The Coulomb branch of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory with adjoint and fundamental matter

We consider N=1 SU(N_c) gauge theory with an adjoint matter field $\Phi$, N_f flavors of fundamentals Q and antifundamentals \tQ, and tree-level superpotential of the form \tQ\Phi^l Q. This superpotential is relevant or marginal for $lN_f\leq 2N_c$. The theory has a Coulomb branch which is not lifted by quantum corrections. We find the exact effective gauge coupling on the Coulomb branch in terms of a family of hyperelliptic curves, thus providing a generalization of known results about N=2 SUSY QCD to N=1 context. The Coulomb branch has singular points at which mutually nonlocal dyons become massless. These singularities presumably correspond to new N=1 superconformal fixed points. We discuss them in some detail for N_c=2, N_f=1.Comment: 12 pages, revte

Branes and N=1 Duality in String Theory

We propose a construction of dual pairs in four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory using branes in type IIA string theory.Comment: 8 pages, harvmac; minor changes, additional reference

Irreversibility of the Renormalization Group Flow in Two Dimensional Quantum Gravity

We argue that the torus partition sum in $2d$ (super) gravity, which counts physical states in the theory, is a decreasing function of the renormalization group scale. As an application we chart the space of $(\hat c\leq1)$ $c\leq1$ models coupled to (super) gravity, confirming and extending ideas due to A. Zamolodchikov, and discuss briefly string theory, where our results imply that the number of degrees of freedom decreases with time.Comment: 14 pages, PUPT-133

Symmetries and Mass Splittings in QCD2_2 Coupled to Adjoint Fermions

Two dimensional QCD coupled to fermions in the adjoint representation of the gauge group $SU(N)$, a useful toy model of QCD strings, is supersymmetric for a certain ratio of quark mass and gauge coupling constant. Here we study the theory in the vicinity of the supersymmetric point; in particular we exhibit the algebraic structure of the model and show that the mass splittings as one moves away from the supersymmetric point obey a universal relation of the form ${M_i}^2(B)-{M_i}^2(F)=M_i\delta m+O(\delta m^3)$. We discuss the connection of this relation to string and quark model expectations and verify it numerically for large $N$. At least for low lying states the $O(\delta m^3)$ corrections are extremely small. We also discuss a natural generalization of QCD$_2$ with an infinite number of couplings, which preserves SUSY. This leads to a Landau -- Ginzburg description of the theory, and may be useful for defining a scaling limit in which smooth worldsheets appear.Comment: 16 pages + 3 figures available upon request, harvmac, EFI-93-6

N=1 RG Flows, Product Groups, and a-Maximization

We explore new IR phenomena and dualities, arising for product groups, in the context of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. The RG running of the multiple couplings can radically affect each other. For example, an otherwise IR interacting coupling can be driven to be instead IR free by an arbitrarily small, but non-zero, initial value of another coupling. Or an otherwise IR free coupling can be driven to be instead IR interacting by an arbitrarily small non-zero initial value of another coupling. We explore these and other phenomena in N=1 examples, where exact results can be obtained using a-maximization. We also explore the various possible dual gauge theories, e.g. by dualizing one gauge group with the other treated as a weakly gauged flavor symmetry, along with previously proposed duals for the theories deformed by A_k-type Landau-Ginzburg superpotentials. We note that this latter duality, and all similar duality examples, always have non-empty superconformal windows, within which both the electric and dual A_k superpotentials are relevant.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figure

Scattering of Open and Closed Strings in 1+1 Dimensions

The ground ring structure of 1+1 dimensional string theory leads to an infinite set of non linear recursion relations among the `bulk' scattering amplitudes of open and closed tachyons on the disk, which fix them uniquely. The relations are generated by the action of the ring on the tachyon modules; associativity of this action determines all structure constants. This algebraic structure may allow one to relate the continuum picture to a matrix model.Comment: 16 page

Lagrange Multipliers and Couplings in Supersymmetric Field Theory

In hep-th/0312098 it was argued that by extending the ``$a$-maximization'' of hep-th/0304128 away from fixed points of the renormalization group, one can compute the anomalous dimensions of chiral superfields along the flow, and obtain a better understanding of the irreversibility of RG flow in four dimensional supersymmetric field theory. According to this proposal, the role of the running couplings is played by certain Lagrange multipliers that are introduced in the construction. We show that one can choose a parametrization of the space of couplings in which the Lagrange multipliers can indeed be identified with the couplings, and discuss the consequences of this for weakly coupled gauge theory.Comment: 13 pages, harvma