arXiv subjects

Alexander D. Popov

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander D. Popov.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Skyrme model from 6d $\cal N$= (2,0) theory

We consider 5d Yang-Mills theory with a compact ADE-type gauge group $G$ on ${\mathbb R}^{3,1}\times{\cal I}$, where $\cal I$ is an interval. The maximally supersymmetric extension of this model appears after compactification on $S^1$ of 6d $\cal N$= (2,0) superconformal field theory on ${\mathbb R}^{3,1}\times S^2_2$, where $S^2_2\cong{\cal I}\times S^1$ is a two-sphere with two punctures. In the low-energy limit, when the length of $\cal I$ becomes small, the 5d Yang-Mills theory reduces to a nonlinear sigma model on ${\mathbb R}^{3,1}$ with the Lie group $G$ as its target space. It contains an infinite tower of interacting fields whose leading term in the infrared is the four-derivative Skyrme term. A maximally supersymmetric generalization leading to a hyper-Kähler sigma-model target space is briefly discussed.

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arXiv2018

Non-Abelian sigma models from Yang-Mills theory compactified on a circle

We consider SU($N$) Yang-Mills theory on ${\mathbb R}^{2,1}\times S^1$, where $S^1$ is a spatial circle. In the infrared limit of a small-circle radius the Yang-Mills action reduces to the action of a sigma model on ${\mathbb R}^{2,1}$ whose target space is a $2(N{-}1)$-dimensional torus modulo the Weyl-group action. We argue that there is freedom in the choice of the framing of the gauge bundles, which leads to more general options. In particular, we show that this low-energy limit can give rise to a target space SU$(N){\times}$SU$(N)/{\mathbb Z}_N$. The latter is the direct product of SU($N$) and its Langlands dual SU$(N)/{\mathbb Z}_N$, and it contains the above-mentioned torus as its maximal Abelian subgroup. An analogous result is obtained for any non-Abelian gauge group.

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arXiv2017

Finite-action solutions of Yang-Mills equations on de Sitter dS$_4$ and anti-de Sitter AdS$_4$ spaces

We consider pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on four-dimensional de Sitter dS$_4$ and anti-de Sitter AdS$_4$ spaces and construct various solutions to the Yang-Mills equations. On de Sitter space we reduce the Yang-Mills equations via an SU(2)-equivariant ansatz to Newtonian mechanics of a particle moving in ${\mathbb R}^3$ under the influence of a quartic potential. Then we describe magnetic and electric-magnetic solutions, both Abelian and non-Abelian, all having finite energy and finite action. A similar reduction on anti-de Sitter space also yields Yang-Mills solutions with finite energy and action. We propose a lower bound for the action on both backgrounds. Employing another metric on AdS$_4$, the SU(2) Yang-Mills equations are reduced to an analytic continuation of the above particle mechanics from ${\mathbb R}^3$ to ${\mathbb R}^{2,1}$. We discuss analytical solutions to these equations, which produce infinite-action configurations. After a Euclidean continuation of dS$_4$ and AdS$_4$ we also present self-dual (instanton-type) Yang--Mills solutions on these backgrounds.

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arXiv2017

Solutions to Yang-Mills equations on four-dimensional de Sitter space

We consider pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on four-dimensional de Sitter space dS$_4$ and construct a smooth and spatially homogeneous magnetic solution to the Yang-Mills equations. Slicing dS$_4$ as ${\mathbb R}\times S^3$, via an SU(2)-equivariant ansatz we reduce the Yang-Mills equations to ordinary matrix differential equations and further to Newtonian dynamics in a double-well potential. Its local maximum yields a Yang-Mills solution whose color-magnetic field at time $τ\in{\mathbb R}$ is given by $\tilde{B}_a=-\frac12 I_a/(R^2\cosh^2\!τ)$, where $I_a$ for $a=1,2,3$ are the SU(2) generators and $R$ is the de Sitter radius. At any moment, this spatially homogeneous configuration has finite energy, but its action is also finite and of the value $-\frac12j(j{+}1)(2j{+}1)π^3$ in a spin-$j$ representation. Similarly, the double-well bounce produces a family of homogeneous finite-action electric-magnetic solutions with the same energy. There is a continuum of other solutions whose energy and action extend down to zero.

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arXiv2016

Sasakian quiver gauge theories and instantons on Calabi-Yau cones

We consider SU(2)-equivariant dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory on manifolds of the form $M\times S^3/Γ$, where $M$ is a smooth manifold and $S^3/Γ$ is a three-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein orbifold. We obtain new quiver gauge theories on $M$ whose quiver bundles are based on the affine ADE Dynkin diagram associated to $Γ$. We relate them to those arising through translationally-invariant dimensional reduction over the associated Calabi-Yau cones $C(S^3/Γ)$ which are based on McKay quivers and ADHM matrix models, and to those arising through SU(2)-equivariant dimensional reduction over the leaf spaces of the characteristic foliations of $S^3/Γ$ which are Kähler orbifolds of $\mathbb{C} P^1$ whose quiver bundles are based on the unextended Dynkin diagram corresponding to $Γ$. We use Nahm equations to describe the vacua of SU(2)-equivariant quiver gauge theories on the cones as moduli spaces of spherically symmetric instantons. We relate them to the Nakajima quiver varieties which can be realized as Higgs branches of the worldvolume quiver gauge theories on D$p$-branes probing D$(p+4)$-branes which wrap an ALE space, and to the moduli spaces of spherically symmetric solutions in putative non-abelian generalizations of two-dimensional affine Toda field theories.

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arXiv2016

Superstring theories as low-energy limit of supergroup gauge theories

We consider Yang-Mills theory with $N=2$ super translation group in $d=10$ auxiliary dimensions as the structure group. The gauge theory is defined on a direct product manifold $Σ_2\times H^2$, where $Σ_2$ is a two-dimensional Lorentzian manifold and $H^2$ is the open disc in $\mathbb{R}^2$ with the boundary $S^1=\partial H^2$. We show that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric on $H^2$ is scaled down, the Yang-Mills action supplemented by the $d=5$ Chern-Simons term becomes the Green-Schwarz superstring action. More concretely, the Yang-Mills action in the infrared limit flows to the kinetic part of the superstring action and the $d=5$ Chern-Simons action, defined on a 5-manifold with the boundary $Σ_2\times H^2$, flows to the Wess-Zumino part of the superstring action. The same kind of duality between gauge fields and strings is established for type IIB superstring on AdS$_5\times S^5$ background and a supergroup gauge theory with PSU(2,2$|$4) as the structure group.

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arXiv2016

Superstring limit of Yang-Mills theories

It was pointed out by Shifman and Yung that the critical superstring on $X^{10}={\mathbb R}^4\times Y^6$, where $Y^6$ is the resolved conifold, appears as an effective theory for a U(2) Yang-Mills-Higgs system with four fundamental Higgs scalars defined on $Σ_2\times{\mathbb R}^2$, where $Σ_2$ is a two-dimensional Lorentzian manifold. Their Yang-Mills model supports semilocal vortices on ${\mathbb R}^2\subsetΣ_2\times{\mathbb R}^2$ with a moduli space $X^{10}$. When the moduli of slowly moving thin vortices depend on the coordinates of $Σ_2$, the vortex strings can be identified with critical fundamental strings. We show that similar results can be obtained for the low-energy limit of pure Yang-Mills theory on $Σ_2\times T^2_p$, where $T^2_p$ is a two-dimensional torus with a puncture $p$. The solitonic vortices of Shifman and Yung then get replaced by flat connections. Various ten-dimensional superstring target spaces can be obtained as moduli spaces of flat connections on $T^2_p$, depending on the choice of the gauge group. The full Green-Schwarz sigma model requires extending the gauge group to a supergroup and augmenting the action with a topological term.

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arXiv2016

Loop groups in Yang-Mills theory

We consider the Yang-Mills equations with a matrix gauge group $G$ on the de Sitter dS$_4$, anti-de Sitter AdS$_4$ and Minkowski $R^{3,1}$ spaces. On all these spaces one can introduce a doubly warped metric in the form $d s^2 =-d u^2 + f^2 d v^2 +h^2 d s^2_{H^2}$, where $f$ and $h$ are the functions of $u$ and $d s^2_{H^2}$ is the metric on the two-dimensional hyperbolic space $H^2$. We show that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric on $H^2$ is scaled down, the Yang-Mills equations become the sigma-model equations describing harmonic maps from a two-dimensional manifold (dS$_2$, AdS$_2$ or $R^{1,1}$, respectively) into the based loop group $ΩG=C^\infty (S^1, G)/G$ of smooth maps from the boundary circle $S^1=\partial H^2$ of $H^2$ into the gauge group $G$. From this correspondence and the implicit function theorem it follows that the moduli space of Yang-Mills theory with a gauge group $G$ in four dimensions is bijective to the moduli space of two-dimensional sigma model with $ΩG$ as the target space. The sigma-model field equations can be reduced to equations of geodesics on $ΩG$, solutions of which yield magnetic-type configurations of Yang-Mills fields. The group $ΩG$ naturally acts on their moduli space.

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arXiv2016

Sasakian quiver gauge theories and instantons on the conifold

We consider Spin(4)-equivariant dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory on manifolds of the form $M^d \times T^{1,1}$, where $M^d$ is a smooth manifold and $T^{1,1}$ is a five-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold Spin(4)/U(1). We obtain new quiver gauge theories on $M^d$ extending those induced via reduction over the leaf spaces $\mathbb{C}P^1 \times \mathbb{C}P^1$ in $T^{1,1}$. We describe the Higgs branches of these quiver gauge theories as moduli spaces of Spin(4)-equivariant instantons on the conifold which is realized as the metric cone over $T^{1,1}$. We give an explicit construction of these moduli spaces as Kähler quotients.

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arXiv2015

Sasakian quiver gauge theories and instantons on cones over lens 5-spaces

We consider SU(3)-equivariant dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory over certain cyclic orbifolds of the 5-sphere which are Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. We obtain new quiver gauge theories extending those induced via reduction over the leaf spaces of the characteristic foliation of the Sasaki-Einstein structure, which are projective planes. We describe the Higgs branches of these quiver gauge theories as moduli spaces of spherically symmetric instantons which are SU(3)-equivariant solutions to the Hermitian Yang-Mills equations on the associated Calabi-Yau cones, and further compare them to moduli spaces of translationally-invariant instantons on the cones. We provide an explicit unified construction of these moduli spaces as Kähler quotients and show that they have the same cyclic orbifold singularities as the cones over the lens 5-spaces.

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arXiv2015

Yang-Mills moduli space in the adiabatic limit

We consider the Yang-Mills equations for a matrix gauge group $G$ inside the future light cone of 4-dimensional Minkowski space, which can be viewed as a Lorentzian cone $C(H^3)$ over the 3-dimensional hyperbolic space $H^3$. Using the conformal equivalence of $C(H^3)$ and the cylinder $R\times H^3$, we show that, in the adiabatic limit when the metric on $H^3$ is scaled down, classical Yang-Mills dynamics is described by geodesic motion in the infinite-dimensional group manifold $C^\infty (S^2_\infty,G)$ of smooth maps from the boundary 2-sphere $S^2_\infty=\partial H^3$ into the gauge group $G$.

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arXiv2015

Supermembrane limit of Yang-Mills theory

We consider Yang-Mills theory with $N{=}1$ super translation group in eleven auxiliary dimensions as the structure group. The gauge theory is defined on a direct product manifold $Σ_3\times S^1$, where $Σ_3$ is a three-dimensional Lorentzian manifold and $S^1$ is a circle. We show that in the infrared limit, when the metric on $S^1$ is scaled down, the Yang-Mills action supplemented by a Wess-Zumino-type term reduces to the action of an M2-brane.

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arXiv2015

Green-Schwarz superstring as subsector of Yang-Mills theory

We consider Yang-Mills theory with N=2 super translation group in ten auxiliary dimensions as the structure group. The gauge theory is defined on a direct product manifold Σ_2\times H^2, where Σ_2 is a two-dimensional Lorentzian manifold and H^2 is the open disc in R^2 with the boundary S^1=\partial H^2. We show that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric on H^2 is scaled down, the Yang-Mills action supplemented by a Wess-Zumino-type term becomes the Green-Schwarz superstring action.

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arXiv2015

String theories as the adiabatic limit of Yang-Mills theory

We consider Yang-Mills theory with a matrix gauge group $G$ on a direct product manifold $M=Σ_2\times H^2$, where $Σ_2$ is a two-dimensional Lorentzian manifold and $H^2$ is a two-dimensional open disc with the boundary $S^1=\partial H^2$. The Euler-Lagrange equations for the metric on $Σ_2$ yield constraint equations for the Yang-Mills energy-momentum tensor. We show that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric on $H^2$ is scaled down, the Yang-Mills equations plus constraints on the energy-momentum tensor become the equations describing strings with a worldsheet $Σ_2$ moving in the based loop group $ΩG=C^\infty (S^1, G)/G$, where $S^1$ is the boundary of $H^2$. By choosing $G=R^{d-1, 1}$ and putting to zero all parameters in $ΩR^{d-1, 1}$ besides $R^{d-1, 1}$, we get a string moving in $R^{d-1, 1}$. In arXiv:1506.02175 it was described how one can obtain the Green-Schwarz superstring action from Yang-Mills theory on $Σ_2\times H^2$ while $H^2$ shrinks to a point. Here we also consider Yang-Mills theory on a three-dimensional manifold $Σ_2\times S^1$ and show that in the limit when the radius of $S^1$ tends to zero, the Yang-Mills action functional supplemented by a Wess-Zumino-type term becomes the Green-Schwarz superstring action.

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arXiv2015

Sigma-model limit of Yang-Mills instantons in higher dimensions

We consider the Hermitian Yang-Mills (instanton) equations for connections on vector bundles over a 2n-dimensional Kähler manifold X which is a product Y x Z of p- and q-dimensional Riemannian manifold Y and Z with p+q=2n. We show that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric in the Z direction is scaled down, the gauge instanton equations on Y x Z become sigma-model instanton equations for maps from Y to the moduli space M (target space) of gauge instantons on Z if q>= 4. For q<4 we get maps from Y to the moduli space M of flat connections on Z. Thus, the Yang-Mills instantons on Y x Z converge to sigma-model instantons on Y while Z shrinks to a point. Put differently, for small volume of Z, sigma-model instantons on Y with target space M approximate Yang-Mills instantons on Y x Z.

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arXiv2015

Instantons on conical half-flat 6-manifolds

We present a general procedure to construct 6-dimensional manifolds with SU(3)-structure from SU(2)-structure 5-manifolds. We thereby obtain half-flat cylinders and sine-cones over 5-manifolds with Sasaki-Einstein SU(2)-structure. They are nearly Kahler in the special case of sine-cones over Sasaki-Einstein 5-manifolds. Both half-flat and nearly Kahler 6-manifolds are prominent in flux compactifications of string theory. Subsequently, we investigate instanton equations for connections on vector bundles over these half-flat manifolds. A suitable ansatz for gauge fields on these 6-manifolds reduces the instanton equation to a set of matrix equations. We finally present some of its solutions and discuss the instanton configurations obtained this way.

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arXiv2014

Instantons on sine-cones over Sasakian manifolds

We investigate instantons on sine-cones over Sasaki-Einstein and 3-Sasakian manifolds. It is shown that these conical Einstein manifolds are K"ahler with torsion (KT) manifolds admitting Hermitian connections with totally antisymmetric torsion. Furthermore, a deformation of the metric on the sine-cone over 3-Sasakian manifolds allows one to introduce a hyper-K"ahler with torsion (HKT) structure. In the large-volume limit these KT and HKT spaces become Calabi-Yau and hyper-K"ahler conifolds, respectively. We construct gauge connections on complex vector bundles over conical KT and HKT manifolds which solve the instanton equations for Yang-Mills fields in higher dimensions.

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arXiv2014

Instantons in six dimensions and twistors

Recently, conformal field theories in six dimensions were discussed from the twistorial point of view. In particular, it was demonstrated that the twistor transform between chiral zero-rest-mass fields and cohomology classes on twistor space can be generalized from four to six dimensions. On the other hand, the possibility of generalizing the correspondence between instanton gauge fields and holomorphic bundles over twistor space is questionable. It was shown by Saemann and Wolf that holomorphic line bundles over the canonical twistor space Tw(X) (defined as a bundle of almost complex structures over the six-dimensional manifold X) correspond to pure-gauge Maxwell potentials, i.e. the twistor transform fails. On the example of X=CP^3 we show that there exists a twistor correspondence between Abelian or non-Abelian Yang-Mills instantons on CP^3 and holomorphic bundles over complex submanifolds of Tw(CP^3), but it is not so efficient as in the four-dimensional case because the twistor transform does not parametrize instantons by unconstrained holomorphic data as it does in four dimensions.

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