Scale and Conformal Invariance in 2d Sigma Models, with an Application to N=4 Supersymmetry

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Papadopoulos, Georgios, Witten, Edward
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Papadopoulos, Georgios
Witten, Edward
author_facet Papadopoulos, Georgios
Witten, Edward
contents By adapting previously known arguments concerning Ricci flow and the c-theorem, we give a direct proof that in a two-dimensional sigma-model with compact target space, scale invariance implies conformal invariance in perturbation theory. This argument, which applies to a general sigma-model constructed with a target space metric and B-field, is in accord with a more general proof in the literature that applies to arbitrary two-dimensional quantum field theories. Models with extended supersymmetry and a B-field are known to provide interesting test cases for the relation between scale invariance and conformal invariance in sigma-model perturbation theory. We give examples showing that in such models, the obstructions to conformal invariance suggested by general arguments can actually occur in models with target spaces that are not compact or complete. Thus compactness of the target space, or at least a suitable condition of completeness, is necessary as well as sufficient to ensure that scale invariance implies conformal invariance in models of this type.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_19526
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Scale and Conformal Invariance in 2d Sigma Models, with an Application to N=4 Supersymmetry
Papadopoulos, Georgios
Witten, Edward
High Energy Physics - Theory
By adapting previously known arguments concerning Ricci flow and the c-theorem, we give a direct proof that in a two-dimensional sigma-model with compact target space, scale invariance implies conformal invariance in perturbation theory. This argument, which applies to a general sigma-model constructed with a target space metric and B-field, is in accord with a more general proof in the literature that applies to arbitrary two-dimensional quantum field theories. Models with extended supersymmetry and a B-field are known to provide interesting test cases for the relation between scale invariance and conformal invariance in sigma-model perturbation theory. We give examples showing that in such models, the obstructions to conformal invariance suggested by general arguments can actually occur in models with target spaces that are not compact or complete. Thus compactness of the target space, or at least a suitable condition of completeness, is necessary as well as sufficient to ensure that scale invariance implies conformal invariance in models of this type.
title Scale and Conformal Invariance in 2d Sigma Models, with an Application to N=4 Supersymmetry
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.19526