Lattice Of Charges Research Articles

Octonionic Magical Supergravity, Niemeier Lattices, and Exceptional & Hilbert Modular Forms

AbstractThe quantum degeneracies of Bogomolny‐Prasad‐Sommerfield (BPS) black holes of octonionic magical supergravity in five dimensions are studied. Quantum degeneracy is defined purely number theoretically as the number of distinct states in charge space with a given set of invariant labels. Quantum degeneracies of spherically symmetric stationary BPS black holes are given by the Fourier coefficients of modular forms of exceptional group . Their charges take values in the lattice defined by the exceptional Jordan algebra over integral octonions. The quantum degeneracies of rank 1 and rank 2 BPS black holes are given by the Fourier coefficients of singular modular forms and . The rank 3 (large) BPS black holes will be studied elsewhere. Following the work of N. Elkies and B. Gross on embeddings of cubic rings A into the exceptional Jordan algebra we show that the quantum degeneracies of rank 1 black holes described by such embeddings are given by the Fourier coefficients of the Hilbert modular forms (HMFs) of . If the discriminant of the cubic ring A is with p a prime number then the isotropic lines in the 24 dimensional orthogonal complement of A define a pair of Niemeier lattices which can be taken as charge lattices of some BPS black holes. The current status of the searches for the M/superstring theoretic origins of the octonionic magical supergravity is also reviewed.

Magnetic field effects and transverse ratchets in charge lattices coupled to asymmetric substrates

We examine a charge lattice coupled to a one-dimensional asymmetric potential in the presence of an applied magnetic field, which induces gyrotropic effects in the charge motion. This system could be realized for Wigner crystals in nanostructured samples, dusty plasmas, or other classical charge-ordered states where gyrotropic motion and damping can arise. For zero magnetic field, an applied external ac drive can produce a ratchet effect in which the particles move along the easy flow direction of the substrate asymmetry. The zero field ratchet effect can only occur when the ac drive is aligned with the substrate asymmetry direction; however, when a magnetic field is added, the gyrotropic forces generate a Hall effect that leads to a variety of new behaviors, including a transverse ratchet motion that occurs when the ac drive is perpendicular to the substrate asymmetry direction. We show that this system exhibits commensuration effects as well as reversals in the ratchet effect and the Hall angle of the motion. The magnetic field also produces a nonmonotonic ratchet efficiency when the particles become localized at high fields.

Gauged 2-form symmetries in 6D SCFTs coupled to gravity

We study six dimensional supergravity theories with superconformal sectors (SCFTs). Instances of such theories can be engineered using type IIB strings, or more generally F-Theory, which translates field theoretic constraints to geometry. Specifically, we study the fate of the discrete 2-form global symmetries of the SCFT sectors. For both (2, 0) and (1, 0) theories we show that whenever the charge lattice of the SCFT sectors is non-primitively embedded into the charge lattice of the supergravity theory, there is a subgroup of these 2-form symmetries that remains unbroken by BPS strings. By the absence of global symmetries in quantum gravity, this subgroup much be gauged. Using the embedding of the charge lattices also allows us to determine how the gauged 2-form symmetry embeds into the 2-form global symmetries of the SCFT sectors, and we present several concrete examples, as well as some general observations. As an alternative derivation, we recover our results for a large class of models from a dual perspective upon reduction to five dimensions.

Exploring the landscape of heterotic strings on Td

Compactifications of the heterotic string on Td are the simplest, yet rich enough playgrounds to uncover swampland ideas: the U(1)d+16 left-moving gauge symmetry gets enhanced at special points in moduli space only to certain groups. We state criteria, based on lattice embedding techniques, to establish whether a gauge group is realized or not. For generic d, we further show how to obtain the moduli that lead to a given gauge group by modifying the method of deleting nodes in the extended Dynkin diagram of the Narain lattice II1,17. More general algorithms to explore the moduli space are also developed. For d = 1 and 2 we list all the maximally enhanced gauge groups, moduli, and other relevant information about the embedding in IId,d+16. In agreement with the duality between heterotic on T2 and F-theory on K3, all possible gauge groups on T2 match all possible ADE types of singular fibers of elliptic K3 surfaces. We also present a simple method to transform the moduli under the duality group, and we build the map that relates the charge lattices and moduli of the compactification of the E8 × E8 and Spin(32)/ℤ2 heterotic theories.

Lens space index and global properties for 4d mathcal{N} = 2 models

The additional data necessary to univocally fix the gauge group for a given algebra are represented by the same charge lattices of mutually local Wilson and ’t Hooft lines for both 4d mathcal{N} = 4 SYM and mathcal{N} = 2 elliptic models. Motivated by this equivalence in this paper we study the Lens space index of these mathcal{N} = 2 elliptic models. The index is indeed sensitive to the global properties and in the mathcal{N} = 4 case it is expected to coincide among S-dual models with different global properties, while it gives different results for models that lie in other S-duality orbits. Here by an explicit calculation we show that the same results hold for the mathcal{N} = 2 elliptic models as well.

Remarks on the Green–Schwarz Terms of Six-Dimensional Supergravity Theories

We construct the Green-Schwarz terms of six-dimensional supergravity theories on spacetimes with non-trivial topology and gauge bundle. We prove the cancellation of all global gauge and gravitational anomalies for theories with gauge groups given by products of $U(n)$, $SU(n)$ and $Sp(n)$ factors, as well as for $E_8$. For other gauge groups, anomaly cancellation is equivalent to the triviality of a certain 7-dimensional spin topological field theory. We show in the case of a finite Abelian gauge group that there are residual global anomalies imposing constraints on the 6d supergravity. These constraints are compatible with the known F-theory models. Interestingly, our construction requires that the gravitational anomaly coefficient of the 6d supergravity theory is a characteristic element of the lattice of string charges, a fact true in six-dimensional F-theory compactifications but that until now was lacking a low-energy explanation. We also discover a new anomaly coefficient associated with a torsion characteristic class in theories with a disconnected gauge group.

Flavor symmetries and the topology of special K\xe4hler structures at rank 1

We propose a method for determining the flavor charge lattice of the continuous flavor symmetry of rank-1 4d mathcal{N} = 2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) and IR free gauge theories from topological invariants of the special Kähler structure of the mass-deformed Coulomb branches (CBs) of the theories. The method is based on the middle homology of the total space of the elliptic fibration over the CB, and is a generalization of the F-theory string web description of flavor charge lattices. The resulting lattices, which we call “string web lattices”, contain not only information about the flavor symmetry of the SCFT but also additional information encoded in the lattice metric derived from the middle homology intersection form. This additional information clearly reflects the low energy electric and magnetic charges of BPS states on the CB, but there are other properties of the string web lattice metric which we have not been able to understand in terms of properties of the BPS spectrum. We compute the string web lattices of all rank-1 SCFTs and IR free gauge theories. We find agreement with results obtained by other methods, and find in a few cases that the string web lattice gives additional information on the flavor symmetry.

Green-Schwarz automorphisms and 6D SCFTs

All known interacting 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) have a tensor branch which includes anti-chiral two-forms and a corresponding lattice of string charges. Automorphisms of this lattice preserve the Dirac pairing and specify discrete global and gauge symmetries of the 6D theory. In this paper we compute this automorphism group for 6D SCFTs. This discrete data determines the geometric structure of the moduli space of vacua. Upon compactification, these automorphisms generate Seiberg-like dualities, as well as additional theories in discrete quotients by the 6D global symmetries. When a perturbative realization is available, these discrete quotients correspond to including additional orientifold planes in the string construction.

On the Defect Group of a 6D SCFT

We use the F-theory realization of 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) to study the corresponding spectrum of stringlike, i.e. surface defects. On the tensor branch, all of the stringlike excitations pick up a finite tension, and there is a corresponding lattice of string charges, as well as a dual lattice of charges for the surface defects. The defect group is data intrinsic to the SCFT and measures the surface defect charges which are not screened by dynamical strings. When non-trivial, it indicates that the associated theory has a partition vector rather than a partition function. We compute the defect group for all known 6D SCFTs, and find that it is just the abelianization of the discrete subgroup of U(2) which appears in the classification of 6D SCFTs realized in F-theory. We also explain how the defect group specifies defining data in the compactification of a (1,0) SCFT.

Discrete Charge Effects on the Potential Distribution in and around Soft Particles

The potential distribution in and around a soft particle, i.e., a porous polyelectrolyte particle, in an electrolyte solution is usually derived via a continuum model in which fixed charges inside the soft particle are distributed with a continuous charge density. In this paper, on the basis of a previous result for a plate like soft particle consisting of a cubic lattice of fixed point charges, we derive expressions for the electric potential distribution for the case of a soft sphere and a soft cylinder. These expressions are given in terms of a sum of the screened Coulomb potentials produced by the point charges within the soft particle. We show how the discrete charge model approaches the continuous charge model as the lattice spacing becomes very small.

6D SCFTs and gravity

We study how to couple a 6D superconformal field theory (SCFT) to gravity. In F-theory, the models in question are obtained working on the supersymmetric background $$ \mathbb{R} $$ 5,1 × B where B is the base of a compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefold in which two-cycles have contracted to zero size. When the base has orbifold singularities, we find that the anomaly polynomial of the 6D SCFTs can be understood purely in terms of the intersection theory of fractional divisors: the anomaly coefficient vectors are identified with elements of the orbifold homology. This also explains why in certain cases, the SCFT can appear to contribute a “fraction of a hypermultiplet” to the anomaly polynomial. Quantization of the lattice of string charges also predicts the existence of additional light states beyond those captured by such fractional divisors. This amounts to a refinement to the lattice of divisors in the resolved geometry. We illustrate these general considerations with explicit examples, focusing on the case of F-theory on an elliptic Calabi-Yau threefold with base $$ {\mathrm{\mathbb{P}}}^2/{\mathbb{Z}}_3 $$ .

Electroosmotic flow on an arbitrarily charged planar surface

A general expression for the electroosmotic flow on an arbitrarily (i.e., both uniformly and nonuniformly) charged planar surface under an applied static electric field is derived. We treat the case in which the applied field is weak so that the flow is slow enough to obey the Stokes approximation at low Reynolds numbers and the electric potential is low enough to obey the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation. As examples, the flow around a sinusoidally charged planar surface and that around a charged planar surface carrying a square lattice of point charges are considered. The latter is related to the discrete-charge effect upon the electroosmotic flow.

The Electrostatic Potential of a Periodic Lattice

We calculate electrostatic potential of a periodic lattice of arbitrary extended charges by using the Cartesian multipole formalism. This method allows the separation of the long-range potential from the contact potential (potential on the source). We write both the electrostatic potential and the interaction energy as convergent sums in the reciprocal space.

Charge lattices and consistency of 6D supergravity

We extend the known consistency conditions on the low-energy theory of six-dimensional N = 1 supergravity. We review some facts about the theory of two-form gauge fields and conclude that the charge lattice Gamma for such a theory has to be self-dual. The Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation conditions in the supergravity theory determine a sublattice of Gamma. The condition that this sublattice can be extended to a self-dual lattice Gamma leads to a strong constraint on theories that otherwise appear to be self-consistent.

Linear scaling solution of the all-electron Coulomb problem in solids

We present a linear scaling formulation for the solution of the all-electron Coulomb problem in crystalline solids. The resulting method is systematically improvable and well suited to large-scale quantum mechanical calculations in which the Coulomb potential and energy of a continuous electronic density and singular nuclear density are required. Linear scaling is achieved by introducing smooth, strictly local neutralizing densities to render nuclear interactions strictly local, and solving the remaining neutral Poisson problem for the electrons in real space. While the formulation includes singular nuclear potentials without smearing approximations, the required Poisson solution is in Sobolev space $H^1$, as required for convergence in the energy norm. We employ enriched finite elements, with enrichments from isolated atom solutions, for an efficient solution of the resulting Poisson problem in the interacting solid. We demonstrate the accuracy and convergence of the approach by direct comparison to standard Ewald sums for a lattice of point charges, and demonstrate the accuracy in all-electron quantum mechanical calculations with an application to crystalline diamond.

“Magic numbers” in the melting of a cluster of point charges on a sphere

The thermodynamic properties of a cluster of point Coulomb charges on a sphere have been analyzed using the Monte Carlo method for the number of charges 20 ≤ N ≤ 90. The ground state of the system of charges is described in the model of a closed quasi-two-dimensional triangular lattice with topological defects. We have determined the dependence of the Lindeman parameter δL of this system on N and on the dimensionless parameter $$ \tilde T $$ , which is proportional to the temperature T and to the radius R of the cluster: $$ \tilde T = {{k_B T\varepsilon R} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{k_B T\varepsilon R} {e^2 }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {e^2 }} $$ , where ∈ is the dielectric constant of the medium and e is the charge of a particle. The “magic numbers,” i.e., the N values, for which the melting point of the closed triangular lattice of charges is much higher than those for neighboring N values, have been found. The evolution of the lattice-melting mechanisms with an increase in the number of charges N in a mesoscopic cluster has been analyzed. For N ≤ 32, the melting of the lattice does not involve dislocations (nontopological melting); this behavior of the mesoscopic system of charges on the sphere differs from the behavior of the extended planar two-dimensional system. At N ≳ 50, melting is accompanied by the formation of dislocations. The mechanism of dislocation-free non-topological melting of a closed lattice, which occurs at small N values and is associated with the cooperative rotational motion of “rings” of particles, has been analyzed. The model has various implementations in the mesoscopic region; in particular, it describes the system of electrons over the liquid-helium cluster, the liquid-helium cluster with incorporated charged particles, a multielectron bubble in liquid helium, a charged quantum dot, etc.

Symmetry of electrostatic interaction between pyrophosphate DNA molecules

We study chiral electrostatic interaction between artificial ideal homopolymer DNA-like molecules in which a number of phosphate groups of the sugar-phosphate backbone are exchanged for the pyrophosphate ones. We employ a model in which the DNA is considered as a one-dimensional lattice of dipoles and charges corresponding to base pairs and (pyro)phosphate groups, respectively. The interaction between molecules of the DNA is described by a pair potential U of electrostatic forces between the two sets of dipoles and charges belonging to respective lattices describing the molecules. Minima of the potential U indicate orientational ordering of the molecules and thus liquid crystalline phases of the DNA. We use numerical methods for finding the set of minima in conjunction with symmetries verified by the potential U . The symmetries form a non-commutative group of 8th order, S . Using the group S we suggest a classification of liquid crystalline phases of the DNA, which allows several cholesteric phases, that is polymorphism. Pyrophosphate forms of the DNA could clarify the role played by charges in their liquid crystalline phases, and open experimental research, important for nano-technological and bio-medical applications.

Vanishing gap in LiF for electronic excitations by slow antiprotons

We study the influence of antiprotons and protons traveling through LiF on the band structure of the insulator using the embedded-cluster method. The crystal is represented by ${\text{F}}_{m}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\text{Li}}_{n}^{+}$ clusters with up to 19 fluorine ions embedded in a lattice of point charges representing the remainder of the crystal. The minimum excitation energy of LiF perturbed by the (anti)proton impurity is calculated employing the multiconfiguration self-consistent field method. The repulsive potential of the antiproton causes a dramatic local perturbation of the LiF band structure. We find a strong suppression of the excitation energy by more than an order of magnitude compared to that of the unperturbed crystal. The present results provide a simple explanation of recent stopping-power experiments for antiprotons in LiF which, surprisingly, found a ``metal-like'' behavior of the wide-band-gap insulator LiF. Our results also agree with recent experimental data indicating a deviation from metallic behavior of the stopping power of proton projectiles.

Magnetic charge lattices, moduli spaces and fusion rules

We analyze the labelling and fusion properties of magnetic charge sectors consisting of smooth BPS monopoles in Yang–Mills–Higgs theory with arbitrary gauge group G spontaneously broken to a subgroup H. The magnetic charges are restricted by a generalized Dirac quantization condition and by an inequality due to Murray. Geometrically, the set of allowed charges is a solid cone in the coroot lattice of G, which we call the Murray cone. We argue that magnetic charge sectors correspond to points in this cone divided by the Weyl group of H so that magnetic charge sectors are labelled by dominant integral weights of the dual group H ∗ . We define generators of the Murray cone modulo Weyl group, and interpret the monopoles in the associated magnetic charge sectors as basic; monopoles in sectors with decomposable charges are interpreted as composite configurations. This interpretation is supported by the dimensionality of the moduli spaces associated to the magnetic charges and by classical fusion properties for smooth monopoles in particular cases. Throughout the paper we compare our findings with corresponding results for singular monopoles recently obtained by Kapustin and Witten.

Simulating CH4 physisorption on ionic crystals

We use quantum chemical techniques to evaluate the electrostatic and polarization components of the interaction between a rigid CH4 molecule and a lattice of point charges representing the MgO(100) surface. We find that CH4 positioned above Mg adopts an edge-down configuration in which two H atoms are oriented downward towards the MgO(100) surface and point at O ions in the surface layer. The CH4–MgO(100) electrostatic interaction is substantially less favorable (but is still attractive) for the face-down configuration in which three H atoms point downward. Neither configuration is energetically favorable for CH4 molecules positioned above O ions. We show that for edge-down CH4 molecules above Mg, the electrostatic component of the CH4-substrate interaction varies considerably as the CH4 molecule rotates about the surface normal; the polarization component of the interaction, by contrast, is nearly constant during this rotation. We show that a point-charge model for the CH4 charge distribution, in which the C and H atoms carry effective partial charges, predicts that the CH4-surface electrostatic interaction should be more favorable for face-down CH4 molecules than for edge-down CH4 molecules, in disagreement with the quantum chemical results. We show that this is because the point-charge model poorly represents the high-order electric multipoles of CH4.