arXiv subjects

Riccardo Argurio

Publications and source records attributed to Riccardo Argurio.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Gauge/gravity duality and meta-stable dynamical supersymmetry breaking

We engineer a class of quiver gauge theories with several interesting features by studying D-branes at a simple Calabi-Yau singularity. At weak 't Hooft coupling we argue using field theory techniques that these theories admit both supersymmetric vacua and meta-stable non-supersymmetric vacua, though the arguments indicating the existence of the supersymmetry breaking states are not decisive. At strong 't Hooft coupling we find simple candidate gravity dual descriptions for both sets of vacua.

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arXiv2006

On Stable Non-Supersymmetric Vacua at the Bottom of Cascading Theories

We consider a wide class of cascading gauge theories which usually lead to runaway behaviour in the IR, and discuss possible deformations of the superpotential at the bottom of the cascade which stabilize the runaway direction and provide stable non-supersymmetric vacua. The models we find may allow for a weakly coupled supergravity analysis of dynamical supersymmetric breaking in the context of the gauge/string correspondence.

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arXiv2006

Massless fermionic bound states and the gauge/gravity correspondence

We study the equations of motion of fermions in type IIB supergravity in the context of the gauge/gravity correspondence. The main motivation is the search for normalizable fermionic zero modes in such backgrounds, to be interpreted as composite massless fermions in the dual theory. We specialize to backgrounds characterized by a constant dilaton and a self-dual three-form. In the specific case of the Klebanov--Strassler solution we construct explicitly the fermionic superpartner of the Goldstone mode associated with the broken baryonic symmetry. The fermionic equations could also be used to search for goldstinos in theories that break supersymmetry dynamically.

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arXiv2004

Effective superpotential for U(N) with antisymmetric matter

We consider an N=1 U(N) gauge theory with matter in the antisymmetric representation and its conjugate, with a tree level superpotential containing at least quartic interactions for these fields. We obtain the effective glueball superpotential in the classically unbroken case, and show that it has a non-trivial N-dependence which does not factorize. We also recover additional contributions starting at order S^N from the dynamics of Sp(0) factors. This can also be understood by a precise map of this theory to an Sp(2N-2) gauge theory with antisymmetric matter.

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arXiv2004

Equivalence of effective superpotentials

We show that the low-energy effective superpotential of an N=1 U(N) gauge theory with matter in the adjoint and arbitrary even tree-level superpotential has, in the classically unbroken case, the same functional form as the effective superpotential of a U(N) gauge theory with matter in the fundamental and the same tree-level interactions, up to some rescalings of the couplings. We also argue that the same kind of reasoning can be applied to other cases as well.

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arXiv2004

An Introduction to Supersymmetric Gauge Theories and Matrix Models

We give an introduction to the recently established connection between supersymmetric gauge theories and matrix models. We begin by reviewing previous material that is required in order to follow the latest developments. This includes the superfield formulation of gauge theories, holomorphy, the chiral ring, the Konishi anomaly and the large N limit. We then present both the diagrammatic proof of the connection and the one based on the anomaly. Our discussion is entirely field theoretical and self contained.

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arXiv2003

Konishi Anomaly and Chiral Gauge Theories

We begin with a brief introduction on N=1 gauge theories, focusing on the importance of the effective superpotential in light of the new techniques to compute it systematically. We then proceed to consider theories for which the Konishi anomaly proves to be enough to solve exactly for the effective superpotential. As an example we study a chiral SO(10) gauge theory, where we also discuss the occurrence of dynamical supersymmetry breaking.

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arXiv2003

Chiral SU(N) Gauge Theories and the Konishi Anomaly

We study chiral SU(N) supersymmetric gauge theories with matter in the antifundamental and antisymmetric representations. For SU(5) with two families, we show how to reproduce the non-perturbatively generated superpotential, and we discuss dynamical supersymmetry breaking purely in terms of the Konishi anomaly. We apply the same technique in general to SU(N) with one family. We also briefly comment on the chiral ring for these theories.

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arXiv2003

Exact Superpotentials for Theories with Flavors via a Matrix Integral

We extend and test the method of Dijkgraaf and Vafa for computing the superpotential of N=1 theories to include flavors in the fundamental representation of the gauge group. This amounts to computing the contribution to the superpotential from surfaces with one boundary in the matrix integral. We compute exactly the effective superpotential for the case of gauge group U(N_c), N_f massive flavor chiral multiplets in the fundamental and one massive chiral multiplet in the adjoint, together with a Yukawa coupling. We compare up to sixth-order with the result obtained by standard field theory techniques in the already non trivial case of N_c=2 and N_f=1. The agreement is perfect.

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arXiv2002

Baryonic Corrections to Superpotentials from Perturbation Theory

We study the corrections induced by a baryon vertex to the superpotential of SQCD with gauge group SU(N) and N quark flavors. We first compute the corrections order by order using a standard field theory technique and derive the corresponding glueball superpotential by "integrating in" the glueball field. The structure of the corrections matches with the expectations from the recently introduced perturbative techniques. We then compute the first non-trivial contribution using this new technique and find exact quantitative agreement. This involves cancellations between diagrams that go beyond the planar approximation.

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arXiv2002

Freezing of Moduli with Fluxes in Three Dimensions

We study warped compactifications to three dimensions, realized as an orientifold of type IIA string theory on T^7. By turning on 3- and 4-form fluxes on the torus in a supersymmetric way, we generate a potential for the moduli fields. We present various flux configurations with N=1,2,3,4,5,6 supersymmetries and count the number of moduli in each case. In particular, we show that there are N=1 configurations where all but one of the moduli are frozen.

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arXiv2002

Comments on cosmological RG flows

We study cosmological backgrounds from the point of view of the dS/CFT correspondence and its renormalization group flow extension. We focus on the case where gravity is coupled to a single scalar with a potential. Depending on the latter, the scalar can drive both inflation and the accelerated expansion (dS) phase in the far future. We also comment on quintessence scenarios, and flows familiar from the AdS/CFT correspondence. We finally make a tentative embedding of this discussion in string theory where the scalar is the dilaton and the potential is generated at the perturbative level.

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arXiv2001

String Theory on AdS_3 and Symmetric Products

We consider string theory on a background of the form AdS_3 x N. Our aim is to give a description of the dual CFT in a general set up. With the requirement that we have N=2 supersymmetry in spacetime, we provide evidence that the dual CFT is in the moduli space of a certain symmetric product M^p/S_p. On the way to show this, we reproduce some recent results on string propagation on AdS_3 and extend them to the superstring.

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arXiv2000

The Spectrum of N=3 String Theory on AdS_3 x G/H

We continue the study of string theory on AdS_3 x SU(3)/U(1) and AdS_3 x SO(5)/SO(3). We compute the spacetime spectrum of the N=3 supersymmetric dual CFT using worldsheet techniques. The spectrum of chiral primaries coincides for the two models. Unlike N=4 theories, the building block of the symmetric product in spacetime (corresponding to a single long string) is not by itself in the moduli space of a symmetric product.

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arXiv2000

Superstrings on AdS_3 and Symmetric Products

Some properties of N=2 superstrings on AdS_3 x N are studied. Their spectrum has the same pattern as 2-d CFTs in the moduli space of symmetric products M^p/S_p, where p is associated with the number of long fundamental strings required to construct the AdS_3 background, and M is the spacetime CFT corresponding to short string excitations of a single long string. Worldsheet operators associated with w long strings correspond to twisted sectors of M^p/S_p.

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arXiv2000

Superstring Theory on AdS_3 x G/H and Boundary N=3 Superconformal Symmetry

Superstrings propagating on backgrounds of the form AdS_3 x G/H are studied using the coset CFT approach. We focus on seven dimensional cosets which have a semiclassical limit, and which give rise to N=3 superconformal symmetry in the dual CFT. This is realized for the two cases AdS_3 x SU(3)/U(1) and AdS_3 x SO(5)/SO(3), for which we present an explicit construction. We also provide sufficient conditions on a CFT background to enable a similar construction, and comment on the geometrical interpretation of our results.

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arXiv1998

Brane Physics in M-theory

The thesis begins with an introduction to M-theory (at a graduate student's level), starting from perturbative string theory and proceeding to dualities, D-branes and finally Matrix theory. The following chapter treats, in a self-contained way, of general classical p-brane solutions. Black and extremal branes are reviewed, along with their semi-classical thermodynamics. We then focus on intersecting extremal branes, the intersection rules being derived both with and without the explicit use of supersymmetry. The last three chapters comprise more advanced aspects of brane physics, such as the dynamics of open branes, the little theories on the world-volume of branes and how the four dimensional Schwarzschild black hole can be mapped to an extremal configuration of branes, thus allowing for a statistical interpretation of its entropy. The original results were already reported in hep-th/9701042, hep-th/9704190, hep-th/9710027 and hep-th/9801053.

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arXiv1996

2+1 Black Hole with a Dynamical Conical Singularity

We find black hole solutions to Euclidean 2+1 gravity coupled to a relativistic particle which have a dynamical conical singularity at the horizon. These solutions mimic the tree level contribution to the partition function of gravity coupled to a quantum field theory. They are found to violate the standard area law for black hole entropy, their entropy being proportional to the total opening angle. Since each solution depends on the number of windings of the particle path around the horizon, the significance of their summation in the path integral is considered.

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