Related papers: On cusps in the $\eta'$ potential
Conventional wisdom dictates that $\mathbb{Z}_N$ factors in the integral cohomology group $H^p(X_n, \mathbb{Z})$ of a compact manifold $X_n$ cannot be computed via smooth $p$-forms. We revisit this lore in light of the dimensional reduction…
We discuss spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking and quark bilinear condensate in large $N_c$ QCD. It has been known that the existence of $\eta'$ meson is implied in large $N_c$ QCD as pointed out by Witten and Veneziano. First, we show…
In this paper, we study the 3D $N_{\rm f}$-flavor CP$^1$ model (a set of $N_{\rm f}$ CP$^1$ variables) coupled with a dynamical compact U(1) gauge field by means of Monte-Carlo simulations. This model is relevant to 2D $s=1/2$ quantum spin…
The universality of the strange metal phase in many quantum materials is often attributed to the presence of a quantum critical point (QCP), a zero-temperature phase transition ruled by quantum fluctuations. In cuprates, where…
The implications of N=1 superconformal symmetry for four dimensional quantum field theories are studied. Superconformal covariant expressions for two and three point functions of quasi-primary superfields of arbitrary spin are found and…
We discuss the confining and chiral-symmetry breaking properties of QCD with a large number of flavors $N_f$. In a Monte Carlo simulation of QCD with $N_f =16$ staggered fermions, we find clear evidence of a first order bulk phase…
We study BPS domain walls in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ massive SQCD with gauge group $SU(N)$ and $F<N$ flavors. We propose a class of three-dimensional Chern-Simons-matter theories to describe the effective dynamics on the walls. Our…
We present a careful study of the chiral symmetry breaking minima and other potential minima in supersymmetric symplectic QCD ($Sp(N_c)$ with $N_f$ flavors) perturbed by Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking (AMSB). Although the case of…
The partition function of QCD is analyzed for an arbitrary number of flavors, N_f, and arbitrary quark masses including the contributions from all topological sectors in the Leutwyler--Smilga regime. For given N_f and arbitrary vacuum…
The generalization of QCD to many colors is not unique; each distinct choice corresponds to a distinct 1/N_c expansion. The familiar 't Hooft N_c -> \infty limit places quarks in the fundamental representation of SU(N_c), while an…
The effective potential of scalar quantum electrodynamics with N flavors of complex scalar fields is studied, by performing a self consistent 1/N expansion up to next to leading order in $1/N$. Starting from the broken phase at zero…
A new, theoretical approach to macroscopic quantum coherence and superconductivity in the p-type (hole doped) cuprates is proposed. The theory includes mechanisms to account for e-pair coupling in the superconducting and pseudogap phases…
Recently there have been proposals to understand features of QCD such as confinement and chiral symmetry breaking by considering supersymmetric versions of the theory with various patterns of soft breaking. In this note we recall that with…
We discuss 3d $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric SU(N) and U(N) Chern-Simons-matter theories, with $N_f$ matter superfields in the fundamental representation of SU(N) or U(N). In the large N 't Hooft limit with fixed 't Hooft coupling $\lambda$…
Following the set up in arXiv:1408.3393, we study 4d N=1 superconformal field theories in conic spaces. We show that the universal part of supersymmetric R\'enyi entropy S_q across a spherical entangling surface in the limit q goes to 0 is…
We use low-energy effective description of gauge theory/string theory duality to argue that the Kovtun-Son-Starinets viscosity bound is generically violated in superconformal gauge theories with non-equal central charges $c\ne a$. We…
We study a deformation of N=2 supersymmetric QCD with U(N) gauge group and N_f quark flavors induced by the mass term \mu for the adjoint matter which breaks supersymmetry down to N=1 QCD. Recently this deformation was shown to lead to a…
We investigate the phases of a strongly coupled QCD-like theory at finite baryon chemical potential using s-confining supersymmetric QCD deformed by anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Focusing on the case of three colors and four…
We propose a new set of s-confining theories with product gauge groups and no tree-level superpotential, based on a model with one antisymmetric matter field and four flavors of quarks. For each product group we find a set of…
In N=2 supersymmetric QCD with the U(N) gauge group and N_f>N we study the crossover transition from the weak coupling regime at large \xi to strong coupling at small \xi where \xi is the Fayet--Iliopoulos parameter. We find that at strong…