Dual String Theory Research Articles

The flavor puzzle: Textures and symmetries

We discuss aspects of a promising top-down origin of flavor symmetries in particle physics. Modular transformations originating from string theory dualities are shown to play a crucial role. We introduce the notion of an “eclectic” flavor scheme that unifies traditional flavor symmetries, modular symmetries and [Formula: see text]-transformations. It exhibits the phenomenon of “Local Flavor Unification” with enhanced flavor symmetries at fixed points or lines in moduli space. Successful fits of masses and mixing angles of quarks and leptons are found in the vicinity of these points and lines.

Trace relations and open string vacua

We study to what extent, and in what form, the notion of gauge-string duality may persist at finite N. It is shown, in the half-BPS sector, that the states of D3 giant graviton branes in AdS5 × S5 are holographically dual to certain auxiliary ghosts that compensate for finite N trace relations in U(N) N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 4 super Yang-Mills. The complex formed from spaces of states of bulk D3 giants is observed to furnish a BRST-like resolution of the half-BPS Hilbert space of U(N) N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 4 SYM at finite N. We argue that the identification between the states of certain bulk D-branes and the auxiliary ghosts in the boundary holds rather generally at vanishing ’t Hooft coupling λ = 0. We propose that a complex, which furnishes a BRST-like resolution of the finite N Hilbert space of a boundary U(N) gauge theory at λ = 0, should be identified as the space of states of the dual string theory in the α′ → ∞ limit. The Lefschetz trace formula provides the holographic map in this regime, where bulk observables are computed by taking the alternating sum of the expectation values in an ensemble of states built on each open string vacuum. The giant graviton expansion is recovered and generalized in a limit of the resolution.

Dualities from Swampland principles

We initiate the program of bottom-up derivation of string theory dualities using Swampland principles. In particular, we clarify the relation between Swampland arguments and all the string theory dualities in d ≥ 9 dimensional supersymmetric theories. Our arguments center around the sharpened distance conjecture and rely on various other Swampland principles.

Double field theory, twistors, and integrability in 4-manifolds

The search for a geometrical understanding of dualities in string theory, in particular T-duality, has led to the development of modern T-duality covariant frameworks such as Double Field Theory, whose mathematical structure can be understood in terms of generalized geometry and, more recently, para-Hermitian geometry. In this work we apply techniques associated to this doubled geometry to four-dimensional manifolds, and we show that they are particularly well-suited to the analysis of integrability in special spacetimes, especially in connection with Penrose's twistor theory and its applications to general relativity. This shows a close relationship between some of the geometrical structures in the para-Hermitian approach to double field theory and those in algebraically special solutions to the Einstein equations. Particular results include the classification of four-dimensional, possibly complex-valued, (para-)Hermitian structures in different signatures, the Lie and Courant algebroid structures of special spacetimes, and the analysis of deformations of (para-)complex structures. We also discuss a notion of “weighted algebroids” in relation to a natural gauge freedom in the framework. Finally, we analyze the connection with two- and three-dimensional (real and complex) twistor spaces, and how the former can be understood in terms of the latter, in particular in terms of twistor families.

Black Holes and the loss landscape in machine learning

Understanding the loss landscape is an important problem in machine learning. One key feature of the loss function, common to many neural network architectures, is the presence of exponentially many low lying local minima. Physical systems with similar energy landscapes may provide useful insights. In this work, we point out that black holes naturally give rise to such landscapes, owing to the existence of black hole entropy. For definiteness, we consider 1/8 BPS black holes in N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 8 string theory. These provide an infinite family of potential landscapes arising in the microscopic descriptions of corresponding black holes. The counting of minima amounts to black hole microstate counting. Moreover, the exact numbers of the minima for these landscapes are a priori known from dualities in string theory. Some of the minima are connected by paths of low loss values, resembling mode connectivity. We estimate the number of runs needed to find all the solutions. Initial explorations suggest that Stochastic Gradient Descent can find a significant fraction of the minima.

Non-planar corrections in orbifold/orientifold mathcal{N} = 2 superconformal theories from localization

We study non-planar corrections in two special mathcal{N} = 2 superconformal SU(N) gauge theories that are planar-equivalent to mathcal{N} = 4 SYM theory: two-nodes quiver model with equal couplings and mathcal{N} = 2 vector multiplet coupled to two hypermultiplets in rank-2 symmetric and antisymmetric representations. We focus on two observables in these theories that admit representation in terms of localization matrix model: free energy on 4-sphere and the expectation value of half-BPS circular Wilson loop. We extend the methods developed in arXiv:2207.11475 to derive a systematical expansion of non-planar corrections to these observables at strong ’t Hooft coupling constant λ. We show that the leading non- planar corrections are given by a power series in λ3/2/N2 with rational coefficients. Sending N and the coupling constant λ to infinity with λ3/2/N2 kept fixed corresponds to the familiar double scaling limit in matrix models. We find that in this limit the observables in the two models are related in a remarkably simple way: the free energies differ by the factor of 2, whereas the Wilson loop expectation values coincide. Surprisingly, these relations hold only at strong coupling, they are not valid in the weak coupling regime. We also discuss a dual string theory interpretation of the leading corrections to the free energy in the double scaling limit suggesting their relation to curvature corrections in type IIB string effective action.

Keldysh rotation in the large- N expansion and string theory out of equilibrium

We extend our study of the large-$N$ expansion of general nonequilibrium many-body systems with matrix degrees of freedom $M$, and its dual description as a sum over surface topologies in a dual string theory, to the Keldysh-rotated version of the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. The Keldysh rotation trades the original fields ${M}_{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$---defined as the values of $M$ on the forward and backward segments of the closed time contour---for their linear combinations ${M}_{\mathrm{cl}}$ and ${M}_{\mathrm{qu}}$, known as the ``classical'' and ``quantum'' fields. First we develop a novel ``signpost'' notation for nonequilibrium Feynman diagrams in the Keldysh-rotated form, which simplifies the analysis considerably. Before the Keldysh rotation, each world-sheet surface $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$ in the dual string theory expansion was found to exhibit a triple decomposition into the parts ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ corresponding to the forward and backward segments of the closed time contour, and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{\ensuremath{\wedge}}$ which corresponds to the instant in time where the two segments meet. After the Keldysh rotation, we find that the world-sheet surface $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$ of the dual string theory undergoes a very different natural decomposition: $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$ consists of a ``classical'' part ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{\mathrm{cl}}$ and a ``quantum embellishment'' part ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{\mathrm{qu}}$. We show that both parts of $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$ carry their own independent genus expansion. The nonequilibrium sum over world-sheet topologies is naturally refined into a sum over the double decomposition of each $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$ into its classical and quantum part. We apply this picture to the classical limits of the quantum nonequilibrium system (with or without interactions with a thermal bath), and find that in these limits, the dual string perturbation theory expansion reduces to its appropriately defined classical limit.

Large- N expansion and string theory out of equilibrium

We analyze the large-$N$ expansion of general nonequilibrium systems with fluctuating matrix degrees of freedom and $SU(N)$ symmetry, using the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism and its closed real-time contour with a forward and backward component. In equilibrium, the large-$N$ expansion of such systems leads to a sum over topologies of two-dimensional surfaces of increasing topological complexity, predicting the possibility of a dual description in terms of string theory. We extend this argument away from equilibrium and study the universal features of the topological expansion in the dual string theory. We conclude that in nonequilibrium string perturbation theory, the sum over world sheet topologies is further refined: Each world sheet surface $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$ undergoes a triple decomposition into the part ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$ corresponding to the forward branch of the time contour, the part ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ on the backward branch, and the part ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{\ensuremath{\wedge}}$ that corresponds to the instant in the far future where the two branches of the time contour meet. The sum over topologies becomes a sum over the triple decompositions. We generalize our findings to the Kadanoff-Baym time contour relevant for systems at finite temperature and to the case of closed and open, oriented or unoriented strings. Our results are universal and follow solely from the features of the large-$N$ expansion without any assumptions about the world sheet dynamics.

The holography of duality in mathcal{N} = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory

The space of mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories exhibits an intricate structure of global one-form symmetries and SL(2, ℤ) duality orbits. In this paper we study this structure from the point of view of the holographic dual Type IIB string theory. Generalizing work by Witten, we map the different theories based on the gauge algebras su(N), so(N), and sp(N) to a choice of boundary conditions on bulk gauge fields. We show how the one-form symmetries and their anomalies, as well as the duality properties of the gauge theories, arise in the holographic picture. Along the way we prove that the number of disjoint SL(2, ℤ) duality orbits for the su(N) theories is given by the number of square divisors of N.

Strong coupling expansion in \U0001d4a9 = 2 superconformal theories and the Bessel kernel

We consider strong ’t Hooft coupling expansion in special four-dimensional \U0001d4a9 = 2 superconformal models that are planar-equivalent to \U0001d4a9 = 4 super Yang-Mills theory. Various observables in these models that admit localization matrix model representation can be expressed at large N in terms of a Fredholm determinant of a Bessel operator. The latter previously appeared in the study of level spacing distributions in matrix models and, more recently, in four-point correlation functions of infinitely heavy half-BPS operators in planar \U0001d4a9 = 4 SYM. We use this relation and a suitably generalized Szegő-Akhiezer-Kac formula to derive the strong ’t Hooft coupling expansion of the leading corrections to free energy, half-BPS circular Wilson loop, and certain correlators of chiral primaries operators in the \U0001d4a9 = 2 models. This substantially generalizes partial results in the literature and represents a challenge for dual string theory calculations in AdS/CFT context. We also demonstrate that the resulting strong-coupling expansions suffer from Borel singularities and require adding non-perturbative, exponentially suppressed corrections. As a byproduct of our analysis, we determine the non-perturbative correction to the above mentioned four-point correlator in planar \U0001d4a9 = 4 SYM.

Spinor-Vector Duality and the Swampland

The Swampland Program aims to address the question, “when does an effective field theory model of quantum gravity have an ultraviolet complete embedding in string theory?”, and can be regarded as a bottom-up approach for investigations of quantum gravity. An alternative top-down approach aims to explore the imprints and the constraints imposed by string-theory dualities and symmetries on the effective field theory representations of quantum gravity. The most celebrated example of this approach is mirror symmetry. Mirror symmetry was first observed in worldsheet contructions of string compactifications. It was completely unexpected from the effective field theory point of view, and its implications in that context were astounding. In terms of the moduli parameters of toroidally compactified Narain spaces, mirror symmetry can be regarded as arising from mappings of the moduli of the internal compactified space. Spinor-vector duality, which was discovered in worldsheet constructions of string vacua, is an extension of mirror symmetry that arises from mappings of the Wilson line moduli and provide a probe to constrain and explore the moduli spaces of (2, 0) string compactifications. Mirror symmetry and spinor-vector duality are mere two examples of a much wider symmetry structure, whose implications have yet to be unravelled. A mapping between supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric vacua is briefly discussed. T-duality is another important property of string theory and can be thought of as phase-space duality in compact space. I propose that manifest phase-space duality and the related equivalence postulate of quantum mechanics provide the background independent overarching principles underlying quantum gravity.

Wilson loops in mathcal{N} = 4 SO(N) SYM and D-branes in AdS5 \xd7 \u211d\u21195

We study the half-BPS circular Wilson loop in mathcal{N} = 4 super Yang-Mills with orthogonal gauge group. By supersymmetric localization, its expectation value can be computed exactly from a matrix integral over the Lie algebra of SO(N). We focus on the large N limit and present some simple quantitative tests of the duality with type IIB string theory in AdS5× ℝℙ5. In particular, we show that the strong coupling limit of the expectation value of the Wilson loop in the spinor representation of the gauge group precisely matches the classical action of the dual string theory object, which is expected to be a D5-brane wrapping a ℝℙ4 subspace of ℝℙ5. We also briefly discuss the large N, large λ limits of the SO(N) Wilson loop in the symmetric/antisymmetric representations and their D3/D5-brane duals. Finally, we use the D5-brane description to extract the leading strong coupling behavior of the “bremsstrahlung function” associated to a spinor probe charge, or equivalently the normalization of the two-point function of the displacement operator on the spinor Wilson loop, and obtain agreement with the localization prediction.

Strong coupling expansion of free energy and BPS Wilson loop in mathcal{N} = 2 superconformal models with fundamental hypermultiplets

As a continuation of the study (in arXiv:2102.07696 and arXiv:2104.12625) of strong-coupling expansion of non-planar corrections in mathcal{N} = 2 4d superconformal models we consider two special theories with gauge groups SU(N) and Sp(2N). They contain N-independent numbers of hypermultiplets in rank 2 antisymmetric and fundamental representations and are planar-equivalent to the corresponding mathcal{N} = 4 SYM theories. These mathcal{N} = 2 theories can be realised on a system of N D3-branes with a finite number of D7-branes and O7-plane; the dual string theories should be particular orientifolds of AdS5 × S5 superstring. Starting with the localization matrix model representation for the mathcal{N} = 2 partition function on S4 we find exact differential relations between the 1/N terms in the corresponding free energy F and the frac{1}{2} -BPS Wilson loop expectation value leftlangle mathcal{W}rightrangle and also compute their large ’t Hooft coupling (λ » 1) expansions. The structure of these expansions is different from the previously studied models without fundamental hypermultiplets. In the more tractable Sp(2N) case we find an exact resummed expression for the leading strong coupling terms at each order in the 1/N expansion. We also determine the exponentially suppressed at large λ contributions to the non-planar corrections to F and leftlangle mathcal{W}rightrangle and comment on their resurgence properties. We discuss dual string theory interpretation of these strong coupling expansions.

The 3d mathcal{N} = 6 bootstrap: from higher spins to strings to membranes

We study the space of 3d mathcal{N} = 6 SCFTs by combining numerical bootstrap techniques with exact results derived using supersymmetric localization. First we derive the superconformal block decomposition of the four-point function of the stress tensor multiplet superconformal primary. We then use supersymmetric localization results for the mathcal{N} = 6 U(N)k × U(N + M)−k Chern-Simons-matter theories to determine two protected OPE coefficients for many values of N, M, k. These two exact inputs are combined with the numerical bootstrap to compute precise rigorous islands for a wide range of N, k at M = 0, so that we can non-perturbatively interpolate between SCFTs with M-theory duals at small k and string theory duals at large k. We also present evidence that the localization results for the U(1)2M × U (1 + M)−2M theory, which has a vector-like large-M limit dual to higher spin theory, saturates the bootstrap bounds for certain protected CFT data. The extremal functional allows us to then conjecturally reconstruct low-lying CFT data for this theory.

From symmetric product CFTs to AdS3

Correlators in symmetric orbifold CFTs are given by a finite sum of admissible branched covers of the 2d spacetime. We consider a Gross-Mende like limit where all operators have large twist, and show that the corresponding branched covers can be described via a Penner-like matrix model. The limiting branched covers are given in terms of the spectral curve for this matrix model, which remarkably turns out to be directly related to the Strebel quadratic differential on the covering space. Interpreting the covering space as the world-sheet of the dual string theory, the spacetime CFT correlator thus has the form of an integral over the entire world-sheet moduli space weighted with a Nambu-Goto-like action. Quite strikingly, at leading order this action can also be written as the absolute value of the Schwarzian of the covering map.Given the equivalence of the symmetric product CFT to tensionless string theory on AdS3, this provides an explicit realisation of the underlying mechanism of gauge-string duality originally proposed in [1] and further refined in [2].

On the structure of non-planar strong coupling corrections to correlators of BPS Wilson loops and chiral primary operators

Starting with some known localization (matrix model) representations for correlators involving 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop mathcal{W} in mathcal{N} = 4 SYM theory we work out their 1/N expansions in the limit of large ’t Hooft coupling λ. Motivated by a possibility of eventual matching to higher genus corrections in dual string theory we follow arXiv:2007.08512 and express the result in terms of the string coupling {g}_{mathrm{s}}sim {g}_{mathrm{YM}}^2sim lambda /N and string tension Tsim sqrt{lambda } . Keeping only the leading in 1/T term at each order in gs we observe that while the expansion of leftlangle mathcal{W}rightrangle is a series in {g}_{mathrm{s}}^2/T , the correlator of the Wilson loop with chiral primary operators {mathcal{O}}_J has expansion in powers of {g}_{mathrm{s}}^2/{T}^2 . Like in the case of leftlangle mathcal{W}rightrangle where these leading terms are known to resum into an exponential of a “one-handle” contribution sim {g}_{mathrm{s}}^2/T , the leading strong coupling terms in leftlangle {mathcal{WO}}_Jrightrangle sum up to a simple square root function of {g}_{mathrm{s}}^2/{T}^2 . Analogous expansions in powers of {g}_{mathrm{s}}^2/T are found for correlators of several coincident Wilson loops and they again have a simple resummed form. We also find similar expansions for correlators of coincident 1/2 BPS Wilson loops in the ABJM theory.

String Perturbation Theory on the Schwinger-Keldysh Time Contour.

We perform the large-N expansion in the Schwinger-Keldysh formulation of nonequilibrium quantum systems with matrix degrees of freedom and study universal features of the anticipated dual string theory. We find a rich refinement of the topological genus expansion: In the original formulation, the future time instant where the forward and backward branches of the Schwinger-Keldysh time contour meet is associated with its own world sheet genus expansion. After the Keldysh rotation, the world sheets decompose into a classical and quantum part.

Strong coupling expansion of circular Wilson loops and string theories in AdS5 \xd7 S5 and AdS4 \xd7 CP3

We revisit the problem of matching the strong coupling expansion of the frac{1}{2} BPS circular Wilson loops in mathcal{N} = 4 SYM and ABJM gauge theories with their string theory duals in AdS5× S5 and AdS4× CP3, at the first subleading (one-loop) order of the expansion around the minimal surface. We observe that, including the overall factor 1/gs of the inverse string coupling constant, as appropriate for the open string partition function with disk topology, and a universal prefactor proportional to the square root of the string tension T, both the SYM and ABJM results precisely match the string theory prediction. We provide an explanation of the origin of the sqrt{T} prefactor based on special features of the combination of one-loop determinants appearing in the string partition function. The latter also implies a natural generalization Zχ ∼ ( sqrt{T}/{g}_{mathrm{s}} )χ to higher genus contributions with the Euler number χ, which is consistent with the structure of the 1/N corrections found on the gauge theory side.

F-theory and heterotic duality, Weierstrass models from Wilson lines

We present how to construct elliptically fibered K3 surfaces via Weierstrass models which can be parametrized in terms of Wilson lines in the dual heterotic string theory. We work with a subset of reflexive polyhedras that admit two fibers whose moduli spaces contain the ones of the E_{8}times E_{8} or frac{Spin(32)}{{mathbb {Z}}_{2}} heterotic theory compactified on a two torus without Wilson lines. One can then interpret the additional moduli as a particular Wilson line content in the heterotic strings. A convenient way to find such polytopes is to use graphs of polytopes where links are related to inclusion relations of moduli spaces of different fibers. We are then able to map monomials in the defining equations of particular K3 surfaces to Wilson line moduli in the dual theories. Graphs were constructed developing three different programs which give the gauge group for a generic point in the moduli space, the Weierstrass model as well as basic enhancements of the gauge group obtained by sending coefficients of the hypersurface equation defining the K3 surface to zero.

Non-Abelian U -duality for membranes

Abstract The $T$-duality of string theory can be extended to the Poisson–Lie $T$-duality when the target space has a generalized isometry group given by a Drinfel’d double. In M-theory, $T$-duality is understood as a subgroup of $U$-duality, but the non-Abelian extension of $U$-duality is still a mystery. In this paper we study membrane theory on a curved background with a generalized isometry group given by the $\mathcal E_n$ algebra. This provides a natural setup to study non-Abelian $U$-duality because the $\mathcal E_n$ algebra has been proposed as a $U$-duality extension of the Drinfel’d double. We show that the standard treatment of Abelian $U$-duality can be extended to the non-Abelian setup. However, a famous issue in Abelian $U$-duality still exists in the non-Abelian extension.