English

Nontrivial bundles and defect operators in $n$-form gauge theories

High Energy Physics - Theory 2025-01-06 v2

Abstract

In (d+1)(d+1)-dimensional 11-form nonabelian gauge theories, we classify nontrivial 00-form bundles in Rd \mathbb{R}^{d} , which yield configurations of D(d2j)D(d-2j)-branes wrapping (d2j)(d-2j)-cycles cd2jc_{d-2j} in DdDd-branes. We construct the related defect operators U(2j1)(cd2j) U^{(2j-1)} ( c_{d-2j} ) , which are disorder operators carrying the D(d2j)D(d-2j) charge. We compute the commutation relations between the defect operators and Chern-Simons operators on odd-dimensional closed manifolds, and derive the generalized Witten effect for U(2j1)(cd2j)U^{(2j-1)} ( c_{d-2j} ) . When cd2jc_{d-2j} is not exact, U(2j1)(cd2j) U^{(2j-1)} ( c_{d-2j} ) and U(2j1)(cd2j) U^{(2j-1)} (- c_{d-2j} ) can also combine into an electric (2j1)(2j-1)-form global symmetry operator, where the (2j1)(2j-1)-form is the Chern-Simons form. The dual magnetic (d2j)(d-2j)-form global symmetry is generated by the D(d2j)D(d-2j) charge. We also study nontrivial 11-form bundles in (d+1)(d+1)-dimensional 22-form nonabelian gauge theories, where the defect operators are U(2j)(cd2j1)\mathcal{U}^{(2j)} ( c_{d-2j-1} ) . With the field strength of the 11-form taken as the flat connection of the 22-form, we classify the topological sectors in 22-form theories.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2404.03406,
  title  = {Nontrivial bundles and defect operators in $n$-form gauge theories},
  author = {Shan Hu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.03406},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

33 pages + appendix. v2: 50 pages, added section 3.3, 3.4 and appendix A, C