Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory Research Articles

On the two-loop divergences in 6D, [formula omitted] SYM theory

We continue studying 6D,N=(1,1) supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory in the N=(1,0) harmonic superspace formulation. Using the superfield background field method we explore the two-loop divergences of the effective action in the gauge multiplet sector. It is explicitly demonstrated that among four two-loop background-field dependent supergraphs contributing to the effective action, only one diverges off shell. It is also shown that the divergences are proportional to the superfield classical equations of motion and hence vanish on shell. Besides, we have analyzed a possible structure of the two-loop divergences on general gauge and hypermultiplet background.

Higher-dimensional invariants in 6D super Yang-Mills theory

We exploit the 6D, mathcal{N} = (1, 0) and mathcal{N} = (1, 1) harmonic superspace approaches to construct the full set of the maximally supersymmetric on-shell invariants of the canonical dimension d = 12 in 6D, mathcal{N} = (1, 1) supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory. Both single- and double-trace invariants are derived. Only four single-trace and two double-trace invariants prove to be independent. The invariants constructed can provide the possible counterterms of mathcal{N} = (1, 1) SYM theory at four-loop order, where the first double-trace divergences are expected to appear. We explicitly exhibit the gauge sector of all invariants in terms of mathcal{N} = (1, 0) gauge superfields and find the absence of mathcal{N} = (1, 1) supercompletion of the F6 term in the abelian limit.

Kleiss-Kuijf relations from momentum amplituhedron geometry

In recent years, it has been understood that color-ordered scattering amplitudes can be encoded as logarithmic differential forms on positive geometries. In particular, amplitudes in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in spinor helicity space are governed by the momentum amplituhedron. Due to the group-theoretic structure underlying color decompositions, color-ordered amplitudes enjoy various identities which relate different orderings. In this paper, we show how the Kleiss-Kuijf relations arise from the geometry of the momentum amplituhedron. We also show how similar relations can be realised for the kinematic associahedron, which is the positive geometry of bi-adjoint scalar cubic theory.

The two-loop remainder function for eight and nine particles

Two-loop MHV amplitudes in planar mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang Mills theory are known to exhibit many intriguing forms of cluster-algebraic structure. We leverage this structure to upgrade the symbols of the eight- and nine-particle amplitudes to complete analytic functions. This is done by systematically projecting onto the components of these amplitudes that take different functional forms, and matching each component to an ansatz of multiple polylogarithms with negative cluster-coordinate arguments. The remaining additive constant can be determined analytically by comparing the collinear limit of each amplitude to known lower-multiplicity results. We also observe that the nonclassical part of each of these amplitudes admits a unique decomposition in terms of a specific A3 cluster polylogarithm, and explore the numerical behavior of the remainder function along lines in the positive region.

Hydrodynamic dispersion relations at finite coupling

By using holographic methods, the radii of convergence of the hydrodynamic shear and sound dispersion relations were previously computed in the mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at infinite ’t Hooft coupling and infinite number of colours. Here, we extend this analysis to the domain of large but finite ’t Hooft coupling. To leading order in the perturbative expansion, we find that the radii grow with increasing inverse coupling, contrary to naive expectations. However, when the equations of motion are solved using a qualitative non-perturbative resummation, the dependence on the coupling becomes piecewise continuous and the initial growth is followed by a decrease. The piecewise nature of the dependence is related to the dynamics of branch point singularities of the energy-momentum tensor finite-temperature two-point functions in the complex plane of spatial momentum squared. We repeat the study using the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity as a model where the equations can be solved fully non-perturbatively, and find the expected decrease of the radii of convergence with the effective inverse coupling which is also piecewise continuous. Finally, we provide arguments in favour of the non-perturbative approach and show that the presence of non-perturbative modes in the quasinormal spectrum can be indirectly inferred from the analysis of perturbative critical points.

Perturbative linearization of super-Yang-Mills theories in general gauges

Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories can be characterized by a non-local and non-linear transformation of the bosonic fields (Nicolai map) mapping the interacting functional measure to that of a free theory, such that the Jacobi determinant of the transformation equals the product of the fermionic determinants obtained by integrating out the gauginos and ghosts at least on the gauge hypersurface. While this transformation has been known so far only for the Landau gauge and to third order in the Yang-Mills coupling, we here extend the construction to a large class of (possibly non-linear and non-local) gauges, and exhibit the conditions for all statements to remain valid off the gauge hypersurface. Finally, we present explicit results to second order in the axial gauge and to fourth order in the Landau gauge.

Construction method for the Nicolai map in supersymmetric Yang–Mills theories

Recently, a universal formula for the Nicolai map in terms of a coupling flow functional differential operator was found. We present the full perturbative expansion of this operator in Yang–Mills theories where supersymmetry is realized off-shell. Given this expansion, we develop a straightforward method to compute the explicit Nicolai map to any order in the gauge coupling. Our work extends the previously known construction method from the Landau gauge to arbitrary gauges and from the gauge hypersurface to the full gauge-field configuration space. As an example, we present the map in the axial gauge to the second order.

Elliptic, Yangian-Invariant “Leading Singularity”

We derive closed formulas for the first examples of nonalgebraic, elliptic "leading singularities" in planar, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and show that they are Yangian invariant.

Higher-twist fermionic operators and DIS structure functions from the AdS/CFT duality

The role of local higher-twist ($\tau > 3$) spin-1/2 fermionic operators of the strongly coupled ${\cal {N}}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on the symmetric and antisymmetric deep inelastic scattering (DIS) structure functions is investigated. The calculations are carried out in terms of the duality between ${\cal {N}}=4$ SYM theory and type IIB supergravity on AdS$_5 \times S^5$. Particularly, we explicitly obtain the structure functions for single-trace spin-1/2 fermionic operators in the 20$^*$ and 60$^*$ irreducible representations of $SU(4)_R$, corresponding to twists 4 and 5, respectively. We also calculate the contributions of other single-trace spin-1/2 fermionic operators in the 4, 20 and 60 irreducible representations of $SU(4)_R$. New important effects are found in comparison with the minimal twist ($\tau = 3$) case, and they are studied thoroughly.

Non-planar universal anomalous dimension of twist-two operators with general Lorentz spin at four loops in [formula omitted] SYM theory

We compute the non-planar contribution to the universal anomalous dimension of twist-two operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at four loops through Lorentz spin eighteen. Exploiting the results of this and our previous calculations along with recent analytic results for the cusp anomalous dimension and some expected analytic properties, we reconstruct a general expression valid for arbitrary Lorentz spin. We study various properties of this general result, such as its large-spin limit, its small-x limit, and others. In particular, we present a prediction for the non-planar contribution to the anomalous dimension of the single-magnon operator in the β-deformed version of the theory.

Bulk geometry in gauge/gravity duality and color degrees of freedom

$\mathrm{U}(N)$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory naturally appears as the low-energy effective theory of a system of $N$ D-branes and open strings between them. Transverse spatial directions emerge from scalar fields, which are $N\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}N$ matrices with color indices; roughly speaking, the eigenvalues are the locations of D-branes. In the past, it was argued that this simple ``emergent space'' picture cannot be used in the context of gauge/gravity duality, because the ground-state wave function delocalizes at large $N$, leading to a conflict with the locality in the bulk geometry. In this paper, we show that this conventional wisdom is not correct: the ground-state wave function does not delocalize, and there is no conflict with the locality of the bulk geometry. This conclusion is obtained by clarifying the meaning of the ``diagonalization of a matrix'' in Yang-Mills theory, which is not as obvious as one might think. This observation opens up the prospect of characterizing the bulk geometry via the color degrees of freedom in Yang-Mills theory, all the way down to the center of the bulk.

Holographic Coulomb branch solitons, quasinormal modes, and black holes

Four-dimensional mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, at a point on the Coulomb branch where SU(N) gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken to SU(N − 1) × U(1), admits BPS solitons describing a spherical shell of electric and/or magnetic charges enclosing a region of unbroken gauge symmetry. These solitons have been proposed as gauge theory models for certain features of asymptotically flat extremal black holes. In the ’t Hooft large N limit with large ’t Hooft coupling, these solitons are holographically dual to certain probe D3-branes in the AdS5 × S5 solution of type IIB supergravity. By studying linearised perturbations of these D3-branes, we show that the solitons support quasinormal modes with a spectrum of frequencies sharing both qualitative and quantitative features with asymptotically flat extremal black holes.

Exact properties of an integrated correlator in mathcal{N} = 4 SU(N) SYM

We present a novel expression for an integrated correlation function of four superconformal primaries in SU(N) mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills ( mathcal{N} = 4 SYM) theory. This integrated correlator, which is based on supersymmetric localisation, has been the subject of several recent developments. In this paper the correlator is re-expressed as a sum over a two dimensional lattice that is valid for all N and all values of the complex Yang-Mills coupling tau =theta /2pi +4pi i/{g}_{mathrm{YM}}^2 . In this form it is manifestly invariant under SL(2, ℤ) Montonen-Olive duality. Furthermore, it satisfies a remarkable Laplace-difference equation that relates the SU(N) correlator to the SU(N + 1) and SU(N − 1) correlators. For any fixed value of N the correlator can be expressed as an infinite series of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series, Eleft(s;tau, overline{tau}right) with s ∈ ℤ, and rational coefficients that depend on the values of N and s. The perturbative expansion of the integrated correlator is an asymptotic but Borel summable series, in which the n-loop coefficient of order (gYM/π)2n is a rational multiple of ζ(2n + 1). The n = 1 and n = 2 terms agree precisely with results determined directly by integrating the expressions in one-loop and two-loop perturbative mathcal{N} = 4 SYM field theory. Likewise, the charge-k instanton contributions (|k| = 1, 2, . . .) have an asymptotic, but Borel summable, series of perturbative corrections. The large-N expansion of the correlator with fixed τ is a series in powers of {N}^{frac{1}{2}-mathrm{ell}} (ℓ ∈ ℤ) with coefficients that are rational sums of Eleft(s;tau, overline{tau}right) with s ∈ ℤ + 1/2. This gives an all orders derivation of the form of the recently conjectured expansion. We further consider the ’t Hooft topological expansion of large-N Yang-Mills theory in which lambda ={g}_{mathrm{YM}}^2N is fixed. The coefficient of each order in the 1/N expansion can be expanded as a series of powers of λ that converges for |λ| < π2. For large λ this becomes an asymptotic series when expanded in powers of 1/sqrt{lambda } with coefficients that are again rational multiples of odd zeta values, in agreement with earlier results and providing new ones. We demonstrate that the large-λ series is not Borel summable, and determine its resurgent non-perturbative completion, which is Oleft(exp left(-2sqrt{lambda}right)right) .

Local G2-manifolds, Higgs bundles and a colored quantum mechanics

M-theory on local G2-manifolds engineers 4d minimally supersymmetric gauge theories. We consider ALE-fibered G2-manifolds and study the 4d physics from the view point of a partially twisted 7d supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and its Higgs bundle. Euclidean M2-brane instantons descend to non-perturbative effects of the 7d supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, which are found to be in one to one correspondence with the instantons of a colored supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We compute the contributions of M2-brane instantons to the 4d superpotential in the effective 7d description via localization in the colored quantum mechanics. Further we consider non-split Higgs bundles and analyze their 4d spectrum.

Eigenvalue spectrum and scaling dimension of lattice mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills

We investigate the lattice regularization of mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, by stochastically computing the eigenvalue mode number of the fermion operator. This provides important insight into the non-perturbative renormalization group flow of the lattice theory, through the definition of a scale-dependent effective mass anomalous dimension. While this anomalous dimension is expected to vanish in the conformal continuum theory, the finite lattice volume and lattice spacing generically lead to non-zero values, which we use to study the approach to the continuum limit. Our numerical results, comparing multiple lattice volumes, ’t Hooft couplings, and numbers of colors, confirm convergence towards the expected continuum result, while quantifying the increasing significance of lattice artifacts at larger couplings.

New bi-harmonic superspace formulation of 4D, mathcal{N} = 4 SYM theory

We develop a novel bi-harmonic mathcal{N} = 4 superspace formulation of the mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) in four dimensions. In this approach, the mathcal{N} = 4 SYM superfield constraints are solved in terms of on-shell mathcal{N} = 2 harmonic superfields. Such an approach provides a convenient tool of constructing the manifestly mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric invariants and further rewriting them in mathcal{N} = 2 harmonic superspace. In particular, we present mathcal{N} = 4 superfield form of the leading term in the mathcal{N} = 4 SYM effective action which was known previously in mathcal{N} = 2 superspace formulation.

Locally-finite quantities in sYM

A locally-finite quantity is one for which there is no region of divergence anywhere in the space of real loop momenta; it can therefore be computed (in principle) without regularization. In this work, we prove that all two-loop ratio functions in planar, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory are locally-finite.

Nambu-Goldstone modes in non-equilibrium systems from AdS/CFT correspondence

We investigate dispersion relation of Nambu-Goldstone modes in a dissipative system realized by the AdS/CFT correspondence. We employ the D3/D7 model which represents mathcal{N} = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory coupled to mathcal{N} = 2 flavor fields. If we consider massless quarks in the presence of an external magnetic field, the system exhibits the phase transition associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the chiral symmetry. We find that the Nambu-Goldstone modes show a diffusive behavior in the dispersion relation, which agrees with that found with the effective field theory approach. We also study a non-equilibrium steady state which has a constant current flow in the presence of an external electric field. In a non-equilibrium steady state, we find that the Nambu-Goldstone modes show a linear dispersion in the real part of the frequency in addition to the diffusive behavior. Moreover, we analyze the linear dispersion of the Nambu-Goldstone modes in the hydrodynamic approximation. As a result, we find that the linear dispersion can be written as the analytic functions of quantities in the dual field theory. Our results imply that such a linear dispersion is a characteristic behavior of Nambu-Goldstone modes in a non-equilibrium steady state.

Nonplanar Cusp and Transcendental Anomalous Dimension at Four Loops in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory.

We compute the nonplanar contribution to the universal anomalous dimension of the SU(4)-singlet twist-two operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at four loops through Lorentz spin 18. From this, we numerically evaluate the nonplanar contribution to the four-loop lightlike cusp anomalous dimension and derive the transcendental ζ_{3} and ζ_{5} parts of the universal anomalous dimension for arbitrary Lorentz spin in analytic form. As for the lightlike cusp anomalous dimension and the ζ_{5} part of the universal anomalous dimension, we confirm previous results.

Holographic and localization calculations of boundary F for mathcal{N} = 4 SUSY Yang-Mills theory

mathcal{N} = 4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory can be defined on a half-space with a variety of boundary conditions preserving scale invariance and half of the original supersymmetry; more general theories with the same symmetry can be obtained by coupling to a 3D SCFT at the boundary. Each of these theories is characterized by a quantity called “boundary F”, conjectured to decrease under boundary renormalization group flows. In this paper, we calculate boundary F for U(N) mathcal{N} = 4 SYM theory with the most general half-supersymmetric boundary conditions arising from string theory constructions with D3-branes ending on collections of D5-branes and/or NS5-branes. We first perform the calculation holographically by evaluating the entanglement entropy for a half-ball centered on the boundary using the Ryu-Takayanagi formula in the dual type IIB supergravity solutions. For boundary conditions associated with D3-branes ending on D5 branes only or NS5-branes only, we also calculate boundary F exactly by evaluating the hemisphere partition function using supersymmetric localization. The leading terms at large N in the supergravity and localization results agree exactly as a function of the t’ Hooft coupling λ.