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Ashoke Sen

Publications and source records attributed to Ashoke Sen.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

Supersymmetry Restoration in Superstring Perturbation Theory

Superstring perturbation theory based on the 1PI effective theory approach has been useful for addressing the problem of mass renormalization and vacuum shift. We derive Ward identities associated with space-time supersymmetry transformation in this approach. This leads to a proof of the equality of renormalized masses of bosons and fermions and identities relating fermionic amplitudes to bosonic amplitudes after taking into account the effect of mass renormalization. This also relates unbroken supersymmetry to a given order in perturbation theory to absence of tadpoles of massless scalars to higher order. The results are valid at the perturbative vacuum as well as in the shifted vacuum when the latter describes the correct ground state of the theory. We apply this to SO(32) heterotic string theory on Calabi-Yau 3-folds where a one loop Fayet-Iliopoulos term apparently breaks supersymmetry at one loop, but analysis of the low energy effective field theory indicates that there is a nearby vacuum where supersymmetry is restored. We explicitly prove that the perturbative amplitudes of this theory around the shifted vacuum indeed satisfy the Ward identities associated with unbroken supersymmetry. We also test the general arguments by explicitly verifying the equality of bosonic and fermionic masses at one loop order in the shifted vacuum, and the appearance of two loop dilaton tadpole in the perturbative vacuum where supersymmetry is expected to be broken.

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arXiv2015

Filling The Gaps With PCO's

Superstring perturbation theory is traditionally carried out by using picture-changing operators (PCO's) to integrate over odd moduli. Naively the PCO's can be inserted anywhere on a string worldsheet, but actually a constraint must be placed on PCO insertions to avoid spurious singularities. Accordingly, it has been long known that the simplest version of the PCO procedure is valid only locally on the moduli space of Riemann surfaces, and that a correct PCO-based algorithm to compute scattering amplitudes must be based on piecing together local descriptions. Recently, "vertical integration" was proposed as a relatively simple method to do this. Here, we spell out in detail what vertical integration means if carried out systematically. This involves a hierarchical procedure with corrections of high order. One might anticipate such a structure from the viewpoint of super Riemann surfaces.

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arXiv2015

Surviving in a Metastable de Sitter Space-Time

In a metastable de Sitter space any object has a finite life expectancy beyond which it undergoes vacuum decay. However, by spreading into different parts of the universe which will fall out of causal contact of each other in future, a civilization can increase its collective life expectancy, defined as the average time after which the last settlement disappears due to vacuum decay. We study in detail the collective life expectancy of two comoving objects in de Sitter space as a function of the initial separation, the horizon radius and the vacuum decay rate. We find that even with a modest initial separation, the collective life expectancy can reach a value close to the maximum possible value of 1.5 times that of the individual object if the decay rate is less than 1% of the expansion rate. Our analysis can be generalized to any number of objects, general trajectories not necessarily at rest in the comoving coordinates and general FRW space-time. As part of our analysis we find that in the current state of the universe dominated by matter and cosmological constant, the vacuum decay rate is increasing as a function of time due to accelerated expansion of the volume of the past light cone. Present decay rate is about 3.7 times larger than the average decay rate in the past and the final decay rate in the cosmological constant dominated epoch will be about 56 times larger than the average decay rate in the past. This considerably weakens the lower bound on the half-life of our universe based on its current age.

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arXiv2015

Off-shell Amplitudes in Superstring Theory

Computing the renormalized masses and S-matrix elements in string theory, involving states whose masses are not protected from quantum corrections, requires defining off-shell amplitude with certain factorization properties. While in the bosonic string theory one can in principle construct such an amplitude from string field theory, there is no fully consistent field theory for type II and heterotic string theory. In this paper we give a practical construction of off-shell amplitudes satisfying the desired factorization property using the formalism of picture changing operators. We describe a systematic procedure for dealing with the spurious singularities of the integration measure that we encounter in superstring perturbation theory. This procedure is also useful for computing on-shell amplitudes, as we demonstrate by computing the effect of Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms in four dimensional heterotic string theory compactifications using this formalism.

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arXiv2015

Gauge Invariant 1PI Effective Superstring Field Theory: Inclusion of the Ramond Sector

We construct off-shell amplitudes in heterotic and type II string theories involving arbitrary combination of Ramond and Neveu-Schwarz sector external states. We also construct the equations of motion of a gauge invariant 1PI effective field theory which reproduces these off-shell amplitudes. Using this construction we prove that the renormalized physical masses do not depend on the choice of local coordinate system and locations of picture changing operators used in defining the off-shell amplitudes. We also use this formalism to examine the conditions under which space-time supersymmetry is unbroken in the quantum theory.

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arXiv2015

Riding Gravity Away from Doomsday

The discovery that most of the energy density in the universe is stored in the form of dark energy has profound consequences for our future. In particular our current limited understanding of quantum theory of gravity indicates that some time in the future our universe will undergo a phase transition that will destroy us and everything else around us instantaneously. However the laws of gravity also suggest a way out -- some of our descendants could survive this catastrophe by riding gravity away from the danger. In this essay I describe the tale of this escape from doomsday.

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arXiv2015

Heterotic Effective Action and Duality Symmetries Revisited

The dimensional reduction of heterotic supergravity with gauge fields truncated to the Cartan subalgebra exhibits a continuous O(d,d+16;R) global symmetry, related to the O(d,d+16;Z) T-duality of heterotic strings on a d-torus. The O(d,d+16;R) symmetry is not present, however, if the supergravity reduction is done including the full set of E_8 x E_8 or SO(32) gauge fields. We analyze which duality symmetries are realized to all orders in $α'$ in the proper effective field theories for the massless string states. We find a universal O(d,d;R) symmetry, also predicted by double field theory. We confirm this by giving a novel formulation of the dimensionally reduced supergravity in terms of O(d,d) multiplets, and we discuss cases of symmetry enhancement.

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arXiv2015

Gauge Invariant 1PI Effective Action for Superstring Field Theory

We construct gauge invariant 1PI effective action for the NS sector of type II and heterotic string field theory. By construction, zero eigenvalues of the kinetic operator of this action determine the renormalized physical masses, and tree level amplitudes computed from this action (after gauge fixing) give the loop corrected S-matrix elements. Using this formalism we can give a simple proof of the result that the renormalized physical masses do not depend on the choice of local coordinate system and locations of picture changing operators used in defining the off-shell amplitude. We also eliminate the need for an infrared regulator in dealing with tadpoles of massless fields.

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arXiv2014

About the Absence of Exotics and the Coulomb Branch Formula

The absence of exotics is a conjectural property of the spectrum of BPS states of four--dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric QFT's. In this letter we revisit the precise statement of this conjecture, and develop a general strategy that, if applicable, entails the absence of exotic BPS states. Our method is based on the Coulomb branch formula and on quiver mutations. In particular, we obtain the absence of exotic BPS states for all pure SYM theories with simple simply--laced gauge group $G$, and, as a corollary, of infinitely many other lagrangian $\mathcal{N}=2$ theories.

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arXiv2014

BPS State Counting in N=8 Supersymmetric String Theory for Pure D-brane Configurations

Exact results for the BPS index are known for a class of BPS dyons in type II string theory compactified on a six dimensional torus. In this paper we set up the problem of counting the same BPS states in a duality frame in which the states carry only Ramond-Ramond charges. We explicitly count the number of states carrying the lowest possible charges and find agreement with the result obtained in other duality frames. Furthermore, we find that after factoring out the supermultiplet structure, each of these states carry zero angular momentum. This is in agreement with the prediction obtained from a representation of these states as supersymmetric black holes.

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arXiv2014

Mass Renormalization in String Theory: Special States

String theory gives a well defined procedure for computing the S-matrix of BPS or a class of massless states, but similar calculation for general massive states is plagued with difficulties due to mass renormalization effect. In this paper we describe a procedure for computing the renormalized masses and S-matrix elements in bosonic string theory for a special class of massive states which do not mix with unphysical states under renormalization. Even though this requires working with off-shell amplitudes which are ambiguous, we show that the renormalized masses and S-matrix elements are free from these ambiguities. We also argue that the masses and S-matrix elements for general external states can be found by examining the locations of the poles and the residues of the S-matrix of special states. Finally we discuss generalizations to heterotic and superstring theories.

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arXiv2014

Mass Renormalization in String Theory: General States

In a previous paper we described a procedure for computing the renormalized masses and S-matrix elements in bosonic string theory for a special class of massive states which do not mix with unphysical states under renormalization. In this paper we extend this result to general states in bosonic string theory, and argue that only the squares of renormalized physical masses appear as the locations of the poles of the S-matrix of other physical states. We also discuss generalizations to Neveu-Schwarz sector states in heterotic and superstring theories.

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arXiv2014

String Perturbation Theory Around Dynamically Shifted Vacuum

In some string theories, e.g. SO(32) heterotic string theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds, a massless field with a tree level potential can acquire a tachyonic mass at the one loop level, forcing us to quantize the theory around a new background that is not a solution to the classical equations of motion and hence is not described by a conformally invariant world-sheet theory. We describe a systematic procedure for carrying out string perturbation theory around such backgrounds.

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arXiv2013

A One-Loop Test of Quantum Supergravity

The partition function on the three-sphere of ABJM theory and its generalizations has, at large N, a universal, subleading logarithmic term. Inspired by the success of one-loop quantum gravity for computing the logarithmic corrections to black hole entropy, we try to reproduce this universal term by a one-loop calculation in Euclidean eleven-dimensional supergravity on AdS_4 \times X_7. We find perfect agreement between the results of ABJM theory and the eleven dimensional supergravity.

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arXiv2013

S-duality Improved Perturbation Theory in Compactified Type I / Heterotic String Theory

We study the mass of the stable non-BPS state in type I / heterotic string theory compactified on a circle with the help of the interpolation formula between weak and strong coupling results. Comparison between the results at different orders indicate that this procedure can determine the mass of the particle to within 10% accuracy over the entire two dimensional moduli space parametrized by the string coupling and the radius of compactification. This allows us to estimate the region of the stability of the particle in this two dimensional moduli space. Outside this region the particle is unstable against decay into three BPS states carrying the same total charge as the original state. We discuss generalization of this analysis to compactification on higher dimensional tori.

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arXiv2013

Generalized quiver mutations and single-centered indices

Quiver quantum mechanics is invariant under Seiberg duality. A mathematical consequence is that the cohomology of the Higgs branch moduli space is invariant under mutations of the quiver. The Coulomb branch formula, on the other hand, conjecturally expresses the Poincaré / Dolbeault polynomial of the Higgs branch moduli space in terms of certain quantities known as single-centered indices. In this work we determine the transformations of these single-centered indices under mutations. Moreover, we generalize these mutations to quivers whose nodes carry single-centered indices different from unity. Although the Higgs branch description of these generalized quivers is currently unknown, the Coulomb branch formula is conjectured to be invariant under generalized mutations.

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arXiv2013

On the Coulomb and Higgs branch formulae for multi-centered black holes and quiver invariants

In previous work we have shown that the equivariant index of multi-centered N=2 black holes localizes on collinear configurations along a fixed axis. Here we provide a general algorithm for enumerating such collinear configurations and computing their contribution to the index. We apply this machinery to the case of black holes described by quiver quantum mechanics, and give a systematic prescription -- the Coulomb branch formula -- for computing the cohomology of the moduli space of quiver representations. For quivers without oriented loops, the Coulomb branch formula is shown to agree with the Higgs branch formula based on Reineke's result for stack invariants, even when the dimension vector is not primitive. For quivers with oriented loops, the Coulomb branch formula parametrizes the Poincaré polynomial of the quiver moduli space in terms of single-centered (or pure-Higgs) BPS invariants, which are conjecturally independent of the stability condition (i.e. the choice of Fayet-Iliopoulos parameters) and angular-momentum free. To facilitate further investigation we provide a Mathematica package "CoulombHiggs.m" implementing the Coulomb and Higgs branch formulae.

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