arXiv subjects

Alessandro Tomasiello

Publications and source records attributed to Alessandro Tomasiello.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Minimal flux Minkowski classification

We classify Minkowski$_4$ solutions in type IIA supergravity, with N=2 supersymmetry and an SU(2) R-symmetry of a certain type. Many subcases can be reduced to relatively simple PDEs, among which we recover various intersecting brane systems, and AdS$_d$ solutions, $d=5,6,7$, and in particular the recently found general massive AdS$_7$ solutions. Imposing compactness of the internal six-manifold we obtain promising solutions with localized D-branes and O-planes.

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arXiv2017

Small instanton transitions for M5 fractions

M5-branes on an ADE singularity are described by certain six-dimensional "conformal matter" superconformal field theories. Their Higgs moduli spaces contain information about various dynamical processes for the M5s; however, they are not directly accessible due to the lack of a Lagrangian formulation. Using anomaly matching, we compute their dimensions. The result implies that M5 fractions can recombine in several different ways, where the M5s are leaving behind frozen versions of the singularity. The anomaly polynomial gives hints about the nature of the freezing. We also check the Higgs dimension formula by comparing it with various existing conjectures for the CFTs one obtains by torus compactifications down to four and three dimensions. Aided by our results, we also extend those conjectures to compactifications of theories not previously considered. These involve class S theories with twisted punctures in four dimensions, and affine-Dynkin-shaped quivers in three dimensions.

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arXiv2017

T-branes, Anomalies and Moduli Spaces in 6D SCFTs

The worldvolume theory of M5-branes on an ADE singularity $\mathbb{R}^5/Γ_G$ can be Higgsed in various ways, corresponding to the possible nilpotent orbits of $G$. In the F-theory dual picture, this corresponds to activating T-brane data along two stacks of 7-branes and yields a tensor branch realization for a large class of 6D SCFTs. In this paper, we show that the moduli spaces and anomalies of these T-brane theories are related in a simple, universal way to data of the nilpotent orbits. This often works in surprising ways and gives a nontrivial confirmation of the conjectured properties of T-branes in F-theory. We use this result to formally engineer a class of theories where the IIA picture naïvely breaks down. We also give a proof of the $a$-theorem for all RG flows within this class of T-brane theories.

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arXiv2017

N = 2 supersymmetric AdS4 solutions of type IIB supergravity

We analyze general N = 2 supersymmetric AdS4 solutions of type IIB supergravity. Utilizing a set of pure spinor equations directly adapted to N = 2, the necessary and sufficient conditions for supersymmetry are reduced to a concise system of partial differential equations for two functions which determine the solutions. We show that using this system analytic solutions can be generated, thus potentially expanding the rather limited set of known AdS4 solutions in type IIB supergravity.

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arXiv2017

AdS5 compactifications with punctures in massive IIA supergravity

We find AdS5 solutions holographically dual to compactifications of six-dimensional N=(1,0) supersymmetric field theories on Riemann surfaces with punctures. We simplify a previous analysis of supersymmetric AdS5 IIA solutions, and with a suitable Ansatz we find explicit solutions organized in three classes, where an O8--D8 stack, D6- and D4-branes are simultaneously present, localized and partially localized. The D4-branes are smeared over the Riemann surface and this is interpreted as the presence of a uniform distribution of punctures. For the first class we identify the corresponding six-dimensional theory as an E-string theory coupled to a quiver gauge theory. The second class of solutions lacks D6-branes and its central charge scales as $n^{5/2}$, suggesting a five-dimensional origin for the dual field theory. The last class has elements of the previous two.

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arXiv2016

Spin-2 spectrum of six-dimensional field theories

We analyze the mass spectrum of spin-2 excitations around the gravity duals of "linear quiver" supersymmetric conformal field theories (SCFT's) in six dimensions. We show that for the entire family of gravity solutions it satisfies a bound which corresponds to a unitarity bound for the scaling dimension of the dual field theory operators. We determine the masses of excitations which belong to short multiplets, and for certain gravity solutions we obtain the Kaluza-Klein modes and the corresponding mass spectrum, fully and explicitly. Finally, we discuss an intuitive picture of the dual operators in terms of the effective descriptions of the SCFT's.

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arXiv2016

6d holographic anomaly match as a continuum limit

An infinite class of analytic AdS_7 x S^3 solutions has recently been found. The S^3 is distorted into a "crescent roll" shape by the presence of D8-branes. These solutions are conjectured to be dual to a class of "linear quivers", with a large number of gauge groups coupled to (bi-)fundamental matter and tensor fields. In this paper we perform a precise quantitative check of this correspondence, showing that the a Weyl anomalies computed in field theory and gravity agree. In the holographic limit, where the number of gauge groups is large, the field theory result is a quadratic form in the gauge group ranks involving the inverse of the A_N Cartan matrix C. The agreement can be understood as a continuum limit, using the fact that C is a lattice analogue of a second derivative. The discrete data of the field theory, summarized by two partitions, become in this limit the continuous functions in the geometry. Conversely, the geometry of the internal space gets discretized at the quantum level to the discrete data of the two partitions.

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arXiv2016

6D RG Flows and Nilpotent Hierarchies

With the eventual aim of classifying renormalization group flows between 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs), we study flows generated by the vevs of "conformal matter," a generalization of conventional hypermultiplets which naturally appear in the F-theory classification of 6D SCFTs. We consider flows in which the parent UV theory is (on its partial tensor branch) a linear chain of gauge groups connected by conformal matter, with one flavor group G at each end of the chain, and in which the symmetry breaking of the conformal matter at each end is parameterized by the orbit of a nilpotent element, i.e. T-brane data, of one of these flavor symmetries. Such nilpotent orbits admit a partial ordering, which is reflected in a hierarchy of IR fixed points. For each such nilpotent orbit, we determine the corresponding tensor branch for the resulting SCFT. An important feature of this algebraic approach is that it also allows us to systematically compute the unbroken flavor symmetries inherited from the parent UV theory.

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arXiv2016

Supersymmetric AdS_5 solutions of massive IIA supergravity

Motivated by a recently found class of AdS_7 solutions, we classify AdS_5 solutions in massive IIA, finding infinitely many new analytical examples. We reduce the general problem to a set of PDEs, determining the local internal metric, which is a fibration over a surface. Under a certain simplifying assumption, we are then able to analytically solve the PDEs and give a complete list of all solutions. Among these, one class is new and regular. These spaces can be related to the AdS_7 solutions via a simple universal map for the metric, dilaton and fluxes. The natural interpretation of this map is that the dual CFT_6 and CFT_4 are related by twisted compactification on a Riemann surface $Σ_g$. The ratio of their free energy coefficients is proportional to the Euler characteristic of $Σ_g$. As a byproduct, we also find the analytic expression for the AdS_7 solutions, which were previously known only numerically. We determine the free energy for simple examples: it is a simple cubic function of the flux integers.

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arXiv2015

Six-Dimensional Superconformal Theories and their Compactifications from Type IIA Supergravity

We describe three analytic classes of infinitely many AdS_d supersymmetric solutions of massive IIA supergravity, for d = 7, 5, 4. The three classes are related by simple universal maps. For example, the AdS_7 x M_3 solutions (where M_3 is topologically S^3) are mapped to AdS_5 x Sigma_2 x M'_3, where Sigma_2 is a Riemann surface of genus g >= 2 and the metric on M'_3 is obtained by distorting M_3 in a certain way. The solutions can have localized D6 or O6 sources, as well as an arbitrary number of D8-branes. The AdS_7 case (previously known only numerically) is conjecturally dual to an NS5-D6-D8 system. The field theories in three and four dimensions are not known, but their number of degrees of freedom can be computed in the supergravity approximation. The AdS_4 solutions have numerical "attractor" generalizations that might be useful for flux compactification purposes.

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arXiv2015

Universal consistent truncation for 6d/7d gauge/gravity duals

Recently, AdS_7 solutions of IIA supergravity have been classified; there are infinitely many of them, whose expression is known analytically, and with internal space of S^3 topology. Their field theory duals are six-dimensional (1,0) SCFT's. In this paper we show that for each of these AdS_7 solutions there exists a consistent truncation from massive IIA supergravity to minimal gauged supergravity in seven dimensions. This theory has an SU(2) gauge group, and a single scalar, whose value is related to a certain distortion of the internal S^3. This explains the universality observed in recent work on AdS_5 and AdS_4 solutions dual to compactifications of the (1,0) SCFT_6's. Thanks to previous work on the minimal gauged supergravity, the truncation also implies the existence of holographic RG-flows connecting those solutions to the AdS_7 vacuum, as well as new classes of IIA AdS_3 solutions.

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arXiv2015

AdS4 black holes from M-theory

We consider the BPS conditions of eleven dimensional supergravity, restricted to an appropriate ansatz for black holes in four non-compact directions. Assuming the internal directions to be described by a circle fibration over a Kähler manifold and considering the case where the complex structure moduli are frozen, we recast the resulting flow equations in terms of polyforms on this manifold. The result is a set of equations that are in direct correspondence with those of gauged supergravity models in four dimensions consistent with our simplifying assumptions. In view of this correspondence even for internal manifolds that do not correspond to known consistent truncations, we comment on the possibility of obtaining gauged supergravities from reductions on Kähler manifolds.

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arXiv2015

AdS_6 solutions of type II supergravity

Very few AdS_6 x M_4 supersymmetric solutions are known: one in massive IIA, and two IIB solutions dual to it. The IIA solution is known to be unique; in this paper, we use the pure spinor approach to give a classification for IIB supergravity. We reduce the problem to two PDEs on a two-dimensional space Sigma. M_4 is then a fibration of S^2 over Sigma; the metric and fluxes are completely determined in terms of the solution to the PDEs. The results seem likely to accommodate near-horizon limits of (p,q)-fivebrane webs studied in the literature as a source of CFT_5's. We also show that there are no AdS_6 solutions in eleven-dimensional supergravity.

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arXiv2015

AdS_4 compactifications of AdS_7 solutions in type II supergravity

We find new classes of AdS_4 solutions with localized branes and orientifolds, both analytic and numerical. We start with an Ansatz for the pure spinors inspired by a recently found class of AdS_7 x M_3 solutions in massive IIA; we replace the AdS_7 by AdS_4 x Sigma_3, and we fibre M_3 over Sigma_3 in a way inspired by a field theory SU(2) twist. We are able to reduce the problem to a system of five ODEs; a further Ansatz reduces them to three. Their solutions can be bijectively mapped to the AdS_7 solutions via a simple universal map. This also allows to find a simple analytic form for these solutions. They are naturally interpreted as twisted compactifications of the (1,0) CFT_6's dual to the AdS_7 solutions. The larger system of five ODEs also admits more general numerical solutions, again with localized branes; regularity is achieved via an attractor mechanism.

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arXiv2015

6d Conformal Matter

A single M5-brane probing G, an ADE-type singularity, leads to a system which has G x G global symmetry and can be viewed as "bifundamental" (G,G) matter. For the A_N series, this leads to the usual notion of bifundamental matter. For the other cases it corresponds to a strongly interacting (1,0) superconformal system in six dimensions. Similarly, an ADE singularity intersecting the Horava-Witten wall leads to a superconformal matter system with E_8 x G global symmetry. Using the F-theory realization of these theories, we elucidate the Coulomb/tensor branch of (G,G') conformal matter. This leads to the notion of fractionalization of an M5-brane on an ADE singularity as well as fractionalization of the intersection point of the ADE singularity with the Horava-Witten wall. Partial Higgsing of these theories leads to new 6d SCFTs in the infrared, which we also characterize. This generalizes the class of (1,0) theories which can be perturbatively realized by suspended branes in IIA string theory. By reducing on a circle, we arrive at novel duals for 5d affine quiver theories. Introducing many M5-branes leads to large N gravity duals.

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arXiv2014

Holography for (1,0) theories in six dimensions

M-theory and string theory predict the existence of many six-dimensional SCFTs. In particular, type IIA brane constructions involving NS5-, D6- and D8-branes conjecturally give rise to a very large class of N=(1,0) CFTs in six dimensions. We point out that these theories sit at the end of RG flows which start from six-dimensional theories which admit an M-theory construction as a M5 stack transverse to $R^4/Z_k \times R$. The flows are triggered by Higgs branch expectation values and correspond to D6's opening up into transverse D8-branes via a Nahm pole. We find a precise correspondence between these CFT's and the AdS$_7$ vacua found in a recent classification in type II theories. Such vacua involve massive IIA regions, and the internal manifold is topologically $S^3$. They are characterized by fluxes for the NS three-form and RR two-form, which can be thought of as the near-horizon version of the NS5's and D6's in the brane picture; the D8's, on the other hand, are still present in the AdS$_7$ solution, in the form of an arbitrary number of concentric shells wrapping round $S^2$'s.

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arXiv2014

Supersymmetry in Lorentzian Curved Spaces and Holography

We consider superconformal and supersymmetric field theories on four-dimensional Lorentzian curved space-times, and their five-dimensional holographic duals. As in the Euclidean signature case, preserved supersymmetry for a superconformal theory is equivalent to the existence of a charged conformal Killing spinor. Differently from the Euclidean case, we show that the existence of such spinors is equivalent to the existence of a null conformal Killing vector. For a supersymmetric field theory with an R-symmetry, this vector field is further restricted to be Killing. We demonstrate how these results agree with the existing classification of supersymmetric solutions of minimal gauged supergravity in five dimensions.

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arXiv2014

All AdS_7 solutions of type II supergravity

In M-theory, the only AdS_7 supersymmetric solutions are AdS_7 x S^4 and its orbifolds. In this paper, we find and classify new supersymmetric solutions of the type AdS_7 x M_3 in type II supergravity. While in IIB none exist, in IIA with Romans mass (which does not lift to M-theory) there are many new ones. We use a pure spinor approach reminiscent of generalized complex geometry. Without the need for any Ansatz, the system determines uniquely the form of the metric and fluxes, up to solving a system of ODEs. Namely, the metric on M_3 is that of an S^2 fibered over an interval; this is consistent with the Sp(1) R-symmetry of the holographically dual (1,0) theory. By including D8 brane sources, one can numerically obtain regular solutions, where topologically M_3 = S^3.

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