Deconstruction and other approaches to supersymmetric lattice field theories

This report contains both a review of recent approaches to supersymmetric lattice field theories and some new results on the deconstruction approach. The essential reason for the complex phase problem of the fermion determinant is shown to be derivative interactions that are not present in the continuum. These irrelevant operators violate the self-conjugacy of the fermion action that is present in the continuum. It is explained why this complex phase problem does not disappear in the continuum limit. The fermion determinant suppression of various branches of the classical moduli space is explored, and found to be supportive of previous claims regarding the continuum limit.Comment: 70 page

Simulating Four-Dimensional Simplicial Gravity using Degenerate Triangulations

We extend a model of four-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity to include degenerate triangulations in addition to combinatorial triangulations traditionally used. Relaxing the constraint that every 4-simplex is uniquely defined by a set of five distinct vertexes, we allow triangulations containing multiply connected simplexes and distinct simplexes defined by the same set of vertexes. We demonstrate numerically that including degenerated triangulations substantially reduces the finite-size effects in the model. In particular, we provide a strong numerical evidence for an exponential bound on the entropic growth of the ensemble of degenerate triangulations, and show that a discontinuous crumpling transition is already observed on triangulations of volume N_4 ~= 4000.Comment: Latex, 8 pages, 4 eps-figure

Lattice formulation of (2,2) supersymmetric gauge theories with matter fields

We construct lattice actions for a variety of (2,2) supersymmetric gauge theories in two dimensions with matter fields interacting via a superpotential.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures. Appendix added, references updated, typos fixe

Wess-Zumino model with exact supersymmetry on the lattice

A lattice formulation of the four dimensional Wess-Zumino model that uses Ginsparg-Wilson fermions and keeps exact supersymmetry is presented. The supersymmetry transformation that leaves invariant the action at finite lattice spacing is determined by performing an iterative procedure in the coupling constant. The closure of the algebra, generated by this transformation is also showed.Comment: 13 pages. Few references added. New appendix on Ward identity added. Version to be published in JHE

Twisted Supersymmetric Gauge Theories and Orbifold Lattices

We examine the relation between twisted versions of the extended supersymmetric gauge theories and supersymmetric orbifold lattices. In particular, for the $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in $d=4$, we show that the continuum limit of orbifold lattice reproduces the twist introduced by Marcus, and the examples at lower dimensions are usually Blau-Thompson type. The orbifold lattice point group symmetry is a subgroup of the twisted Lorentz group, and the exact supersymmetry of the lattice is indeed the nilpotent scalar supersymmetry of the twisted versions. We also introduce twisting in terms of spin groups of finite point subgroups of $R$-symmetry and spacetime symmetry.Comment: 32 page

Various Super Yang-Mills Theories with Exact Supersymmetry on the Lattice

We continue to construct lattice super Yang-Mills theories along the line discussed in the previous papers \cite{sugino, sugino2}. In our construction of ${\cal N}=2, 4$ theories in four dimensions, the problem of degenerate vacua seen in \cite{sugino} is resolved by extending some fields and soaking up would-be zero-modes in the continuum limit, while in the weak coupling expansion some surplus modes appear both in bosonic and fermionic sectors reflecting the exact supersymmetry. A slight modification to the models is made such that all the surplus modes are eliminated in two- and three-dimensional models obtained by dimensional reduction thereof. ${\cal N}=4, 8$ models in three dimensions need fine-tuning of three and one parameters respectively to obtain the desired continuum theories, while two-dimensional models with ${\cal N}=4, 8$ do not require any fine-tuning.Comment: 28 pages, no figure, LaTeX, JHEP style; (v2) published version to JHEP; (v3) argument on the vacuum degeneracy revised, 34 page

Shape transformations of a model of self-avoiding triangulated surfaces of sphere topology

We study a surface model with a self-avoiding (SA) interaction using the canonical Monte Carlo simulation technique on fixed-connectivity (FC) triangulated lattices of sphere topology. The model is defined by an area energy, a deficit angle energy, and the SA potential. A pressure term is also included in the Hamiltonian. The volume enclosed by the surface is well defined because of the self-avoidance. We focus on whether or not the interaction influences the phase structure of the FC model under two different conditions of pressure ${\it \Delta} p$; zero and small negative. The results are compared with the previous results of the self-intersecting model, which has a rich variety of phases; the smooth spherical phase, the tubular phase, the linear phase, and the collapsed phase. We find that the influence of the SA interaction on the multitude of phases is almost negligible except for the evidence that no crumpled surface appears under {\it \Delta} p\=\0 at least even in the limit of zero bending rigidity \alpha\to \0. The Hausdorff dimension is obtained in the limit of \alpha\to \0 and compared with previous results of SA models, which are different from the one in this paper.Comment: 9 figure

Black hole thermodynamics from simulations of lattice Yang-Mills theory

We report on lattice simulations of 16 supercharge SU(N) Yang-Mills quantum mechanics in the 't Hooft limit. Maldacena duality conjectures that in this limit the theory is dual to IIA string theory, and in particular that the behavior of the thermal theory at low temperature is equivalent to that of certain black holes in IIA supergravity. Our simulations probe the low temperature regime for N <= 5 and the intermediate and high temperature regimes for N <= 12. We observe 't Hooft scaling and at low temperatures our results are consistent with the dual black hole prediction. The intermediate temperature range is dual to the Horowitz-Polchinski correspondence region, and our results are consistent with smooth behavior there. We include the Pfaffian phase arising from the fermions in our calculations where appropriate.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Lattice formulation of N=4{\cal N}=4 super Yang-Mills theory

We construct a lattice action for ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions which is local, gauge invariant, free of spectrum doubling and possesses a single exact supersymmetry. Our construction starts from the observation that the fermions of the continuum theory can be mapped into the component fields of a single real anticommuting Kahler-Dirac field. The original supersymmetry algebra then implies the existence of a nilpotent scalar supercharge $Q$ and a corresponding set of bosonic superpartners. Using this field content we write down a $Q$-exact action and show that, with an appropriate change of variables, it reduces to a well-known twist of ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory due to Marcus. Using the discretization prescription developed in an earlier paper on the ${\cal N}=2$ theory in two dimensions we are able to translate this geometrical action to the lattice.Comment: 15 pages. 1 reference correcte

Two-dimensional N=(2,2) super Yang-Mills theory on computer

We carry out preliminary numerical study of Sugino's lattice formulation \cite{Sugino:2004qd,Sugino:2004qdf} of the two-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ super Yang-Mills theory (2d $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ SYM) with the gauge group \SU(2). The effect of dynamical fermions is included by re-weighting a quenched ensemble by the pfaffian factor. It appears that the complex phase of the pfaffian due to lattice artifacts and flat directions of the classical potential are not problematic in Monte Carlo simulation. Various one-point supersymmetric Ward-Takahashi (WT) identities are examined for lattice spacings up to $a=0.5/g$ with the fixed physical lattice size $L=4.0/g$, where $g$ denotes the gauge coupling constant in two dimensions. WT identities implied by an exact fermionic symmetry of the formulation are confirmed in fair accuracy and, for most of these identities, the quantum effect of dynamical fermions is clearly observed. For WT identities expected only in the continuum limit, the results seem to be consistent with the behavior expected from supersymmetry, although we do not see clear distintion from the quenched simulation. We measure also the expectation values of renormalized gauge-invariant bi-linear operators of scalar fields.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, the distribution of the complex phase of the pffafian is also measured, the final version to appear in JHE