arXiv subjects

Sakura Schafer-Nameki

Publications and source records attributed to Sakura Schafer-Nameki.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Box Graphs and Resolutions I

Box graphs succinctly and comprehensively characterize singular fibers of elliptic fibrations in codimension two and three, as well as flop transitions connecting these, in terms of representation theoretic data. We develop a framework that provides a systematic map between a box graph and a crepant algebraic resolution of the singular elliptic fibration, thus allowing an explicit construction of the fibers from a singular Weierstrass or Tate model. The key tool is what we call a fiber face diagram, which shows the relevant information of a (partial) toric triangulation and allows the inclusion of more general algebraic blowups. We shown that each such diagram defines a sequence of weighted algebraic blowups, thus providing a realization of the fiber defined by the box graph in terms of an explicit resolution. We show this correspondence explicitly for the case of SU(5) by providing a map between box graphs and fiber faces, and thereby a sequence of algebraic resolutions of the Tate model, which realizes each of the box graphs.

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arXiv2014

Box Graphs and Singular Fibers

We determine the higher codimension fibers of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds with section by studying the three-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory with matter which describes the low energy effective theory of M-theory compactified on the associated Weierstrass model, a singular model of the fourfold. Each phase of the Coulomb branch of this theory corresponds to a particular resolution of the Weierstrass model, and we show that these have a concise description in terms of decorated box graphs based on the representation graph of the matter multiplets, or alternatively by a class of convex paths on said graph. Transitions between phases have a simple interpretation as `flopping' of the path, and in the geometry correspond to actual flop transitions. This description of the phases enables us to enumerate and determine the entire network between them, with various matter representations for all reductive Lie groups. Furthermore, we observe that each network of phases carries the structure of a (quasi-)minuscule representation of a specific Lie algebra. Interpreted from a geometric point of view, this analysis determines the generators of the cone of effective curves as well as the network of flop transitions between crepant resolutions of singular elliptic Calabi-Yau fourfolds. From the box graphs we determine all fiber types in codimensions two and three, and we find new, non-Kodaira, fiber types for E_6, E_7 and E_8.

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arXiv2013

Phases, Flops and F-theory: SU(5) Gauge Theories

We consider F-theory and M-theory compactifications on singular Calabi-Yau fourfolds with an SU(5) singularity. On the M-theory side this realizes three-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with matter, and compactification on a resolution of the fourfold corresponds to passing to the Coulomb branch of the gauge theory. The classical phase structure of these theories has a simple characterization in terms of subwedges of the fundamental Weyl chamber of the gauge group. This phase structure has a counterpart in the network of small resolutions of the Calabi-Yau fourfold. We determine the geometric realization of each phase, which crucially depends on the fiber structure in codimension 2 and 3, including the network structure, which is realized in terms of flop transitions. This results in a set of small resolutions, which do not have a standard algebraic or toric realization, but are obtained by flops along codimension 2 (matter) loci.

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arXiv2013

The Tate Form on Steroids: Resolution and Higher Codimension Fibers

F-theory on singular elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau four-folds provides a setting to geometrically study four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories, including matter and Yukawa couplings. The gauge degrees of freedom arise from the codimension 1 singular loci, the matter and Yukawa couplings are generated at enhanced singularities in higher codimension. We construct the resolution of the singular Tate form for an elliptic Calabi-Yau four-fold with an ADE type singularity in codimension 1 and study the structure of the fibers in codimension 2 and 3. We determine the fibers in higher codimension which in general are of Kodaira type along minimal singular loci, and are thus consistent with the low energy gauge-theoretic intuition. Furthermore, we provide a complementary description of the fibers in higher codimension, which will also be applicable to non-minimal singularities. The irreducible components in the fiber in codimension 2 correspond to weights of representations of the ADE gauge group. These can split further in codimension 3 in a way that is consistent with the generation of Yukawa couplings. Applying this reasoning, we then venture out to study non-minimal singularities, which occur for A type along codimension 3, and for D and E also in codimension 2. The fibers in this case are non-Kodaira, however some insight into these singularities can be gained by considering the splitting of fiber components along higher codimension, which are shown to be consistent with matter and Yukawa couplings for the corresponding gauge groups.

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arXiv2012

Global Gluing and G-flux

Local models that capture the 7-brane physics of F-theory compactifications for supersymmetric GUTs are conveniently described in terms of an E_8 gauge theory in the presence of a Higgs bundle. Though the Higgs bundle data is usually determined by the local geometry and G-flux, additional gluing data must be specified whenever the Higgs bundle spectral cover is not smooth. In this paper, we argue that this additional information is determined by data of the M-theory 3-form that is not necessarily captured by the cohomology class of the G-flux. More specifically, we show that when the 3-form is specified in terms of a line bundle on a spectral divisor, which is a global extension of the Higgs bundle spectral cover, the gluing data of the local model is uniquely determined in a way that ensures agreement with Heterotic results whenever a Heterotic dual exists.

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arXiv2012

G-flux and Spectral Divisors

We propose a construction of G-flux in singular elliptic Calabi-Yau fourfold compactifications of F-theory, which in the local limit allow a spectral cover description. The main tool of construction is the so-called spectral divisor in the resolved Calabi-Yau geometry, which in the local limit reduces to the Higgs bundle spectral cover. We exemplify the workings of this in the case of an E_6 singularity by constructing the resolved geometry, the spectral divisor and in the local limit, the spectral cover. The G-flux constructed with the spectral divisor is shown to be equivalent to the direct construction from suitably quantized linear combinations of holomorphic surfaces in the resolved geometry, and in the local limit reduces to the spectral cover flux.

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arXiv2012

Review of AdS/CFT Integrability: An Overview

This is the introductory chapter of a review collection on integrability in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence. In the collection we present an overview of the achievements and the status of this subject as of the year 2010.

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arXiv2011

Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter II.4: The Spectral Curve

We review the spectral curve for the classical string in AdS5xS5. Classical integrability of the AdS5xS5 string implies the existence of a flat connection, whose monodromies generate an infinite set of conserved charges. The spectral curve is constructed out of the quasi-momenta, which are eigenvalues of the monodromy matrix, and each finite-gap classical solution can be characterized in terms of such a curve. This provides a concise and powerful description of the classical solution space. In addition, semi-classical quantization of the string can be performed in terms of the quasi-momenta. We review the general frame-work of the semi-classical quantization in this context and exemplify it with the circular string solution which is supported on RxS3 in AdS5xS5.

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arXiv2011

On G-flux, M5 instantons, and U(1)s in F-theory

Local aspects of singular F-theory compactifications for SUSY GUT model-building are fairly well understood in terms of Higgs bundles and their spectral data. Several global issues remain, however, including a description of G-fluxes, which are key to constructing chiral matter and stabilizing moduli, and the global realization of U(1) symmetries that can forbid phenomenologically unfavorable couplings. In this paper, we sharpen our earlier proposal for describing G-fluxes through "spectral divisors" and introduce a distinguished "Tate divisor", which can be used to describe both G-flux and U(1)s when present. As an application, we give a general discussion of M5-instanton contributions in the presence of G-flux and exemplify this in a concrete example, where we comment on the ability of instanton induced superpotential couplings to stabilize Kahler moduli.

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arXiv2011

Unification and Phenomenology of F-Theory GUTs with U(1)_PQ

We undertake a phenomenological study of SU(5) F-theory GUT models with an additional U(1)_{PQ} symmetry. In such models, breaking SU(5) with hypercharge flux leads to the presence of non-GUT multiplets in the spectrum. We study the effect these have on the unification of gauge couplings, including two-loop running as well as low- and high-scale threshold corrections. We use the requirement of unification to constrain the size of thresholds from KK modes of SU(5) gauge and matter fields. Assuming the non-GUT multiplets play the role of messengers of gauge mediation leads to controlled non-universalities in the sparticle spectrum while maintaining grand unification, and we study the LHC phenomenology of this scenario. We find that the MSSM spectrum may become compressed or stretched out {by up to a factor of three} depending on the distribution of hypercharge flux. We present a set of benchmark points whose production cross-sections and decays we investigate, and argue that precision kinematic edge measurements will allow the LHC to distinguish between our model and mGMSB.

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arXiv2011

Yukawas, G-flux, and Spectral Covers from Resolved Calabi-Yau's

We use the resolution procedure of Esole and Yau arXiv:1107.0733 to study Yukawa couplings, G-flux, and the emergence of spectral covers from elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau's with a surface of A_4 singularities. We provide a global description of the Esole-Yau resolution and use it to explicitly compute Chern classes of the resolved 4-fold, proving the conjecture of arXiv:0908.1784 for the Euler character in the process. We comment on the physical implications of the surprising singular fibers in codimension 2 and 3 in arXiv:1107.0733 and emphasize a group theoretic interpretation based on the A_4 weight lattice. We then construct explicit G-fluxes by brute force in one of the 6 birationally equivalent Esole-Yau resolutions, quantize them explicitly using our result for the second Chern class, and compute the spectrum and flux-induced 3-brane charges, finding agreement with results and conjectures of local models in all cases. Finally, we provide a precise description of the spectral divisor formalism in this setting and sharpen the procedure described in arXiv:1107.1718 in order to explicitly demonstrate how the Higgs bundle spectral cover of the local model emerges from the resolved Calabi-Yau geometry. Along the way, we demonstrate explicitly how the quantization rules for fluxes in the local and global models are related.

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arXiv2011

A Hybrid Higgs

We construct composite Higgs models admitting a weakly coupled Seiberg dual description. We focus on the possibility that only the up-type Higgs is an elementary field, while the down-type Higgs arises as a composite hadron. The model, based on a confining SQCD theory, breaks supersymmetry and electroweak symmetry dynamically and calculably. This simultaneously solves the μ/B_μproblem and explains the smallness of the bottom and tau masses compared to the top mass. The proposal is then applied to a class of models where the same confining dynamics is used to generate the Standard Model flavor hierarchy by quark and lepton compositeness. This provides a unified framework for flavor, supersymmetry breaking and electroweak physics. The weakly coupled dual is used to explicitly compute the MSSM parameters in terms of a few microscopic couplings, giving interesting relations between the electroweak and soft parameters. The RG evolution down to the TeV scale is obtained and salient phenomenological predictions of this class of "single-sector" models are discussed.

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arXiv2011

A Note on G-Fluxes for F-theory Model Building

We propose a description of G-fluxes that induce chirality in 4-dimensional F-theory GUT spectra that is intrinsic to F-theory and does not rely on Heterotic/F-theory duality. Using this, we describe how to globally extend fluxes that have been constructed in a semi-local setting and obtain an F-theoretic formula for computing the chiral spectrum that they induce. Chirality computations agree with those from the semi-local Higgs bundle analysis for matter fields that are charged under the GUT-group, and hence with the standard Heterotic formulae where applicable. Finally, the relation of G-fluxes to SU(5)_{perp} bundles on the F-theory 4-fold is discussed and used to motivate a quantization rule that is consistent both with the Higgs bundle one as well as the Heterotic one when a Heterotic dual exists.

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arXiv2011

F-theory GUTs with U(1) Symmetries: Generalities and Survey

We study the structure of SU(5) F-theory GUT models that engineer additional U(1) symmetries. These are highly constrained by a set of relations observed by Dudas and Palti (DP) that originate from the physics of 4D anomaly cancellation. Using the DP relations, we find a general tension between unification and the suppression of dimension 5 proton decay when one or more U(1)'s are PQ symmetries and hypercharge flux is used to break the SU(5) GUT group. We then specialize to spectral cover models, whose global completions in F- theory we know how to construct. In that setting, we provide a technical derivation of the DP relations, construct spectral covers that yield all possible solutions to them, and provide a complete survey of spectral cover models for SU(5) GUTs that exhibit two U(1) symmetries.

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arXiv2010

Naturalness from runaways in direct mediation

Postulating that the NMSSM singlet is a meson of a microscopic confining theory opens up new model-building possibilities. Based on this, we construct calculable models of direct mediation that solve the mu/Bmu problem and simultaneously lead to realistic phenomenology. The singlet that couples to the Higgs fields develops a runaway produced by soft interactions, then stabilized by a small superpotential perturbation. The mechanism is first realized in an O'Raifeartaigh model of direct gauge mediation with metastable supersymmetry breaking. Focusing then on the microscopic theory, we argue that super QCD with massless and massive flavors in the free magnetic phase gives rise to this dynamics in the infrared. A deformation of the SQCD superpotential leads to large spontaneous R-symmetry breaking, gaugino masses naturally at the scale of the Higgs mass parameters, and absence of CP violating phases.

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arXiv2010

Quantum corrections to spinning strings in AdS(5)xS(5) and Bethe ansatz: a comparative study

We analyze quantum corrections to rigid spinning strings in AdS(5)xS(5). The one-loop worldsheet quantum correction to the string energy is compared to the finite-size correction from the quantum string Bethe ansatz. Expanding the summands of the string theory energy shift in the parameter λ/J^2 and subsequently resumming them yields a divergent result. However, upon zeta-function regularization this result agrees with the Bethe ansatz at the first three orders. We also perform an analogous computation in the limit of large winding number, which results in a disagreement with the string Bethe ansatz prediction. A similar mismatch is observed numerically. We comment on the possible origin of this discrepancy.

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arXiv2010

How Accurate is the Quantum String Bethe Ansatz?

We compare solutions of the quantum string Bethe equations with explicit one-loop calculations in the sigma-model on AdS(5)xS(5). The Bethe ansatz exactly reproduces the spectrum of infinitely long strings. When the length is finite, we find that deviations from the exact answer arise which are exponentially small in the string length.

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arXiv2009

Compact F-theory GUTs with U(1)_PQ

We construct semi-local and global realizations of SU(5) GUTs in F-theory that utilize a U(1)_PQ symmetry to protect against dimension four proton decay. Symmetries of this type, which assign charges to H_u and H_d that forbid a tree level μterm, play an important role in scenarios for neutrino physics and gauge mediation that have been proposed in local F-theory model building. As demonstrated in arXiv:0906.4672, the presence of such a symmetry implies the existence of non-GUT exotics in the spectrum, when hypercharge flux is used to break the GUT group and to give rise to doublet-triplet splitting. These exotics are of precisely the right type to solve the unification problem in such F-theory models and might also comprise a non-standard messenger sector for gauge mediation. We present a detailed description of models with U(1)_PQ in the semi-local regime, which does not depend on details of any specific Calabi-Yau four-fold, and then specialize to the geometry of arXiv:0904.3932 to construct three-generation examples with the minimal allowed number of non-GUT exotics. Among these, we find a handful of models in which the D3-tadpole constraint can be satisfied without requiring the introduction of anti-D3-branes. Finally, because SU(5) singlets that carry U(1)_PQ charge may serve as candidate right-handed neutrinos or can be used to lift the exotics, we study their origin in compact models and motivate a conjecture for how to count their zero modes in a semi-local setting.

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