Instantons, Twistors, and Emergent Gravity

Motivated by potential applications to holography on space-times of positive curvature, and by the successful twistor description of scattering amplitudes, we propose a new dual matrix formulation of N = 4 gauge theory on S(4). The matrix model is defined by taking the low energy limit of a holomorphic Chern-Simons theory on CP(3|4), in the presence of a large instanton flux. The theory comes with a choice of S(4) radius L and a parameter N controlling the overall size of the matrices. The flat space variant of the 4D effective theory arises by taking the large N scaling limit of the matrix model, with l_pl^2 ~ L^2 / N held fixed. Its massless spectrum contains both spin one and spin two excitations, which we identify with gluons and gravitons. As shown in the companion paper, the matrix model correlation functions of both these excitations correctly reproduce the corresponding MHV scattering amplitudes. We present evidence that the scaling limit defines a gravitational theory with a finite Planck length. In particular we find that in the l_pl -> 0 limit, the matrix model makes contact with the CSW rules for amplitudes of pure gauge theory, which are uncontaminated by conformal supergravity. We also propose a UV completion for the system by embedding the matrix model in the physical superstring.Comment: v2: 64 pages, 3 figures, references added, typos correcte

Supersymmetric theories on squashed five-sphere

We construct supersymmetric theories on the SU(3)xU(1) symmetric squashed five-sphere with 2, 4, 6, and 12 supercharges. We first determine the Killing equation by dimensional reduction from 6d, and use Noether procedure to construct actions. The supersymmetric Yang-Mills action is straightforwardly obtained from the supersymmetric Chern-Simons action by using a supersymmetry preserving constant vector multiplet.Comment: 20 pages, no figure, LaTeX; v3: minor corrections, accepted for publication in PTE

Quantum contact interactions

The existence of several exotic phenomena, such as duality and spectral anholonomy is pointed out in one-dimensional quantum wire with a single defect. The topological structure in the spectral space which is behind these phenomena is identified.Comment: A lecture presented at the 2nd Winter Institute on Foundations of Quantum Theory and Quantum Optics (WINST02), Jan. 2-11, 2002, S.N.Bose Institute, Calcutta, India: 8 pages latex with Indian Acad. Sci. style fil

Higher spin matrix models

We propose a hybrid class of theories for higher spin gravity and matrix models, i.e. which handle simultaneously higher spin gravity fields and matrix models. The construction is similar to Vasiliev's higher spin gravity but part of the equations of motion are provided by the action principle of a matrix model. In particular we construct a higher spin (gravity) matrix model related to type IIB matrix models/string theory which have a well defined classical limit, and which is compatible with higher spin gravity in $AdS$ space. As it has been suggested that higher spin gravity should be related to string theory in a high energy (tensionless) regime, and therefore to M-Theory, we expect that our construction will be useful to explore concrete connections.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table. New references and corrections from referee reports are included in this version. Current form accepted in Universe journal for the special issue on Higher Spin Gauge Theorie

The classical R-matrix of AdS/CFT and its Lie dialgebra structure

The classical integrable structure of Z_4-graded supercoset sigma-models, arising in the AdS/CFT correspondence, is formulated within the R-matrix approach. The central object in this construction is the standard R-matrix of the Z_4-twisted loop algebra. However, in order to correctly describe the Lax matrix within this formalism, the standard inner product on this twisted loop algebra requires a further twist induced by the Zhukovsky map, which also plays a key role in the AdS/CFT correspondence. The non-ultralocality of the sigma-model can be understood as stemming from this latter twist since it leads to a non skew-symmetric R-matrix.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figure

Supersymmetric backgrounds from 5d N=1 supergravity

We construct curved backgrounds with Euclidean signature admitting rigid supersymmetry by using a 5d N=1 off-shell Poincare supergravity. We solve the conditions for the background Weyl multiplet and vector multiplets that preserve at least one supersymmetry parameterized by a symplectic Majorana spinor, and represent the solution in terms of several independent fields. We also show that the partition function does not depends on the local degrees of freedom of the background fields. Namely, as far as we focus on a single coordinate patch, we can freely change the independent fields by combining Q-exact deformations and gauge transformations. We also discuss realization of several known examples of supersymmetric theories in curved backgrounds by using the supergravity.Comment: 31 pages, no figures; v2: references adde

Quantum Gravity on the Lattice

I review the lattice approach to quantum gravity, and how it relates to the non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point scenario of the continuum theory. After a brief introduction covering the general problem of ultraviolet divergences in gravity and other non-renormalizable theories, I cover the general methods and goals of the lattice approach. An underlying theme is the attempt at establishing connections between the continuum renormalization group results, which are mainly based on diagrammatic perturbation theory, and the recent lattice results, which apply to the strong gravity regime and are inherently non-perturbative. A second theme in this review is the ever-present natural correspondence between infrared methods of strongly coupled non-abelian gauge theories on the one hand, and the low energy approach to quantum gravity based on the renormalization group and universality of critical behavior on the other. Towards the end of the review I discuss possible observational consequences of path integral quantum gravity, as derived from the non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point scenario. I argue that the theoretical framework naturally leads to considering a weakly scale-dependent Newton's costant, with a scaling violation parameter related to the observed scaled cosmological constant (and not, as naively expected, to the Planck length).Comment: 63 pages, 12 figure

Supersymmetric gauge theories on five-manifolds

We construct rigid supersymmetric gauge theories on Riemannian five-manifolds. We follow a holographic approach, realizing the manifold as the conformal boundary of a six-dimensional bulk supergravity solution. This leads to a systematic classification of five-dimensional supersymmetric backgrounds with gravity duals. We show that the background metric is furnished with a conformal Killing vector, which generates a transversely holomorphic foliation with a transverse Hermitian structure. Moreover, we prove that any such metric defines a supersymmetric background. Finally, we construct supersymmetric Lagrangians for gauge theories coupled to arbitrary matter on such backgrounds.Comment: 35 pages: v2: minor corrections and references added. Published versio

Heterotic M-theory in Five Dimensions

We derive the five-dimensional effective action of strongly coupled heterotic string theory for the complete (1,1) sector of the theory by performing a reduction, on a Calabi-Yau three-fold, of M-theory on S^1/Z_2. A crucial ingredient for a consistent truncation is a non-zero mode of the antisymmetric tensor field strength which arises due to magnetic sources on the orbifold planes. The correct effective theory is a gauged version of five-dimensional N=1 supergravity coupled to Abelian vector multiplets, the universal hypermultiplet and four-dimensional boundary theories with gauge and gauge matter fields. The gauging is such that the dual of the four-form field strength in the universal multiplet is charged under a particular linear combination of the Abelian vector fields. In addition, the theory has potential terms for the moduli in the bulk as well as on the boundary. Because of these potential terms, the supersymmetric ground state of the theory is a multi-charged BPS three-brane domain wall, which we construct in general. We show that the five-dimensional theory together with this solution provides the correct starting point for particle phenomenology as well as early universe cosmology. As an application, we compute the four-dimensional N=1 supergravity theory for the complete (1,1) sector to leading nontrivial order by a reduction on the domain wall background. We find a correction to the matter field Kahler potential and threshold corrections to the gauge kinetic functions.Comment: 47 pages, Latex 2e with amsmath, typos removed, some factors correcte