749 research outputs found
Lessons from the Ramond sector
We revisit the consistency of torus partition functions in (1+1) fermionic
conformal field theories, combining traditional ingredients of modular
invariance/covariance with a modernized understanding of
bosonization/fermionization dualities. Various lessons can be learned by simply
examining the oft-ignored Ramond sector. For several extremal/kinky modular
functions in the bootstrap literature, we can either rule out or identify the
underlying theory. We also revisit the Maloney-Witten partition
function by calculating the spectrum in the Ramond sector, and further
extending it to include the modular sum of seed Ramond characters. Finally, we
perform the full RNS modular bootstrap and obtain new universal
results on the existence of relevant deformations preserving different amounts
of supersymmetry.Comment: 23+12 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, v2: minor change
On the Ground State Wave Function of Matrix Theory
We propose an explicit construction of the leading terms in the asymptotic
expansion of the ground state wave function of BFSS SU(N) matrix quantum
mechanics. Our proposal is consistent with the expected factorization property
in various limits of the Coulomb branch, and involves a different scaling
behavior from previous suggestions. We comment on some possible physical
implications.Comment: 21 page
Carving Out the End of the World or (Superconformal Bootstrap in Six Dimensions)
We bootstrap superconformal field theories in six
dimensions, by analyzing the four-point function of flavor current multiplets.
Assuming flavor group, we present universal bounds on the central charge
and the flavor central charge . Based on the numerical data, we
conjecture that the rank-one E-string theory saturates the universal lower
bound on , and numerically determine the spectrum of long multiplets in
the rank-one E-string theory. We comment on the possibility of solving the
higher-rank E-string theories by bootstrap and thereby probing M-theory on
AdS/.Comment: 59 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables; v2-v5: typos corrected, references
adde
Bootstrapping 2D CFTs in the Semiclassical Limit
We study two dimensional conformal field theories in the semiclassical limit.
In this limit, the four-point function is dominated by intermediate primaries
of particular weights along with their descendants, and the crossing equations
simplify drastically. For a four-point function receiving sufficiently small
contributions from the light primaries, the structure constants involving heavy
primaries follow a universal formula. Applying our results to the four-point
function of the twist field in the symmetric product orbifold, we
produce the Hellerman bound and the logarithmically corrected Cardy formula
that is valid for .Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures. v2, v3: references added, minor clarification
Topological modularity of Monstrous Moonshine
We explore connections among Monstrous Moonshine, orbifolds, the Kitaev
chain, and topological modular forms. Symmetric orbifolds of the Monster CFT,
together with further orbifolds by subgroups of Monster, are studied and found
to satisfy the divisibility property, which was recently used to rule out
extremal holomorphic conformal field theories. For orbifolds by cyclic
subgroups of Monster, we arrive at divisibility properties involving the full
McKay-Thompson series. Orbifolds by non-abelian subgroups of Monster are
further considered by utilizing the data of Generalized Moonshine.Comment: 23 pages; v2: improved discussion of series divisibility, added
proofs and reference
Lessons from the Ramond sector
We revisit the consistency of torus partition functions in (1+1)d fermionic conformal field theories, combining traditional ingredients of modular invariance/covariance with a modernized understanding of bosonization/fermionization dualities. Various lessons can be learned by simply examining the oft-ignored Ramond sector. For several extremal/kinky modular functions in the bootstrap literature, we can either rule out or identify the underlying theory. We also revisit the N=1 Maloney-Witten partition function by calculating the spectrum in the Ramond sector, and further extending it to include the modular sum of seed Ramond characters. Finally, we perform the full N=1 RNS modular bootstrap and obtain new universal results on the existence of relevant deformations preserving different amounts of supersymmetry
Holomorphic CFTs and topological modular forms
We use the theory of topological modular forms to constrain bosonic
holomorphic CFTs, which can be viewed as SCFTs with trivial
right-moving supersymmetric sector. A conjecture by Segal, Stolz and Teichner
requires the constant term of the partition function to be divisible by
specific integers determined by the central charge. We verify this constraint
in large classes of physical examples, and rule out the existence of an
infinite set of extremal CFTs, including those with central charges and .Comment: 7 pages; v2: references adde
On Higher Derivative Couplings in Theories with Sixteen Supersymmetries
We give simple arguments for new non-renormalization theorems on higher
derivative couplings of gauge theories to supergravity, with sixteen
supersymmetries, by considerations of brane-bulk superamplitudes. This leads to
some exact results on the effective coupling of D3-branes in type IIB string
theory. We also derive exact results on higher dimensional operators in the
torus compactification of the six dimensional (0, 2) superconformal theory.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, section 2 reconstructured, new result in
section 3.2, additional clarifications adde
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