Type IIB superstrings, BPS monopoles, and three-dimensional gauge dynamics

Amihay Hanany; Edward Witten

doi:10.1016/S0550-3213(97)80030-2

Type IIB superstrings, BPS monopoles, and three-dimensional gauge dynamics

Amihay Hanany, Edward Witten

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1081 Scopus citations

Abstract

We propose an explanation via string theory of the correspondence between the Coulomb branch of certain three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and certain moduli spaces of magnetic monopoles. The same construction also gives an explanation, via SL(2, ℤ) duality of Type IIB superstrings, of the recently discovered "mirror symmetry" in three dimensions. New phase transitions in three dimensions as well as new infrared fixed points and even new coupling constants not present in the known Lagrangians are predicted from the string theory construction. An important role in the construction is played by a novel aspect of brane dynamics in which a third brane is created when two branes cross.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	152-190
Number of pages	39
Journal	Nuclear Physics B
Volume	492
Issue number	1-2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S0550-3213(97)80030-2
State	Published - May 12 1997
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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10.1016/S0550-3213(97)80030-2

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title = "Type IIB superstrings, BPS monopoles, and three-dimensional gauge dynamics",

abstract = "We propose an explanation via string theory of the correspondence between the Coulomb branch of certain three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and certain moduli spaces of magnetic monopoles. The same construction also gives an explanation, via SL(2, ℤ) duality of Type IIB superstrings, of the recently discovered {"}mirror symmetry{"} in three dimensions. New phase transitions in three dimensions as well as new infrared fixed points and even new coupling constants not present in the known Lagrangians are predicted from the string theory construction. An important role in the construction is played by a novel aspect of brane dynamics in which a third brane is created when two branes cross.",

author = "Amihay Hanany and Edward Witten",

note = "Funding Information: Recently, there has been much investigation of the dynamics of three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories with N = 4 supersymmetry, Two of the most remarkable discoveries are as follows. i) In some cases, the Coulomb branch of vacua is isomorphic, as a hyper-K~ihler manifold, to a moduli space of three-dimensional monopole solutions in a different gauge theory. For instance, the three-dimensional theory with SU(k) gauge theory and no hypermultiplets has for its Coulomb branch the moduli space of k-monopole configurations of an SU(2) gauge theory in 3 + I dimensions. (This was shown in \[ 1 \] tbr k = 2; the generalization to higher k was proposed in \[2\].) E-mail: [email protected] Research supported in part by NSF Grant PHY-9513835. E-mail: winen@ ias.edu",

year = "1997",

month = may,

day = "12",

doi = "10.1016/S0550-3213(97)80030-2",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "492",

pages = "152--190",

journal = "Nuclear Physics B",

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number = "1-2",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Type IIB superstrings, BPS monopoles, and three-dimensional gauge dynamics

AU - Hanany, Amihay

AU - Witten, Edward

N1 - Funding Information: Recently, there has been much investigation of the dynamics of three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories with N = 4 supersymmetry, Two of the most remarkable discoveries are as follows. i) In some cases, the Coulomb branch of vacua is isomorphic, as a hyper-K~ihler manifold, to a moduli space of three-dimensional monopole solutions in a different gauge theory. For instance, the three-dimensional theory with SU(k) gauge theory and no hypermultiplets has for its Coulomb branch the moduli space of k-monopole configurations of an SU(2) gauge theory in 3 + I dimensions. (This was shown in \[ 1 \] tbr k = 2; the generalization to higher k was proposed in \[2\].) E-mail: [email protected] Research supported in part by NSF Grant PHY-9513835. E-mail: winen@ ias.edu

PY - 1997/5/12

Y1 - 1997/5/12

N2 - We propose an explanation via string theory of the correspondence between the Coulomb branch of certain three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and certain moduli spaces of magnetic monopoles. The same construction also gives an explanation, via SL(2, ℤ) duality of Type IIB superstrings, of the recently discovered "mirror symmetry" in three dimensions. New phase transitions in three dimensions as well as new infrared fixed points and even new coupling constants not present in the known Lagrangians are predicted from the string theory construction. An important role in the construction is played by a novel aspect of brane dynamics in which a third brane is created when two branes cross.

AB - We propose an explanation via string theory of the correspondence between the Coulomb branch of certain three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and certain moduli spaces of magnetic monopoles. The same construction also gives an explanation, via SL(2, ℤ) duality of Type IIB superstrings, of the recently discovered "mirror symmetry" in three dimensions. New phase transitions in three dimensions as well as new infrared fixed points and even new coupling constants not present in the known Lagrangians are predicted from the string theory construction. An important role in the construction is played by a novel aspect of brane dynamics in which a third brane is created when two branes cross.

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U2 - 10.1016/S0550-3213(97)80030-2

DO - 10.1016/S0550-3213(97)80030-2

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SN - 0550-3213

VL - 492

SP - 152

EP - 190

JO - Nuclear Physics B

JF - Nuclear Physics B

IS - 1-2

ER -

Type IIB superstrings, BPS monopoles, and three-dimensional gauge dynamics

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