arXiv subjects

Sheer El-Showk

Publications and source records attributed to Sheer El-Showk.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Black hole bound states in AdS_3 x S^2

We systematically construct the geometries dual to the 1+1 dimensional (0,4) conformal field theories that arise in the low-energy description of wrapped M5-branes in S^1 x CY_3 compactifications of M-theory. This includes a large number of multicentered black hole bound states asymptotic to AdS_3 x S^2. In addition, we find many geometries that develop multiple, mutually decoupled AdS_3 x S^2 throats. We argue there is a useful one to one correspondence between the connected components of the space of solutions and particular limits of type IIA attractor flow trees. We point out that there is a thermodynamic instability of small supersymmetric BTZ black holes to localization on the S^2, a supersymmetric and exactly solvable analog of the well known AdS-Schwarzschild localization instability, and identify this with the ``Entropy Enigma'' in four dimensions. We discuss the phase transition this suggests, and initiate the CFT interpretation of these results.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

G2 Hitchin functionals at one loop

We consider the quantization of the effective target space description of topological M-theory in terms of the Hitchin functional whose critical points describe seven-manifolds with G2 structure. The one-loop partition function for this theory is calculated and an extended version of it, that is related to generalized G2 geometry, is compared with the topological G2 string. We relate the reduction of the effective action for the extended G2 theory to the Hitchin functional description of the topological string in six dimensions. The dependence of the partition functions on the choice of background G2 metric is also determined.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Open G2 Strings

We consider an open string version of the topological twist previously proposed for sigma-models with G2 target spaces. We determine the cohomology of open strings states and relate these to geometric deformations of calibrated submanifolds and to flat or anti-self-dual connections on such submanifolds. On associative three-cycles we show that the worldvolume theory is a gauge-fixed Chern-Simons theory coupled to normal deformations of the cycle. For coassociative four-cycles we find a functional that extremizes on anti-self-dual gauge fields. A brane wrapping the whole G2 induces a seven-dimensional associative Chern-Simons theory on the manifold. This theory has already been proposed by Donaldson and Thomas as the higher-dimensional generalization of real Chern-Simons theory. When the G2 manifold has the structure of a Calabi-Yau times a circle, these theories reduce to a combination of the open A-model on special Lagrangians and the open B+\bar{B}-model on holomorphic submanifolds. We also comment on possible applications of our results.

hep-th↗