No Arabic abstract
We study non-perturbative effects in supersymmetric U(N) gauge theories in eight dimensions realized by means of D(-1)/D7-brane systems with non-trivial world-volume fluxes turned on. Using an explicit string construction in terms of vertex operators, we derive the action for the open strings ending on the D(-1)-branes and exhibit its BRST structure. The space of vacua for these open strings is shown to be in correspondence with the moduli space of generalized ADHM gauge connections which trigger the non-perturbative corrections in the eight-dimensional theory. These corrections are computed via localization and turn out to depend on the curved background used to localize the integrals on the instanton moduli space, and vanish in flat space. Finally, we show that for specific choices of the background the instanton partition functions reduce to weighted sums of the solid partitions of the integers.
We compute the partition functions of D(-1)D7 systems describing the multi-instanton dynamics of SO(N) gauge theories in eight dimensions. This is the simplest instance of the so called exotic instantons. In analogy with the Seiberg-Witten theory in four space-time dimensions, the prepotential and correlators in the chiral ring are derived via localization formulas and found to satisfy relations of the Matone type. Exotic prepotentials of SO(N) gauge theories with N=2 supersymmetries in four-dimensions are also discussed.
Within the ongoing debate about de Sitter (dS) vacua in string theory, different aspects of explicit dS proposals have come under intense scrutiny. One key ingredient is D7-brane gaugino condensation, which can be straightforwardly treated using effective 4d supergravity. However, it is clearly more desirable to derive the relevant scalar potential directly from a local 10d Lagrangian. Such a local 10d description captures the interactions among the various localized sources and the background fields which are smeared in the 4d Lagrangian. While progress in this endeavour has recently been made, some form of non-locality related to the 4-gaugino term has remained hidden in the available proposals. We spell out the local counterterm removing the divergence that arises when integrating out the 3-form flux. Moreover, we suggest an explicitly local D7-brane quartic gaugino term which reproduces the relevant part of the 4d supergravity action upon dimensional reduction. This is both a step towards a more complete understanding of 10d type-IIB supergravity as well as specifically towards better control of dS constructions in string theory involving gaugino condensation.
In axion monodromy inflation, traversing $N$ axion periods corresponds to discharging $N$ units of a quantized charge. In certain models with moving D7-branes, such as Higgs-otic inflation, this monodromy charge is D3-brane charge induced on the D7-branes. The stress-energy of the induced charge affects the internal space, changing the inflaton potential and potentially limiting the field range. We compute the backreaction of induced D3-brane charge in Higgs-otic inflation. The effect on the nonperturbative superpotential is dramatic even for $N=1$, and may preclude large-field inflation in this model in the absence of a mechanism to control the backreaction.
A new supersymmetric D7-brane embedding in the Pilch-Warner gravitational background is found exactly, by solving the supersymmetric condition. In the dual holographic picture, our setting corresponds to adding a quenched fundamental matter sector to N=2* super Yang-Mills theory, at zero temperature. We show that previous results in the same setting are missing the Wess-Zumino term in the D-brane action, and how our results complete the picture.
We analyze the quantum-corrected moduli space of D7-brane position moduli with special emphasis on inflationary model building. D7-brane deformation moduli are key players in two recently proposed inflationary scenarios: The first, D7-brane chaotic inflation, is a variant of axion monodromy inflation which allows for an effective 4d supergravity description. The second, fluxbrane inflation, is a stringy version of D-term hybrid inflation. Both proposals rely on the fact that D7-brane coordinates enjoy a shift-symmetric Kahler potential at large complex structure of the Calabi-Yau threefold, making them naturally lighter than other fields. This shift symmetry is inherited from the mirror-dual Type IIA Wilson line on a D6-brane at large volume. The inflaton mass can be provided by a tree-level term in the flux superpotential. It induces a monodromy and, if tuned to a sufficiently small value, can give rise to a large-field model of inflation. Alternatively, by a sensible flux choice one can completely avoid a tree-level mass term, in which case the inflaton potential is induced via loop corrections. The positive vacuum energy can then be provided by a D-term, leading to a small-field model of hybrid natural inflation. In the present paper, we continue to develop a detailed understanding of the D7-brane moduli space focusing among others on shift-symmetry-preserving flux choices, flux-induced superpotential in Type IIB/F-theory language, and loop corrections. While the inflationary applications represent our main physics motivation, we expect that some of our findings will be useful for other phenomenological issues involving 7-branes in Type IIB/F-theory constructions.