Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study the contributions of half-BPS surface defects to supersymmetric Casimir energy and the universal logarithmic term of supersymmetric Rényi entropy in four- and six-dimensional SCFTs. Using equivariant integration of defect anomaly polynomials and its extension to supersymmetric Rényi backgrounds, we obtain closed expressions for these observables in terms of defect 't Hooft anomalies. For Gukov--Witten defects preserving transverse rotations in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 4$ super Yang--Mills theories, both observables depend on a single R-symmetry anomaly. For $\mathcal{N} = (0, 4)$ defects in six-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = (1, 0)$ theories, additional terms arise from the gravitational anomaly. We provide complementary checks using chiral algebras, five-dimensional localization, and holographic probe branes at large $N$, while localized chiral fermions reproduce the gravitational-anomaly contributions. The framework also recovers Wilson-surface results in six-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = (2, 0)$ theories.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Huang, Zi-Xiao, Yuan, Ma-Ke, Zhou, Yang
Institution: Fudan University
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2012042336, G5258825253
OpenAlex ID: W7221803188