Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

MSW instantons

  • Published:
Journal of High Energy Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We analyze M5-instantons in F-theory, or equivalently D3-instantons with varying axio-dilaton, in the presence of 7-brane gauge groups. The chiral two-form on the M5-brane plays an important role, because it couples the M5 brane to vector multiplets and charged chiral fields. The chiral two-form does not have a semi-classical description. However if the worldvolume of the M5 admits a fibration over a curve with surface fibers, then we can reduce the worldvolume theory to an ‘MSW’ CFT by shrinking the surface. For this class of MSW instantons, we can use heterotic methods to do computations. We explain this in some detail using the physical gauge approach. We further compare M5-instantons with D3-instantons in perturbative type IIb and find some striking differences. In particular, we show that instanton zero modes tend to disappear and constraints from chirality on instanton contributions to the superpotential evaporate for finite string coupling.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

References

  1. K. Becker, M. Becker and A. Strominger, Five-branes, membranes and nonperturbative string theory, Nucl. Phys. B 456 (1995) 130 [hep-th/9507158] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. J.A. Harvey and G.W. Moore, Superpotentials and membrane instantons, hep-th/9907026 [INSPIRE].

  3. E. Witten, World sheet corrections via D instantons, JHEP 02 (2000) 030 [hep-th/9907041] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. C. Vafa, Evidence for F-theory, Nucl. Phys. B 469 (1996) 403 [hep-th/9602022] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. E. Witten, Five-brane effective action in M-theory, J. Geom. Phys. 22 (1997) 103 [hep-th/9610234] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  6. R. Donagi and M. Wijnholt, Model building with F-theory, Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 15 (2011) 1237 [arXiv:0802.2969] [INSPIRE].

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. C. Beasley, J.J. Heckman and C. Vafa, GUTs and exceptional branes in F-theory — I, JHEP 01 (2009) 058 [arXiv:0802.3391] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. H. Hayashi, R. Tatar, Y. Toda, T. Watari and M. Yamazaki, New aspects of heterotic-F theory duality, Nucl. Phys. B 806 (2009) 224 [arXiv:0805.1057] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. A. Sen, Orientifold limit of F-theory vacua, Phys. Rev. D 55 (1997) 7345 [hep-th/9702165] [INSPIRE].

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. A. Clingher, R. Donagi and M. Wijnholt, The Sen limit, arXiv:1212.4505 [INSPIRE].

  11. O.J. Ganor, A note on zeros of superpotentials in F-theory, Nucl. Phys. B 499 (1997) 55 [hep-th/9612077] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. R. Donagi and M. Wijnholt, Higgs bundles and UV completion in F-theory, arXiv:0904.1218 [INSPIRE].

  13. R. Blumenhagen, S. Moster and E. Plauschinn, Moduli stabilisation versus chirality for MSSM like type IIB orientifolds, JHEP 01 (2008) 058 [arXiv:0711.3389] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. R. Donagi, S. Katz and M. Wijnholt, Weak coupling, degeneration and log Calabi-Yau spaces, arXiv:1212.0553 [INSPIRE].

  15. J.M. Maldacena, A. Strominger and E. Witten, Black hole entropy in M-theory, JHEP 12 (1997) 002 [hep-th/9711053] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. E.I. Buchbinder, R. Donagi and B.A. Ovrut, Superpotentials for vector bundle moduli, Nucl. Phys. B 653 (2003) 400 [hep-th/0205190] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. R. Donagi and M. Wijnholt, Gluing branes, I, JHEP 05 (2013) 068 [arXiv:1104.2610] [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. R. Donagi and M. Wijnholt, Gluing branes II: flavour physics and string duality, JHEP 05 (2013) 092 [arXiv:1112.4854] [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. R. Blumenhagen, M. Cvetič, S. Kachru and T. Weigand, D-brane instantons in type II orientifolds, Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 59 (2009) 269 [arXiv:0902.3251] [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. J.J. Heckman, J. Marsano, N. Saulina, S. Schäfer-Nameki and C. Vafa, Instantons and SUSY breaking in F-theory, arXiv:0808.1286 [INSPIRE].

  21. M. Cvetič, I. Garcia-Etxebarria and R. Richter, Branes and instantons at angles and the F-theory lift of O(1) instantons, AIP Conf. Proc. 1200 (2010) 246 [arXiv:0911.0012] [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. M. Cvetič, I. Garcia-Etxebarria and J. Halverson, Global F-theory models: instantons and gauge dynamics, JHEP 01 (2011) 073 [arXiv:1003.5337] [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. R. Blumenhagen, A. Collinucci and B. Jurke, On instanton effects in F-theory, JHEP 08 (2010) 079 [arXiv:1002.1894] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. M. Wijnholt, MSW quantum cohomology, talk given at the workshop GUTs and Strings , February 10–12, Munich, Germany (2010).

  25. C. Beasley and E. Witten, New instanton effects in string theory, JHEP 02 (2006) 060 [hep-th/0512039] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. J. Wess and J. Bagger, Supersymmetry and supergravity, Princeton University Press, Princeton U.S.A. (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  27. G. Curio, Perspectives on pfaffians of heterotic world-sheet instantons, JHEP 09 (2009) 131 [arXiv:0904.2738] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. J. Distler and B.R. Greene, Some exact results on the superpotential from Calabi-Yau compactifications, Nucl. Phys. B 309 (1988) 295 [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. J.-M. Bismut, H. Gillet and C. Soulé, Analytic torsion and holomorphic determinant bundles III: Quillen metrics on holomorphic determinants, Comm. Math. Phys. 115 (1988) 302.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. L. Álvarez-Gaumé, G.W. Moore and C. Vafa, Theta functions, modular invariance and strings, Commun. Math. Phys. 106 (1986) 1 [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  31. S. Weinberg, The quantum theory of fields. Volume 3: supersymmetry, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge U.K. (2000).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  32. E. Witten and J. Bagger, Quantization of Newton’s constant in certain supergravity theories, Phys. Lett. B 115 (1982) 202 [INSPIRE].

    MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. P. Berglund et al., On the instanton contributions to the masses and couplings of E 6 singlets, Nucl. Phys. B 454 (1995) 127 [hep-th/9505164] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. M. Dine, N. Seiberg, X. Wen and E. Witten, Nonperturbative effects on the string world sheet. 2, Nucl. Phys. B 289 (1987) 319 [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. R. Kallosh, A.-K. Kashani-Poor and A. Tomasiello, Counting fermionic zero modes on M5 with fluxes, JHEP 06 (2005) 069 [hep-th/0503138] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. N. Saulina, Topological constraints on stabilized flux vacua, Nucl. Phys. B 720 (2005) 203 [hep-th/0503125] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. E. Witten, Nonperturbative superpotentials in string theory, Nucl. Phys. B 474 (1996) 343 [hep-th/9604030] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. S.H. Katz and C. Vafa, Geometric engineering of N = 1 quantum field theories, Nucl. Phys. B 497 (1997) 196 [hep-th/9611090] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. A.M. Polyakov, Quark confinement and topology of gauge groups, Nucl. Phys. B 120 (1977) 429 [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. D.-E. Diaconescu and S. Gukov, Three-dimensional N = 2 gauge theories and degenerations of Calabi-Yau four folds, Nucl. Phys. B 535 (1998) 171 [hep-th/9804059] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. J. de Boer, K. Hori and Y. Oz, Dynamics of N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories in three-dimensions, Nucl. Phys. B 500 (1997) 163 [hep-th/9703100] [INSPIRE].

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. E. Witten, Duality relations among topological effects in string theory, JHEP 05 (2000) 031 [hep-th/9912086] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. M. Henningson, B.E. Nilsson and P. Salomonson, Holomorphic factorization of correlation functions in (4k + 2)-dimensional (2k) form gauge theory, JHEP 09 (1999) 008 [hep-th/9908107] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. R. Donagi and M. Wijnholt, Breaking GUT groups in F-theory, Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 15 (2011) 1523 [arXiv:0808.2223] [INSPIRE].

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  45. G. Curio and R.Y. Donagi, Moduli in N = 1 heterotic/F theory duality, Nucl. Phys. B 518 (1998) 603 [hep-th/9801057] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. J. Polchinski, String theory. Volume 2: superstring theory and beyond, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge U.K. (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  47. T. Pantev and M. Wijnholt, Hitchin’s equations and M-theory phenomenology, J. Geom. Phys. 61 (2011) 1223 [arXiv:0905.1968] [INSPIRE].

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6395, U.S.A.

    Ron Donagi

  2. Physics Department, Harvard University, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A.

    Martijn Wijnholt

Authors
  1. Ron Donagi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martijn Wijnholt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martijn Wijnholt.

Additional information

ArXiv ePrint: 1005.5391

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Donagi, R., Wijnholt, M. MSW instantons. J. High Energ. Phys. 2013, 50 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2013)050

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2013)050

Keywords

Search

Navigation