Related papers: Higher Gauge Theory with String 2-Groups
We develop the theory of Chern-Simons bundle 2-gerbes and multiplicative bundle gerbes associated to any principal $G$-bundle with connection and a class in $H^4(BG, \ZZ)$ for a compact semi-simple Lie group $G$. The Chern-Simons bundle…
We study bundle gerbes on manifolds $M$ that carry an action of a connected Lie group $G$. We show that these data give rise to a smooth 2-group extension of $G$ by the smooth 2-group of hermitean line bundles on $M$. This 2-group extension…
In this paper we study the cohomology of (strict) Lie 2-groups. We obtain an explicit Bott-Shulman type map in the case of a Lie 2-group corresponding to the crossed module $A\to 1$. The cohomology of the Lie 2-groups corresponding to the…
We develop a ready-to-use comprehensive theory for (super) 2-vector bundles over smooth manifolds. It is based on the bicategory of (super) algebras, bimodules, and intertwiners as a model for 2-vector spaces. We discuss symmetric monoidal…
We apply the recent proposal for mirrors of nonabelian (2,2) supersymmetric two-dimensional gauge theories to make predictions for two-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories with exceptional gauge groups G2, F4, E6, E7, and E8. We…
We study a class of extremal transitions between topological distinct Calabi--Yau manifolds which have an interpretation in terms of the special massless states of a type II string compactification. In those cases where a dual heterotic…
We describe a new kind of transition between topologically distinct $N=2$ type II Calabi--Yau vacua through points with enhanced non-abelian gauge symmetries together with fundamental charged matter hypermultiplets. We connect the…
We show that in the context of two-dimensional sigma models minimal coupling of an ordinary rigid symmetry Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ leads naturally to the appearance of the "generalized tangent bundle" $\mathbb{T}M \equiv TM \oplus T^*M$…
For a 2-category 2C we associate a notion of a principal 2C-bundle. In case of the 2-category of 2-vector spaces in the sense of M.M. Kapranov and V.A. Voevodsky this gives the the 2-vector bundles of N.A. Baas, B.I. Dundas and J. Rognes.…
Starting with minimal requirements from the physical experience with higher gauge theories, i.e. gauge theories for a tower of differential forms of different form degrees, we discover that all the structural identities governing such…
We construct a representation of the string 2-group on a 2-vector space, aiming to establish it as the categorification of the spinor representation. Our model for 2-vector spaces is based on the Morita bicategory of von Neumann algebras,…
We propose a conceptually economical and computationally tractable completion of the foundations of gauge theory on quantum principal bundles \`{a} la Brzezi\'{n}ski--Majid to the case of general differential calculi and strong bimodule…
The reduction of the E8 gauge theory to ten dimensions leads to a loop group, which in relation to twisted K-theory has a Dixmier-Douady class identified with the Neveu-Schwarz H-field. We give an interpretation of the degree two part of…
A 2-group is a "categorified" version of a group, in which the underlying set G has been replaced by a category and the multiplication map has been replaced by a functor. Various versions of this notion have already been explored; our goal…
These lectures give an introduction to the novel duality relating type IIB string theory in a maximally supersymmetric plane-wave background to N=4, d=4, U(N) Super Yang-Mills theory in a particular large N and large R-charge limit due to…
In this paper, a notion of a principal $2$-bundle over a Lie groupoid has been introduced. For such principal $2$-bundles, we produced a short exact sequence of VB-groupoids, namely, the Atiyah sequence. Two notions of connection structures…
String-string duality dictates that type IIA strings compactified on a K3 surface acquire non-abelian gauge groups for certain values of the K3 moduli. We argue that, contrary to expectation, the theories for which such enhanced gauge…
We reexamine the N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with product gauge groups by adding the mass terms and the quartic terms for the flavors: two gauge group theory with fundamentals, bifundamentals and adjoints, three gauge group theory…
We construct a model for the string group as an infinite-dimensional Lie group. In a second step we extend this model by a contractible Lie group to a Lie 2-group model. To this end we need to establish some facts on the homotopy theory of…
We develop a gauge theory or theory of bundles and connections on them at the level of braids and tangles. Extending recent algebraic work, we provide now a fully diagrammatic treatment of principal bundles, a theory of global gauge…