arXiv subjects

Nathan Berkovits

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Berkovits.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Instanton Solutions of the Topological A-model Dual to Free Super-Yang-Mills

A topological A-model constructed from supertwistor variables and a worldsheet U(1) gauge field was recently proposed to describe the $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring at zero radius which is dual to free N=4 d=4 super-Yang-Mills. In this note, holomorphic worldsheet instanton solutions of the supertwistor variables are constructed where the U(1) worldsheet gauge field is identified with the square-root of the Strebel differential that describes the ribbon graph on the worldsheet.

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arXiv2025

Topological A-Model for $AdS_5\times S^5$ Superstring and the Maldacena Conjecture

A topological A-model constructed from $CP^{3|4}$ supertwistor variables is proposed for the $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring. At zero $AdS$ radius, free N=4 d=4 super-Yang-Mills amplitudes are reproduced by topological amplitudes of the corresponding gauged linear sigma model where the closed superstring vertex operator for a trace of $k$ super-Yang-Mills fields is described by a boundary state with $k$ edges. After turning on a Fayet-Iliopoulis term in the sigma model with coefficient $R^2 =\sqrt{g_{YM}^2 N}$, the topological amplitudes are claimed to reproduce the 't Hooft expansion of perturbative super-Yang-Mills amplitudes. Finally, this topological A-model is related to the usual $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring in the pure spinor formalism.

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arXiv2025

Equivalence Proof of Pure Spinor and Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz Superstring Amplitudes

A new manifestly spacetime-supersymmetric prescription for superstring amplitude computations is given using the pure spinor formalism which does not contain subtleties from poles in the pure spinor ghosts. This super-Poincare covariant prescription is related by a U(5)-covariant field redefinition to the Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz amplitude prescription where the pure spinor parameterizes the choice of SO(10)/U(5). For F-term scattering amplitudes which preserve a subset of the spacetime supersymmetries, the new pure spinor amplitude prescription reduces to the previous pure spinor prescription.

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arXiv2025

Heterotic String Field Theory with Manifest Spacetime Supersymmetry

Using the hybrid formalism with manifest $N=1$ $d=4$ spacetime supersymmetry, we construct the quadratic term in the heterotic superstring field theory action. As in open superstring field theory using the hybrid formalism, the heterotic string field theory action is constructed with three string fields and the massless sector describes $N=1$ $d=10$ supergravity in terms of $N=1$ $d=4$ superfields.

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arXiv2024

4D Chern-Simons and the pure spinor $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring

Four-dimensional Chern-Simons (4DCS) theory is useful for understanding integrable sigma-models and constructing new ones. In this paper, we show how to derive the complete pure spinor $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring sigma-model from 4DCS theory with defects. The matter sector of this sigma model was previously derived by Costello and Yamazaki, and we propose here that the pure spinor ghosts come from gauge-fixing meromorphic transformations of 4DCS which lead to the usual pure spinor Lax connection including the ghost contribution.

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arXiv2023

D=5 Holomorphic Chern-Simons and the Pure Spinor Superstring

The physical states of D=5 holomorphic Chern-Simons theory correspond to on-shell D=10 open superstring states in the cohomology of $q_+$, where $q_+$ is one of the 16 spacetime supersymmetry generators. Scattering amplitudes of these states can be computed either using the usual Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz (RNS) superstring prescription with N=1 worldsheet supersymmetry, or using a topological $\hat c$=5 string theory with twisted N=2 worldsheet supersymmetry. It will be argued that the relation between D=5 holomophic Chern-Simons and the RNS superstring is identical to the relation between the the pure spinor superstring and the recently constructed B-RNS-GSS superstring which has both N=1 worldsheet supersymmetry and D=10 spacetime supersymmetry. Physical states of the pure spinor superstring correspond to on-shell B-RNS-GSS states which are in the cohomology of $λ^αq_α$, where $λ^α$ is a D=10 pure spinor. And scattering amplitudes of these states can be computed either using the full B-RNS-GSS superstring prescription with N=1 worldsheet supersymmetry, or using the pure spinor superstring amplitude prescription with twisted N=2 worldsheet supersymmetry. This should be useful for proving equivalence of the RNS and pure spinor amplitude prescriptions and for clarifying the relation of their multiloop subtleties.

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arXiv2022

B-RNS-GSS heterotic string in curved backgrounds

The recently established B-RNS-GSS formalism is extended for the description of the heterotic superstring in curved backgrounds. We propose a generalized action and BRST charge defined in the small Hilbert space with the standard form of an $\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ worldsheet superconformal theory with superconformal generator $G$ and stress tensor $T$. We show that $\big\{G,G\big\}=-2T$ implies the D=10 N=1 supergravity and super-Yang-Mills equations of motion, as well as holomorphicity of the BRST charge.

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arXiv2022

Pure spinor formulation of the superstring and its applications

The pure spinor formalism for the superstring has the advantage over the more conventional Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz formalism of being manifestly spacetime supersymmetric, which simplifies the computation of multiparticle and multiloop amplitudes and allows the description of Ramond-Ramond backgrounds. In addition to the worldsheet variables of the Green-Schwarz-Siegel action, the pure spinor formalism includes bosonic ghost variables which are constrained spacetime spinors and are needed for covariant quantization using a nilpotent BRST operator. In this review, several applications of the formalism are described including the explicit computation in D=10 superspace of the general disk amplitude with an arbitrary number of external massless states, genus one amplitudes with up to seven external states, genus two amplitudes with up to five external states, and the low-energy limit of the genus three amplitude with up to four external states. The pure spinor formalism has also been used to covariantly quantize the superstring in an $AdS_5\times S^5$ background and might be useful for proving the AdS-CFT correspondence in the limit of small AdS radius. This is an overview written for the "Handbook of Quantum Gravity", eds. C. Bambi, L. Modesto and I. Shapiro.

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arXiv2022

Snowmass White Paper: String Perturbation Theory

The purpose of this White Paper is to review recent progress towards elucidating and evaluating string amplitudes, relating them to quantum field theory amplitudes, applying their predictions to string dualities, exploring their connection with gravitational physics, and deepening our understanding of their mathematical structure. We also present a selection of targets for future research.

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arXiv2021

Higher-Spin States of the Superstring in an Electromagnetic Background

Constructing a consistent four-dimensional Lagrangian for charged massive higher-spin fields propagating in an electromagnetic background is an open problem. In 1989, Argyres and Nappi used bosonic open string field theory to construct a Lagrangian for charged massive spin-2 fields in a constant electromagnetic background. In this paper, we use the four-dimensional hybrid formalism for open superstring field theory to construct a supersymmetric Lagrangian for charged massive spin-2 and spin-3/2 fields in a constant electromagnetic background. The hybrid formalism has the advantage over the RNS formalism of manifest $\mathcal{N}=1$ d=4 spacetime supersymmetry so that the spin-2 and spin-3/2 fields are combined into a single superfield and there is no need for picture-changing or spin fields.

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arXiv2021

Instanton Solutions in Open Superstring Field Theory

Open superstring field theory admits a "hybrid" formulation where N = 1 D = 4 supersymmetry is manifest for Calabi-Yau compactifications to four dimensions. Using this formulation, the half-BPS instanton solution of four-dimensional super-Yang-Mills can be easily generalized to the full open superstring field theory. In this paper, we compute the first stringy correction to the super-Yang-Mills instanton solution which involves turning on certain fields at the first massive level.

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arXiv2021

Manifest Spacetime Supersymmetry and the Superstring

The algebra of spacetime supersymmetry generators in the RNS formalism for the superstring closes only up to a picture-changing operation. After adding non-minimal variables and working in the "large" Hilbert space, the algebra closes without picture-changing and spacetime supersymmetry can be made manifest. The resulting non-minimal version of the RNS formalism is related by a field redefinition to the pure spinor formalism.

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arXiv2019

Topological Amplitude Computations using the Pure Spinor Formalism

After constructing a simplified four-dimensional version of the b ghost, topological multiloop amplitudes in type II superstring theory compactified on a six-dimensional orbifold are computed using the non-minimal pure spinor formalism. These pure spinor amplitude computations preserve manifest $N = 2$ $D = 4$ supersymmetry and, unlike the analogous topological multiloop amplitude computations using the hybrid formalism, can be extended to non-topological amplitudes.

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arXiv2019

Supertwistor description of ambitwistor strings

A new ambitwistor string is constructed based on a ten-dimensional supertwistor model for the massless superparticle. Although covariant quantization is complicated by reducibility issues, a light-cone gauge analysis can be easily performed. We show that with this analysis, this supertwistor ambitwistor string is equivalent to the RNS ambitwistor string in light-cone gauge. In order to make the comparison, we develop the light-cone gauge analysis of the RNS ambitwistor string which has some novel features in terms of its expression of the scattering equations through interaction point operators.

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arXiv2019

Notes on the $D=11$ pure spinor superparticle

The $D=11$ pure spinor superparticle has been shown to describe linearized $D=11$ supergravity in a manifestly covariant way. A number of authors have proposed that its correlation functions be used to compute amplitudes. The use of the scalar structure of the eleven-dimensional pure spinor top cohomology introduces a natural measure for computing such correlation functions. This prescription requires the construction of ghost number one and zero vertex operators. In these notes, we construct explicitly a ghost number one vertex operator but show the incompatibiliy of a ghost number zero vertex operator satisfying a standard descent equation for $D=11$ supergravity.

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arXiv2019

Sketching a Proof of the Maldacena Conjecture at Small Radius

At small AdS radius, the superstring on $AdS_5\times S^5$ was conjectured by Maldacena to be equivalent to ${\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills at small `t Hooft coupling where thickened Feynman diagrams can be used to compute scattering amplitudes. It was previously shown that the pure spinor worldsheet action of the $AdS_5\times S^5$ superstring can be expressed as the sum of a BRST-trivial term and a `B-term' which is antisymmetric in worldsheet derivatives. Using the explicit form of the pure spinor vertex operators, it will be argued here that the free super-Yang-Mills Feynman diagrams are described by the BRST-trivial term where the thickened propagators are the regions of the string worldsheet near the AdS boundary and the holes are the regions near the AdS horizon. Evidence will then be presented that the antisymmetric B-term generates the super-Yang-Mills vertex so that, at small radius and arbitrary genus, the superstring amplitudes correctly reproduce the super-Yang-Mills Feynman diagram expansion.

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arXiv2019

Half-BPS Vertex Operators of the $AdS_5\times S^5$ Superstring

Using the pure spinor formalism for the superstring in an $AdS_5\times S^5$ background, a simple expression is found for half-BPS vertex operators. At large radius, these vertex operators reduce to the usual supergravity vertex operators in a flat background. And at small radius, there is a natural conjecture for generalizing these vertex operators to non-BPS states.

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arXiv2018

Field theory actions for ambitwistor string and superstring

We analyze the free ambitwistor string field theory action for the bosonic string, heterotic string and both GSO sectors of the Type II string. The spectrum contains non-unitary states and provides an interesting consistency test for one-loop ambitwistor string computations.

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