arXiv subjects

Frank Ferrari

Publications and source records attributed to Frank Ferrari.

63 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv1997

The BPS Spectra and Superconformal Points in Massive N=2 Supersymmetric QCD

We present a detailed study of the analytic structure, BPS spectra and superconformal points of the $ N=2 $ susy $ SU(2) $ gauge theories with $ N_f=1,2,3 $ massive quark hypermultiplets. We compute the curves of marginal stability with the help of the explicit solutions for the low energy effective actions in terms of standard elliptic functions. We show that only a few of these curves are relevant. As a generic example, the case of $ N_f=2 $ with two equal bare masses is studied in depth. We determine the precise existence domains for each BPS state, and show how they are compatible with the RG flows. At the superconformal point, where two singularities coincide, we prove that (for $ N_f=2 $) the massless spectrum consists of four distinct BPS states and is S-invariant. This is due to the monodromy around the superconformal point being S, providing strong evidence for exact S-duality of the SCFT. For all $ N_f $, we compute the slopes $ ω$ of the $ β$-functions at the fixed point couplings and show that they are related to the anomalous dimensions $ α$ of $ u= < tr ϕ^2 > $ by $ ω= 2 (α-1) $.

hep-th↗

arXiv1997

The dyon spectra of finite gauge theories

It is shown that all the (p,q) dyon bound states exist and are unique in N=4 and N=2 with four massless flavours supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills theories, where p and q are any relatively prime integers. The proof can be understood in the context of field theory alone, and does not rely on any duality assumption. We also give a general physical argument showing that these theories should have at least an exact Gamma(2) duality symmetry, and then deduce in particular the existence of the (2p,2q) vector multiplets in the Nf=4 theory. The corresponding massive theories are studied in parallel, and it is shown that though in these cases the spectrum is no longer self-dual at a given point on the moduli space, it is still in perfect agreement with an exact S duality. We also discuss the interplay between our results and both the semiclassical quantization and the heterotic-type II string-string duality conjecture.

hep-th↗

arXiv1997

Strong-weak coupling duality in non-abelian gauge theories

This is a general introduction to electric-magnetic duality in non-abelian gauge theories. In chapter I, I review the general ideas which led in the late 70s to the idea of electric/magnetic duality in quantum field theory. In chapters II and III, I focus mainly on N=2 supersymmetric theories. I present the lagrangians and explain in more or less detail the non-renormalization theorems, rigid special geometry, supersymmetric instanton calculus, charge fractionization, the semiclassical theory of monopoles, duality in Maxwell theory and the famous Seiberg-Witten solution. I discuss various physical applications, as electric charge confinement, chiral symmetry breaking or non-trivial superconformal theories in four dimensions. In Section II.3 new material is presented, related to the computation of the eta invariant of certain Dirac operators coupled minimally to non-trivial monopole field configurations. I explain how these invariants can be obtained exactly by a one-loop calculation in a suitable N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory. This is an unexpected application of the holomorphy properties of N=2 supersymmetry, and constitutes a tremendous simplification of the usual computation. An expanded version of these new results will be published soon.

hep-th↗

arXiv1997

Non-perturbative aspects of (supersymmetric) gauge theories

At an elementary level, we present some non-perturbative aspects of non-abelian gauge theories in four dimensional space-time. Some rigorous results have been obtained in the framework of supersymmetric theories, and a very rich physics related to the strong-coupling dynamics of gauge fields has been discovered. Some of the new phenomena which appeared may play a significant role in future phenomenological models. However, quantitative computations in non-supersymmetric theories, like quantum chromodynamics, is out of reach for the moment.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Duality and BPS spectra in N=2 supersymmetric QCD

I review, with some pedagogy, two different approaches to the computation of BPS spectra in N=2 supersymmetric QCD with gauge group SU(2). The first one is semiclassical and has been widely used in the literature. The second one makes use of constraints coming from the non perturbative, global structure of the Coulomb branch of these theories. The second method allows for a description of discontinuities in the BPS spectra at strong coupling, and should lead to accurate test of duality conjectures in N=2 theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv1996

Charge fractionization in N=2 supersymmetric QCD

It is shown that the physical ``quark number'' charges which appear in the central charge of the supersymmetry algebra of $N=2$ supersymmetric QCD can take irrational values and depend non trivially on the Higgs expectation value. This gives a physical interpretation of the constant shifts which the ``electric'' and ``magnetic'' variables $a_D$ and $a$ undergo when encircling a singularity, and show that duality in this model is truly an electric-magnetic-quark number duality. Also included is a computation of the monodromy matrices directly in the microscopic theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv1996

Curves of Marginal Stability and Weak and Strong-Coupling BPS Spectra in $N=2$ Supersymmetric QCD

We explicitly determine the global structure of the $SL(2,Z)$ bundle over the Coulomb branch of the moduli space of asymptotically free $N=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with gauge group $SU(2)$ when massless hypermultiplets are present. For each relevant number of flavours, we show that there is a curve of marginal stability on the Coulomb branch, diffeomorphic to a circle, across which the BPS spectrum is discontinuous. We determine rigorously and completely the BPS spectra inside and outside the curve. In all cases, the spectrum inside the curve consists of only those BPS states that are responsible for the singularities of the low energy effective action (in addition to the massless abelian gauge multiplet which is always present). The predicted decay patterns across the curve of marginal stability are perfectly consistent with all quantum numbers carried by the BPS states. As a byproduct, we also show that the electric and magnetic quantum numbers of the massless states at the singularities proposed by Seiberg and Witten are the only possible ones.

hep-th↗

arXiv1996

Exact Multiplets of Spontaneously Broken Discrete Global Symmetries: the Example of $N=2$ Susy QCD

In these notes, we emphasize the rôle of spontaneous broken global discrete symmetries acting on the moduli space of $N=2$ susy Yang-Mills theories and show how they can be used, together with the BPS condition, as a spectrum generating symmetry. In particular, in the strong-coupling region, all BPS states come in multiplets of this broken symmetry. This played a key rôle in the determination of the strong-coupling spectra.

hep-th↗

arXiv1996

The Strong-Coupling Spectrum of the Seiberg-Witten Theory

We carefully study the global structure of the solution of the $N=2$ supersymmetric pure Yang-Mills theory with gauge group $SU(2)$ obtained by Seiberg and Witten. We exploit its ${\bf Z}_2$-symmetry and describe the curve in moduli space where BPS states can become unstable, separating the strong-coupling from the weak-coupling region. This allows us to obtain the spectrum of stable BPS states in the strong-coupling region: we prove that only the two particles responsible for the singularities of the solution (the magnetic monopole and the dyon of unit electric charge) are present in this region. Our method also permits us to very easily obtain the well-known weak-coupling spectrum, without using semi-classical methods. We discuss how the BPS states disintegrate when crossing the border from the weak to the strong-coupling region.

hep-th↗