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T-branes at the limits of geometry

  • Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
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  • Published: 10 October 2017
  • volume 2017, Article number: 58 (2017)
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T-branes at the limits of geometry
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  • Lara B. Anderson1,
  • Jonathan J. Heckman2,
  • Sheldon Katz3 &
  • …
  • Laura P. Schaposnik4 

  • 325 Accesses

  • 28 Citations

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A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv.

Abstract

Singular limits of 6D F-theory compactifications are often captured by T-branes, namely a non-abelian configuration of intersecting 7-branes with a nilpotent matrix of normal deformations. The long distance approximation of such 7-branes is a Hitchin-like system in which simple and irregular poles emerge at marked points of the geometry. When multiple matter fields localize at the same point in the geometry, the associated Higgs field can exhibit irregular behavior, namely poles of order greater than one. This provides a geometric mechanism to engineer wild Higgs bundles. Physical constraints such as anomaly cancellation and consistent coupling to gravity also limit the order of such poles. Using this geometric formulation, we unify seemingly different wild Hitchin systems in a single framework in which orders of poles become adjustable parameters dictated by tuning gauge singlet moduli of the F-theory model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Robeson Hall, Virginia Tech, 850 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A.

    Lara B. Anderson

  2. Department of Physics, University of North Carolina, 120 E Cameron Ave, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, U.S.A.

    Jonathan J. Heckman

  3. Department of Mathematics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1409 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, U.S.A.

    Sheldon Katz

  4. Department of Mathematics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 851 S. Morgan Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A.

    Laura P. Schaposnik

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  1. Lara B. Anderson
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  2. Jonathan J. Heckman
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  4. Laura P. Schaposnik
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Correspondence to Lara B. Anderson.

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ArXiv ePrint: 1702.06137

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Cite this article

Anderson, L.B., Heckman, J.J., Katz, S. et al. T-branes at the limits of geometry. J. High Energ. Phys. 2017, 58 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2017)058

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  • Received: 26 May 2017

  • Revised: 31 July 2017

  • Accepted: 21 September 2017

  • Published: 10 October 2017

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP10(2017)058

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Keywords

  • F-Theory
  • Differential and Algebraic Geometry
  • Superstring Vacua
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