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Automatic enhancement in 6D supergravity and F-theory models

  • Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
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  • Published: 09 July 2021
  • volume 2021, Article number: 48 (2021)
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Automatic enhancement in 6D supergravity and F-theory models
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  • Nikhil Raghuram1,
  • Washington Taylor2 &
  • Andrew P. Turner  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0022-92703 

  • 119 Accesses

  • 7 Citations

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A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv.

Abstract

We observe that in many F-theory models, tuning a specific gauge group G and matter content M under certain circumstances leads to an automatic enhancement to a larger gauge group G′ ⊃ G and matter content M′ ⊃ M. We propose that this is true for any theory G, M whenever there exists a containing theory G′, M′ that cannot be Higgsed down to G, M. We give a number of examples including non-Higgsable gauge factors, nonabelian gauge factors, abelian gauge factors, and exotic matter. In each of these cases, tuning an F-theory model with the desired features produces either an enhancement or an inconsistency, often when the associated anomaly coefficient becomes too large. This principle applies to a variety of models in the apparent 6D supergravity swampland, including some of the simplest cases with U(1) and SU(N) gauge groups and generic matter, as well as infinite families of U(1) models with higher charges presented in the prior literature, potentially ruling out all these apparent swampland theories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Robeson Hall, 0435, Virginia Tech, 850 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Nikhil Raghuram

  2. Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Washington Taylor

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Andrew P. Turner

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  1. Nikhil Raghuram
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  2. Washington Taylor
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Correspondence to Andrew P. Turner.

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Raghuram, N., Taylor, W. & Turner, A.P. Automatic enhancement in 6D supergravity and F-theory models. J. High Energ. Phys. 2021, 48 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2021)048

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  • Received: 04 January 2021

  • Accepted: 12 June 2021

  • Published: 09 July 2021

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2021)048

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Keywords

  • F-Theory
  • Gauge Symmetry
  • Supergravity Models

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