Related papers: Anomaly-induced vanishing of brane partition funct…
Two-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ supersymmetric quiver gauge theories are realized as D3-brane box configurations (two dimensional intervals) which are bounded by NS5-branes and intersect with D5-branes. The periodic brane configuration…
We study the general theory of Englert-Brout-Higgs mechanism without assuming Lorentz invariance. In the presence of a finite expectation value of non-Abelian matter charges, gauging those symmetries always results in spontaneous breaking…
't Hooft anomalies of global symmetries play a fundamental role in quantum many-body systems and quantum field theory (QFT). In this paper, we make a systematic analysis of lattice anomalies - the analog of 't Hooft anomalies in lattice…
Anomaly cancellation for M-theory fivebranes requires the introduction of a "bump-form" which smoothes out the five-brane source. We discuss the physical origin of this bump-form in the simpler case of axion strings in 3+1 dimensions and…
For quantum field theories with global symmetry, we can study the behavior of the partition function with the background gauge field to diagnose different quantum phases. For the case of discrete symmetries, we find that the…
Field theories compactified on non-simply connected spaces, which in general allow to impose twisted boundary conditions, are found to unexpectedly have a rich phase structure. One of characteristic features of such theories is the…
We systematically study the anomaly inflow by the bulk Chern-Simons (CS) theory in a slice of five-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime ($\text{AdS}_5$). The introduction of UV and IR 3-branes makes the anomaly story remarkably rich and…
In orbifold gauge theory and gauge-Higgs unification models, gauge anomaly flows with an Aharonov-Bohm phase $\theta_H$ in the fifth dimension. We analyze $SU(2)$ gauge theory with doublet fermions in the flat $M^4 \times (S^1/Z_2)$…
We study toroidal compactifications of Type II string theory with D-branes and nontrivial antisymmetric tensor moduli and show that turning on these fields modifies the supersymmetry projections imposed by D-branes. These modifications are…
There exist various defect-brane backgrounds in supergravity theories which arise as the low energy limit of string theories. These backgrounds typically have non-trivial monodromies, and if we move a charged probe around the center of a…
Symmetry breaking of continuous symmetries by extended dynamical defects entails the existence of defect families, which form conformal manifolds in a critical setup. In the presence of bulk 't Hooft anomalies, defects are in fact required…
We study the partition function of N=1 supersymmetric De Rham quantum mechanics on a Riemannian manifold, with a nontrivial chemical potential $\mu$ for the fermions. General arguments suggest that when $\mu \to \infty$ we should get the…
We compute the worldsheet sphere partition function of string theory on global AdS$_3$ with pure NS-NS flux. Because of an unfixed M\"obius symmetry on the worldsheet, there is a cancellation of infinities and only a part of the answer is…
We investigate the low energy dynamics of N=1 supersymmetric SO(N) gauge theories with a single symmetric tensor matter field. These theories exhibit non-trivial matching of global 't Hooft anomalies at the origin of moduli space. We argue…
In the context of quantum field theory, an anomaly exists when a theory has a classical symmetry which is not a symmetry of the quantum theory. This short exposition aims at introducing a new point of view, which is that the proper setting…
The double field theory monopole solution by Berman and Rudolph is shown to reproduce non-geometric backgrounds with non-vanishing Q- and R-flux upon an appropriate choice of physical and dual coordinates. The obtained backgrounds depend…
We comment on aspects of discrete anomaly conditions focussing particularly on $R$ symmetries. We review the Green-Schwarz cancellation of discrete anomalies, providing a heuristic explanation why, in the heterotic string, only the…
In the realm of invertible symmetry, the topological approach based on classifying spaces dominates the classification of 't Hooft anomalies and symmetry protected topological phases. We explore the alternative algebraic approach based on…
We show that the three-dimensional asymptotically linear dilaton background that arises in the near-horizon decoupling region of NS5-branes compactified on $T^4$ admits boundary conditions that lead to an infinite set of symmetries. The…
The experimental progress in synthesizing low-dimensional nanostructures where carriers are confined to bent surfaces has boosted the interest in the theory of quantum mechanics on curved two-dimensional manifolds. It was recently asserted…