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arXiv · 2008.10605

String Universality and Non-Simply-Connected Gauge Groups in 8d

Mirjam Cvetic·Markus Dierigl·Ling Lin·Hao Y. Zhang
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Abstract

We present a consistency condition for 8d ${\cal N} = 1$ supergravity theories with non-trivial global structure $G/Z$ for the non-Abelian gauge group, based on an anomaly involving the $Z$ 1-form center symmetry. The interplay with other Swampland criteria identifies the majority of 8d theories with gauge group $G/Z$, which have no string theory realization, as inconsistent quantum theories when coupled to gravity. While this condition is equivalent to geometric properties of elliptic K3 surfaces in F-theory compactifications, it constrains the unexplored landscape of gauge groups in other 8d string models.

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Mirjam Cvetic, Markus Dierigl, Ling Lin, Hao Y. Zhang. 2020-08-24. String Universality and Non-Simply-Connected Gauge Groups in 8d. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.125.211602

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