Related papers: The Small $E_8$ Instanton and the Kraft Procesi Tr…
The Coulomb and Higgs branches of certain 3d N=4 gauge theories can be understood as closures of nilpotent orbits. Recently, a new theorem by Namikawa suggests that this is the simplest possible case, thus giving this class a special role.…
The physics of M5 branes placed near an M9 plane on an A-type ALE singularity exhibits a variety of phenomena that introduce additional massless degrees of freedom. There are tensionless strings whenever two M5 branes coincide or whenever…
We study the vacuum structure of gauge theories with eight supercharges. It has been recently discovered that in the Higgs branch of $5d$ and $6d$ SQCD theories with eight supercharges, the new massless states, arising when the gauge…
We begin a study of the Higgs branch of six-dimensional $(1,0)$ little string theories governing the worldvolumes of heterotic ALE instantons. We give a description of this space by constructing the corresponding magnetic quiver. The latter…
We study five-dimensional supersymmetric field theories with one-dimensional Coulomb branch. We extend a previous analysis which led to non-trivial fixed points with $E_n$ symmetry ($E_8$, $E_7$, $E_6$, $E_5=Spin(10)$, $E_4=SU(5)$,…
When $n$ M5 branes coincide on an A type singularity, $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_k$, there is a multitude of tensionless strings which arise in the spectrum. The low energy theory when all M5 branes are separated at the singularity is given…
M5-branes on an ADE singularity are described by certain six-dimensional "conformal matter" superconformal field theories. Their Higgs moduli spaces contain information about various dynamical processes for the M5s; however, they are not…
The Higgs branch of minimally supersymmetric five dimensional SQCD theories increases in a significant way at the UV fixed point when the inverse gauge coupling is tuned to zero. It has been a long standing problem to figure out how, and to…
All fields of the standard model and gravity are unified as an E8 principal bundle connection. A non-compact real form of the E8 Lie algebra has G2 and F4 subalgebras which break down to strong su(3), electroweak su(2) x u(1), gravitational…
We study compactifications of the 6d E-string theory, the theory of a small E_8 instanton, to four dimensions. In particular we identify N=1 field theories in four dimensions corresponding to compactifications on arbitrary Riemann surfaces…
Low--energy limits of N=2 supersymmetric field theories in the Higgs branch are described in terms of a non--linear 4--dimensional sigma--model on a \hk target space, classically obtained as a \hk quotient of the original flat…
We present a class of supersymmetric models in which the lightest Higgs-boson mass can be as large as a few hundred GeV (200 - 300 GeV) while the successful MSSM prediction for gauge coupling unification is preserved. The theories are…
We detail the Higgs branches of 6d $(1,0)$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) and little string theories (LSTs) that exhibit supersymmetry-enhancing Higgs branch renormalization group flows to the 6d $(2,0)$ SCFTs and LSTs of type DE.…
We consider configurations of six-branes, five-branes and eight-branes in various superstring backgrounds. These configurations give rise to $(0,1)$ supersymmetric theories in six dimensions. The condition for RR charge conservation of a…
The Higgs branches of the world-volume theories for multiple M5 branes on an $A_k$ or $D_k$-type ALE space are known to host a variety of fascinating properties, such as the small $E_8$ instanton transition or the discrete gauging…
We find a simple brane configuration in the IKKT matrix model which resembles the standard model at low energies, with a second Higgs doublet and right-handed neutrinos. The electroweak sector is realized geometrically in terms of two…
In gauge theories with fundamental matter there is typically no sharp way to distinguish confining and Higgs regimes, e.g. using generalized global symmetries acting on loop order parameters. It is standard lore that these two regimes are…
Higgs branches of 5d $Sp(k)$ theories with $N_f$ flavours, whether at weak or strong coupling, are described by a pair of instantons transforming as pure spinors of $SO(2N_f)$. The Poisson structure is constrained by symmetry arguments and…
We study the Higgs branches of the 6d $(1,0)$ little string theories that live on the worldvolume of NS5-branes probing an ADE-singularity in the heterotic $E_8 \times E_8$ and $\mathrm{Spin}(32)/\mathbb{Z}_2$ string theories. On the $E_8…
M5 branes on a D-type ALE singularity display various phenomena that introduce additional massless degrees of freedom. The M5 branes are known to fractionate on a D-type singularity. Whenever two fractional M5 branes coincide, tensionless…