相关论文: Twisted Cohomotopy implies M5-brane anomaly cancel…
Axial and gravitational anomaly of field theories, when embedded in string theory, must be accompanied by canceling inflow. We give a self-contained overview for various world-volume theories, and clarify the role of smeared magnetic…
We carefully re-examine the issues of solving the modified Bianchi identity, anomaly cancellations and flux quantization in the S^1/Z_2 orbifold of M-theory using the boundary-free "upstairs" formalism, avoiding several misconceptions…
We uncover and highlight relations between the M-branes in M-theory and various topological invariants: the Hopf invariant over $\mathbb{Q}$, $\mathbb{Z}$ and $\mathbb{Z}_2$, the Kervaire invariant, the $f$-invariant, and the…
Flux- and charge-quantization laws for higher gauge fields of Maxwell type -- e.g. the common electromagnetic field (the "A-field") but also the B-, RR-, and C-fields considered in string/M-theory -- specify non-perturbative completions of…
The compactification from the eleven-dimensional Ho\v{r}ava-Witten orbifold to five-dimensional heterotic M-theory on a Schoen Calabi-Yau threefold is reviewed, as is the specific $SU(4)$ vector bundle leading to the "heterotic standard…
We describe a topological effect on configurations of D-branes in the presence of NS-NS and RR field strength fluxes. The fluxes induce the appearance of chiral anomalies on lower dimensional submanifolds of the D-brane worldvolume. This…
We sharpen constraints related to hypercharge flux in F-theory GUTs that possess U(1) symmetries and argue that they arise as a consequence of 4-dimensional anomaly cancellation. This gives a physical explanation for all restrictions that…
We analyze topological mass terms of BF type arising in supersymmetric M-theory compactifications to $AdS_5$. These describe spontaneously broken higher-form gauge symmetries in the bulk. Different choices of boundary conditions for the BF…
Abelian gerbes and twisted bundles describe the topology of the NS-NS 3-form gauge field strength H. We review how they have been usefully applied to study and resolve global anomalies in open string theory. Abelian 2-gerbes and twisted…
We use the T-duality transformation which relates M-theory on T^3 to M-theory on a second T^3 with inverse volume to test the Banks-Fischler-Shenker-Susskind suggestion for the matrix model description of M-theory. We find evidence that…
We initiate a study of the holographic duals of a class of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories that are engineered by wrapping M5-branes on a sphere with an irregular puncture. These notably include the…
We construct a supersymmetric NS5-brane wrapped on a twisted 5-sphere expanding in the $CP^3$ in $AdS_4\times CP^3$, with D0-brane charge. This configuration provides a realization of the stringy exclusion principle in terms of giant…
We study metastable nonsupersymmetric configurations in type IIA string theory, obtained by suspending D4-branes and anti-D4-branes between holomorphically curved NS5's, which are related to those of hep-th/0610249 by T-duality. When the…
We show how to cast an interacting system of M--branes into manifestly gauge-invariant form using an arrangement of higher-dimensional Dirac surfaces. Classical M--theory has a cohomologically nontrivial and noncommutative set of gauge…
In this paper we construct a twisted version of quasi-elliptic cohomology. This theory can be constructed as a K-theory of a loop space. After establishing basic properties of the theory, including restriction, change-of-group and induction…
The conditions for the absence of gauge anomalies in effective field theories (EFT) are rivisited. General results from the cohomology of the BRST operator do not prevent potential anomalies arising from the non-renormalizable sector, when…
The worldvolume theory of coincident M5-branes is expected to contain a nonabelian 2-form/nonabelian gerbe gauge theory that is a higher analog of self-dual Yang-Mills theory. But the precise details -- in particular the global moduli /…
We discuss the lift of certain D6-antiD6-brane systems to M-theory. These are purely gravitational configurations with a bolt singularity. When reduced along a trivial circle, and for large bolt radius, the bolt is related to a…
We derive some consistency conditions for fivebrane in M theory on R^5/Z_2 orbifold from the quantization law for the antisymmetric tensor field. We construct consistent fivebrane configurations in R^5/Z_2 type orbifold that exhibit the…
We propose a novel approach to the brane worldvolume theory based on the geometry of extended field theories: double field theory and exceptional field theory. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by showing that one can…