No Arabic abstract
Integral invariants in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories are discussed in spacetime dimensions $4leq Dleq 10$ for $SU(k)$ gauge groups. It is shown that, in addition to the action, there are three special invariants in all dimensions. Two of these, the single- and double-trace $F^4$ invariants, are of Chern-Simons type in $D=9,10$ and BPS type in $Dleq 8$, while the third, the double-trace of two derivatives acting on $F^4$, can be expressed in terms of a gauge-invariant super-$D$-form in all dimensions. We show that the super-ten-forms for $D=10$ $F^4$ invariants have interesting cohomological properties and we also discuss some features of other invariants, including the single-trace $d^2 F^4$, which has a special form in $D=10$. The implications of these results for ultra-violet divergences are discussed in the framework of algebraic renormalisation.
We summarize recent progress in lattice studies of four-dimensional N=4 supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory and present preliminary results from ongoing investigations. Our work is based on a construction that exactly preserves a single supersymmetry at non-zero lattice spacing, and we review a new procedure to regulate flat directions by modifying the moduli equations in a manner compatible with this supersymmetry. This procedure defines an improved lattice action that we have begun to use in numerical calculations. We discuss some highlights of these investigations, including the static potential and an update on the question of a possible sign problem in the lattice theory.
The collinear factorization properties of two-loop scattering amplitudes in dimensionally-regulated N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory suggest that, in the planar (t Hooft) limit, higher-loop contributions can be expressed entirely in terms of one-loop amplitudes. We demonstrate this relation explicitly for the two-loop four-point amplitude and, based on the collinear limits, conjecture an analogous relation for n-point amplitudes. The simplicity of the relation is consistent with intuition based on the AdS/CFT correspondence that the form of the large N_c L-loop amplitudes should be simple enough to allow a resummation to all orders.
The question of whether BPS invariants are protected in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories is investigated from the point of view of algebraic renormalisation theory. The protected invariants are those whose cohomology type differs from that of the action. It is confirmed that one-half BPS invariants ($F^4$) are indeed protected while the double-trace one-quarter BPS invariant ($d^2F^4$) is not protected at two loops in D=7, but is protected at three loops in D=6 in agreement with recent calculations. Non-BPS invariants, i.e. full superspace integrals, are also shown to be unprotected.
We present an ansatz for the planar five-loop four-point amplitude in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in terms of loop integrals. This ansatz exploits the recently observed correspondence between integrals with simple conformal properties and those found in the four-point amplitudes of the theory through four loops. We explain how to identify all such integrals systematically. We make use of generalized unitarity in both four and D dimensions to determine the coefficients of each of these integrals in the amplitude. Maximal cuts, in which we cut all propagators of a given integral, are an especially effective means for determining these coefficients. The set of integrals and coefficients determined here will be useful for computing the five-loop cusp anomalous dimension of the theory which is of interest for non-trivial checks of the AdS/CFT duality conjecture. It will also be useful for checking a conjecture that the amplitudes have an iterative structure allowing for their all-loop resummation, whose link to a recent string-side computation by Alday and Maldacena opens a new venue for quantitative AdS/CFT comparisons.
For all types of N=4 anti-de Sitter (AdS) supersymmetry in three dimensions, we construct manifestly supersymmetric actions for Abelian vector multiplets and explain how to extend the construction to the non-Abelian case. Manifestly N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) actions are explicitly given in the cases of (2,2) and critical (4,0) AdS supersymmetries. The N=4 vector multiplets and the corresponding actions are then reduced to (2,0) AdS superspace, in which only N=2 supersymmetry is manifest. Using the off-shell structure of the N=4 vector multiplets, we provide complete N=4 SYM actions in (2,0) AdS superspace for all types of N=4 AdS supersymmetry. In the case of (4,0) AdS supersymmetry, which admits a Euclidean counterpart, the resulting N=2 action contains a Chern-Simons term proportional to q/r, where r is the radius of AdS_3 and q is the R-charge of a chiral scalar superfield. The R-charge is a linear inhomogeneous function of X, an expectation value of the N=4 Cotton superfield. Thus our results explain the mysterious structure of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories on S^3 discovered in arXiv:1401.7952. In the case of (3,1) AdS supersymmetry, which has no Euclidean counterpart, the SYM action contains both a Chern-Simons term and a chiral mass-like term. In the case of (2,2) AdS supersymmetry, which admits a Euclidean counterpart, the SYM action has no Chern-Simons and chiral mass-like terms.