witten effect in 10D background is encoded in the Cardy boundary states. The two RR Page D0 charges of the $n$-th spherical D2-brane due to the contraction to $e$ or ($-e$) is interpreted, and attributed to the Hanany-Witten effect.

WORLD VOLUME SOLITONS OF THE D3-BRANE IN THE BACKGROUND OF (p, q) FIVE-BRANES

We analyze the world volume solitons of a D3-brane probe in the background of parallel (p, q) five-branes. The D3-brane is embedded along the directions transverse to the five-branes of the background. By using the S duality invariance of the D3-brane, we find a first-order differential equation whose solutions saturate an energy bound. The SO(3) invariant solutions of this equation are found analytically. They represent world volume solitons which can be interpreted as formed by parallel (-q, p) strings emanating from the D3-brane world volume. It is shown that these configurations are 1/4 supersymmetric and provide a world volume realization of the Hanany–Witten effect.

Half-branes, singular brane intersections, and Kaluza-Klein reduction

Two subtle aspects of brane intersections are investigated. The first concerns the `half-branes' that arise in discussions of the Hanany-Witten effect, often in the D0/D8 setting. The second involves the validity of seemingly singular classical BPS brane intersections. A study of holomorphic curves in the background of a Kaluza-Klein monopole and the associated reduction to type-IIA supergravity sheds light on both issues. Many seemingly singular D2/D6 intersections are shown to lift to smooth configurations of M2-branes in 11-dimensions, and a mechanism is found for certain 2 confinement effects in type II string theories that eliminates any need for half-branes.

Supersymmetric baryonic branes

We derive an energy bound for a `baryonic' D5-brane probe in the $adS_5\times S^5$ background near the horizon of $N$ D3-branes. Configurations saturating the bound are shown to be 1/4 supersymmetric $S^5$-wrapped D5-branes, with a total Born-Infeld charge $N$. Previous results are recovered as a special case. We derive a similar energy bound for a `baryonic' M5-brane probe in the background of $N$ M5-branes. Configurations saturating the bound are again 1/4 supersymmetric and, in the $adS_7\times S^4$ near-horizon limit, provide a worldvolume realization of the `baryon string' vertex of the (2,0)-supersymmetric six-dimensional conformal field theory on coincident M5-branes. For the full M5-background we find a worldvolume realization of the Hanany-Witten effect in M-theory.

Baryons and string creation from the 5-brane world-volume action

We construct BPS-exact solutions of the world-volume Born-Infeld plus WZW action of a D5-brane in the background of N D3-branes. The non-trivial background metric and RR five-form field strength play a crucial role in the solution. When a D5-brane is dragged across a stack of N D3-branes a bundle of N fundamental strings joining the two types of branes is created, as in the Hanany-Witten effect. Our solutions give a detailed description of this bundle in terms of a D5-brane wrapped on a sphere. We discuss extensions of these solutions which have an interpretation in terms of gauge theory multi-quark states via the AdS/CFT correspondence.