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T-branes and monodromy

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Abstract

We introduce T-branes, or “triangular branes”, which are novel non-abelian bound states of branes characterized by the condition that on some loci, their matrix of normal deformations, or Higgs field, is upper triangular. These configurations refine the notion of monodromic branes which have recently played a key role in F-theory phenomenology. We show how localized matter living on complex codimension one subspaces emerge, and explain how to compute their Yukawa couplings, which are localized in complex codimension two. Not only do T-branes clarify what is meant by brane monodromy, they also open up a vast array of new possibilities both for phenomenological constructions and for purely theoretical applications. We show that for a general T-brane, the eigenvalues of the Higgs field can fail to capture the spectrum of localized modes. In particular, this provides a method for evading some constraints on F-theory GUTs which have assumed that the spectral equation for the Higgs field completely determines a local model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Via Bonomea 265, 34100, Trieste, Italy

    Sergio Cecotti

  2. Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A.

    Clay Córdova & Cumrun Vafa

  3. School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, 08540, U.S.A.

    Jonathan J. Heckman

  4. Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, U.S.A.

    Cumrun Vafa

Authors
  1. Sergio Cecotti
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  2. Clay Córdova
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  3. Jonathan J. Heckman
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  4. Cumrun Vafa
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Correspondence to Clay Córdova.

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ArXiv ePrint: arXiv:1010.5780

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Cecotti, S., Córdova, C., Heckman, J.J. et al. T-branes and monodromy. J. High Energ. Phys. 2011, 30 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2011)030

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