Terms Of Branes Research Articles

Projected topological branes

Nature harbors crystals of dimensionality (d) only up to three. Here we introduce the notion of projected topological branes (PTBs): Lower-dimensional branes embedded in higher-dimensional parent topological crystals, constructed via a geometric cut-and-project procedure on the Hilbert space of the parent lattice Hamiltonian. When such a brane is inclined at a rational or an irrational slope, either a new lattice periodicity or a quasicrystal emerges. The latter gives birth to topoquasicrystals within the landscape of PTBs. As such PTBs are shown to inherit the hallmarks, such as the bulk-boundary and bulk-dislocation correspondences, and topological invariant, of the parent topological crystals. We exemplify these outcomes by focusing on two-dimensional parent Chern insulators, leaving its signatures on projected one-dimensional (1D) topological branes in terms of localized endpoint modes, dislocation modes and the local Chern number. Finally, by stacking 1D projected Chern insulators, we showcase the imprints of three-dimensional Weyl semimetals in d = 2, namely the Fermi arc surface states and bulk chiral zeroth Landau level, responsible for the chiral anomaly. Altogether, the proposed PTBs open a realistic avenue to harness higher-dimensional (d > 3) topological phases in laboratory.

New AdS2 supergravity duals of 4d SCFTs with defects

We construct new families of AdS2× S2× S2 solutions with 4 supercharges in Type II supergravities. We show that subclasses of these solutions can be interpreted in terms of defect branes embedded in 4d mathcal{N} = 4 SYM, or orbifolds thereof. This is explicitly realised by showing that the solutions asymptote locally to AdS5× S5/ℤn, in Type IIB, or its T-dual background, in Type IIA. The latter is a Gaiotto-Maldacena geometry realised on an intersection of D4 and NS5 branes. We extend the Type IIA solutions to include D6 branes, and interpret them as describing backreacted baryon vertices within 4d mathcal{N} = 2 CFTs living in D4-NS5-D6 intersections. We propose explicit quiver quantum mechanics in which the defect branes play the role of colour branes, with the D4 branes of the D4-NS5-D6 intersection becoming flavour branes. These quivers are used to compute the degeneracies of the ground states of the dual super conformal quantum mechanics, that are shown to agree with the holographic expressions.

Rigorous treatment of the S1/Z2 orbifold model with brane-Higgs couplings

We build rigorously the attractive five-dimensional model where bulk fermions propagate along the $ \mathcal{S}^1 / \mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold and interact with a Higgs boson localised at a fixed point of the extra dimension. The analytical calculation of the fermion mass spectrum and effective Yukawa couplings is shown to require the introduction of either Essential Boundary Conditions (EBC) imposed by the model definition or certain Bilinear Brane Terms (BBT) in the action, instead of the usual brane-Higgs regularisations. The obtained fermion profiles along the extra dimension turn out to undergo some discontinuities, in particular at the Higgs brane, which can be mathematically consistent if the action is well written with improper integrals. We also show that the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ parity transformations in the bulk do not affect the fermion chiralities, masses and couplings, in contrast with the EBC and BBT, but when extended to the fixed points, they can generate the chiral nature of the theory and even select the Standard Model chirality set-up while fixing as well the fermion masses and couplings. Thanks to the strict analysis developed, the duality with the interval model is scrutinised.

Singular BPS boundary conditions in mathcal{N} = (2, 2) supersymmetric gauge theories

We derive general BPS boundary conditions in two-dimensional mathcal{N} = (2, 2) supersymmetric gauge theories. We analyze the solutions of these boundary conditions, and in particular those that allow the bulk fields to have poles at the boundary. We also present the brane configurations for the half- and quarter-BPS boundary conditions of the mathcal{N} = (2, 2) supersymmetric gauge theories in terms of branes in Type IIA string theory. We find that both A-type and B-type brane configurations are lifted to M-theory as a system of M2-branes ending on an M5-brane wrapped on a product of a holomorphic curve in ℂ2 with a special Lagrangian 3-cycle in ℂ3.

Novel thick brane solutions with U(1) symmetry breaking

In this work, using two scalar fields (phi , psi ) coupled to 4 + 1 dimensional gravity, we construct novel topological brane solutions through an explicit U(1) symmetry breaking term. The potential of this model is constructed so that two distinct degenerate vacua in the phi field exist, in analogy to the phi ^{4} potential. Therefore, brane solutions appear due to the vacuum structure of the phi field. However, the topology and vacuum structure in the psi direction depends on the symmetry breaking parameter beta ^{2}, which leads to different types of branes. As a result, one can interpret the present model as a combination of a phi ^{4} brane with an auxiliary field, which leads to deviations from the phi ^{4} system with the brane achieving a richer internal structure. Furthermore, we analyse in detail the behaviour of the superpotentials, the warp factors, the Ricci and Kretschmann scalars and the Einstein tensor components. In addition to this, we explore the stability of the brane in terms of the free parameters of the model. The analysis presented here complements previous work and is sufficiently novel to be interesting.

Defect CFT in the 6d (2,0) theory from M2 brane dynamics in AdS7 \xd7 S4

Surface operators in the 6d (2,0) theory at large N have a holographic description in terms of M2 branes probing the AdS7×S4 M-theory background. The most symmetric, 1/2-BPS, operator is defined over a planar or spherical surface, and it preserves a 2d superconformal group. This includes, in particular, an SO(2, 2) subgroup of d conformal transformations, so that the surface operator may be viewed as a conformal defect in the 6d theory. The dual M2 brane has an AdS3 induced geometry, reflecting the 2d conformal symmetry. Here we use the holographic description to extract the defect CFT data associated to the surface operator. The spectrum of transverse fluctuations of the M2 brane is found to be in one-to-one correspondence with a protected multiplet of operator insertions on the surface, which includes the displacement operator. We compute the one-loop determinants of fluctuations of the M2 brane, and extract the conformal anomaly coefficient of the spherical surface to order N0. We also briefly discuss the RG flow from the non-supersymmetric to the 1/2-BPS defect operator, and its consistency with a “b-theorem” for the defect CFT. Starting with the M2 brane action, we then use AdS3 Witten diagrams to compute the 4-point functions of the elementary bosonic insertions on the surface operator, and extract some of the defect CFT data from the OPE. The 4-point function is shown to satisfy superconformal Ward identities, and we discuss a related sub- sector of “twisted” scalar insertions, whose correlation functions are constrained by the residual superconformal symmetry.

Beyond brane-Higgs regularization: Clarifying the method and model

The class of higher-dimensional scenarios, based on a brane-localised Higgs boson coupled to bulk fermions, can address both the flavour puzzle and gauge hierarchy problem. A key question arises due to the possibility of fermion profile discontinuities at the Higgs boundary: how to calculate rigorously the fermion mass spectrum and effective four-dimensional (4D) Yukawa couplings? We show that the proper treatment, leading to physically consistent solutions, does not rely on any Higgs peak regularisation but requires the presence of certain Bilinear Brane Terms (BBT). In particular, no profile jump should appear and the Higgs regularisations turn out to suffer from mathematical discrepancies reflected in two non-commutativities of calculation steps debated in the literature. The introduction of BBT can by replaced by vanishing conditions for probability currents at the considered flat interval boundaries. Both contribute to the definition of the field geometrical configuration of the model, even in the free case. The BBT could allow to elaborate an ultra-violet origin of the chiral nature of the Standard Model and of its chirality distribution among quarks/leptons. The current conditions are implemented via essential boundary conditions to be contrasted with the natural boundary conditions derived from the action variation. All these theoretical conclusions are confirmed in particular by the converging exact results of the 4D versus 5D approaches. The analysis is completed by a description of the appropriate energy cut-off procedure. The new calculation methods presented, implying the independence of excited fermion masses and 4D Yukawa couplings on the 'wrong-chirality' Yukawa terms, have impacts on phenomenological results like the relaxing of previously obtained strong bounds on Kaluza-Klein masses induced by flavour changing reactions generated through exchanges of the Higgs field.

Dark bubbles: decorating the wall

Motivated by the difficulty of constructing de Sitter vacua in string theory, a new approach was proposed in arXiv:1807.01570 and arXiv:1907.04268, where four dimensional de Sitter space was realized as the effective cosmology, with matter and radiation, on an expanding spherical bubble that mediates the decay of non supersymmetric AdS5 to a more stable AdS5 in string theory. In this third installment, we further expand on this scenario by considering the backreaction of matter in the bulk and on the brane in terms of how the brane bends. We compute the back reacted metric on the bent brane as well as in the five dimensional bulk. To further illuminate the effect of brane-bending, we compare our results with an explicit computation of the five dimensional graviton propagator using a holographic prescription. Finally we comment on a possible localization of four dimensional gravity in our model using two colliding branes.

Brane annihilation in non-supersymmetric strings

In this paper we study non-perturbative instabilities in Anti-de Sitter vacua arising from flux compactifications of string models with broken supersymmetry. In the semi-classical limit, these processes drive the vacua towards lower fluxes, which translate into higher curvatures and higher string couplings. In order to shed some light on this regime, we provide evidence for a description in terms of branes, which generate near- horizon AdS throats. To this end, we study the attractor properties of the geometries near the throat, and we also characterize their asymptotics away from it. We also describe the instability within a probe-brane picture, finding an agreement between low-energy (super)gravity and brane instanton estimates of the decay rates.

Steady States, Thermal Physics, and Holography

It is well known that a Rindler observer measures a nontrivial energy flux, resulting in a thermal description in an otherwise Minkowski vacuum. For systems consisting of large number of degrees of freedom, it is natural to isolate a small subset of them and engineer a steady state configuration in which these degrees of freedom act as Rindler observers. In Holography, this idea has been explored in various contexts, specifically in exploring the strongly coupled dynamics of a fundamental matter sector, in the background of adjoint matters. In this article, we briefly review some features of this physics, ranging from the basic description of such configurations in terms of strings and branes, to observable effects of this effective thermal description.

Mathcal{N}=1 superfield description of BPS solutions in 6D gauged SUGRA with 3-branes

We provide mathcal{N}=1 superfield description of BPS backgrounds in six-dimensional supergravity (6D SUGRA) with 3-branes, which is compactified on a two-dimensional space. The brane terms induce the localized fluxes. We find a useful gauge in which the background equations become significantly simple. This is not the Wess-Zumino gauge, and the relation to the usual component-field expression of 6D SUGRA is not straightforward. One of the equations reduces to the Liouville equation. By moving to the Wess-Zumino gauge, we check that our expressions reproduce the known results of the previous works, which are expressed in the component fields. Our results help us develop the systematic derivation of four-dimensional effective theories that keeps the mathcal{N}=1 SUSY structure.

Phenomenological Lagrangians, gauge models and branes

Phenomenological Lagrangians for physical systems with spontaneously broken symmetries are reformulated in terms of gauge field theory. Description of the Dirac $p$-branes in terms of the Yang-Mills-Cartan gauge multiplets interacting with gravity, is proved to be equivalent to their description as a closed dynamical system with the symmetry $ISO(1,D-1)$ spontaneously broken to $ISO(1,p)\times SO(D-p-1)$.

Nernst branes with Lifshitz asymptotics in N $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 gauged supergravity

We discuss two classes of non-supersymmetric interpolating solutions in N=2, D=4 gauged supergravity, that flow from either a z=2 Lifshitz geometry or a conformal AdS background to the near-horizon geometry of a Nernst brane. We obtain these solutions by constructing a z=2 supersymmetric Lifshitz solution in the STU model from a first-order rewriting of the action, then lifting it up to a five-dimensional background and subsequently modifying this five-dimensional solution by a two-parameter family of deformations. Under reduction, these give four-dimensional non-supersymmetric Nernst brane solutions. This is a step towards resolving the Lifshitz tidal force singularity in the context of N=2 gauged supergravity and suggests an approach to encoding the Nernst brane in terms of the Schroedinger symmetry group of the holographically dual field theory.

Gravitational resonances on f(R)-brane

In this paper, we investigate various $f(R)$-brane models and compare their gravitational resonance structures with the corresponding general relativity (GR)-branes. {Starting from some known GR-brane solutions}, we derive thick $f(R)$-brane solutions such that the metric, scalar field, and scalar potential coincide with those of the corresponding GR-branes. {We find that for branes generated by a single or several canonical scalar fields, there is no obvious distinction between the GR-branes and corresponding $f(R)$-branes in terms of gravitational resonance structure.} Then we discuss the branes generated by K-fields. In this case, there could exist huge differences between GR-branes and $f(R)$-branes.

Higgs Bundles and (A, B, A)-Branes

Through the action of anti-holomorphic involutions on a compact Riemann surface, we construct families of (A,B,A)-branes in the moduli spaces of G_c-Higgs bundles on the Riemann surface. We study the geometry of these (A,B,A)-branes in terms of spectral data and show they have the structure of real integrable systems.

Spectrum of quantum transfer matrices via classical many-body systems

In this paper we clarify the relationship between inhomogeneous quantum spin chains and classical integrable many-body systems. It provides an alternative (to the nested Bethe ansatz) method for computation of spectra of the spin chains. Namely, the spectrum of the quantum transfer matrix for the inhomogeneous ${\mathfrak g}{\mathfrak l}_n$-invariant XXX spin chain on $N$ sites with twisted boundary conditions can be found in terms of velocities of particles in the rational $N$-body Ruijsenaars-Schneider model. The possible values of the velocities are to be found from intersection points of two Lagrangian submanifolds in the phase space of the classical model. One of them is the Lagrangian hyperplane corresponding to fixed coordinates of all $N$ particles and the other one is an $N$-dimensional Lagrangian submanifold obtained by fixing levels of $N$ classical Hamiltonians in involution. The latter are determined by eigenvalues of the twist matrix. To support this picture, we give a direct proof that the eigenvalues of the Lax matrix for the classical Ruijsenaars-Schneider model, where velocities of particles are substituted by eigenvalues of the spin chain Hamiltonians, calculated through the Bethe equations, coincide with eigenvalues of the twist matrix, with certain multiplicities. We also prove a similar statement for the ${\mathfrak g}{\mathfrak l}_n$ Gaudin model with $N$ marked points (on the quantum side) and the Calogero-Moser system with $N$ particles (on the classical side). The realization of the results obtained in terms of branes and supersymmetric gauge theories is also discussed.

New $ \mathcal{N}=1 $ dualities from orientifold transitions Part II: string theory

Abstract We present a string theoretical description, given in terms of branes and orientifolds wrapping vanishing cycles, of the dual pairs of gauge theories analyzed in [1]. Based on the resulting construction we argue that the duality that we observe in field theory is inherited from S-duality of type IIB string theory. We analyze in detail the complex cone over the zeroth del Pezzo surface and discuss an infinite family of orbifolds of flat space. For the del Pezzo case we describe the system in terms of large volume objects, and show that in this language the duality can be understood from the strongly coupled behavior of the O7+ plane, which we analyze using simple F-theory considerations. For all cases we also give a different argument based on the existence of appropriate torsional components of the 3-form flux lattice. Along the way we clarify some aspects of the description of orientifolds in the derived category of coherent sheaves, and in particular we discuss the important role played by exotic orientifolds — ordinary orientifolds composed with auto-equivalences of the category — when describing orientifolds of ordinary quiver gauge theories.

Electroelasticity of charged black branes

We present the first-order corrected dynamics of fluid branes carrying higher-form charge by obtaining the general form of their equations of motion to pole-dipole order. Assuming linear response theory, we characterize the corresponding effective theory of stationary bent charged (an)isotropic fluid branes in terms of two sets of response coefficients, the Young modulus and the piezoelectric moduli. We subsequently find large classes of examples in gravity of this effective theory, by constructing stationary strained charged black brane solutions to first order in a derivative expansion. Using solution generating techniques and bent neutral black branes as a seed solution, we obtain a class of charged black brane geometries carrying smeared Maxwell charge in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity. In the specific case of ten-dimensional space-time we furthermore use T-duality to generate bent black branes with higher-form charge, including smeared D-branes of type II string theory. By subsequently measuring the bending moment and the electric dipole moment which these geometries acquire due to the strain, we uncover that their form is captured by classical electroelasticity theory. In particular, we find that the Young modulus and the piezoelectric moduli of our strained charged black brane solutions are parameterized by a total of 4 response coefficients, both for the isotropic as well as anisotropic cases.

Braneworld model of dark matter: structure formation

Following a previous work [Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 43 (2011)], we further study the behavior of a real scalar field in a hidden brane in a configuration of two branes embedded in a five dimensional bulk. We find an expression for the equation of state for this scalar field in the visible brane in terms of the fields of the hidden one. Additionally, we investigated the perturbations produced by this scalar field in the visible brane with the aim to study their dynamical properties. Our results show that if the kinetic energy of the scalar field dominates during the early universe the perturbed scalar field could mimic the observed dynamics for the dark matter in the standard paradigm. Thus, the scalar field dark matter hypothesis in the context of braneworld theory could be an interesting alternative to the nature of dark matter in the Universe.

Multifield Galileons and higher codimension branes

In the decoupling limit, the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model reduces to the theory of a scalar field $\ensuremath{\pi}$, with interactions including a specific cubic self-interaction---the Galileon term. This term, and its quartic and quintic generalizations, can be thought of as arising from a probe 3-brane in a five-dimensional bulk with Lovelock terms on the brane and in the bulk. We study multifield generalizations of the Galileon and extend this probe-brane view to higher codimensions. We derive an extremely restrictive theory of multiple Galileon fields, interacting through a quartic term controlled by a single coupling, and trace its origin to the induced brane terms coming from Lovelock invariants in the higher codimension bulk. We explore some properties of this theory, finding de Sitter like self-accelerating solutions. These solutions have ghosts if and only if the flat space theory does not have ghosts. Finally, we prove a general nonrenormalization theorem: multifield Galileons are not renormalized quantum mechanically to any loop in perturbation theory.