Work

Higher-form symmetries in 5d

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: We study higher-form symmetries in 5d quantum field theories, whose charged operators include extended operators such as Wilson line and ’t Hooft operators. We outline criteria for the existence of higher-form symmetries both from a field theory point of view as well as from the geometric realization in M-theory on non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. A geometric criterion for determining the higher-form symmetry from the intersection data of the Calabi-Yau is provided, and we test it in a multitude of examples, including toric geometries. We further check that the higher-form symmetry is consistent with dualities and is invariant under flop transitions, which relate theories with the same UV-fixed point. We explore extensions to higher-form symmetries in other compactifications of M-theory, such as G2-holonomy manifolds, which give rise to 4d $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 1 theories.

Source: Journal of High Energy Physics

DOI: 10.1007/jhep09(2020)024

Authors: David R. Morrison, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki, Brian Willett

Institutions: University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Oxford, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics

Language: English

Topic: Black Holes and Theoretical Physics

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Simons Foundation, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, H2020 European Research Council

Awards: G2728183893, Higgs bundles: Supersymmetric Gauge Theories and Geometry, Theoretical Studies of Particles & Strings