Counting RG flows

Gukov, Sergei

doi:10.1007/JHEP01(2016)020

Title: Counting RG flows

Journal Article · Tue Jan 05 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Journal of High Energy Physics (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2016)020· OSTI ID:1327329

Gukov, Sergei ^[1]

California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Max-Planck-Institut fur Mathematik, Bonn (Germany)

Here, interpreting renormalization group flows as solitons interpolating between different fixed points, we ask various questions that are normally asked in soliton physics but not in renormalization theory. Can one count RG flows? Are there different "topological sectors" for RG flows? What is the moduli space of an RG flow, and how does it compare to familiar moduli spaces of (supersymmetric) dowain walls? Analyzing these questions in a wide variety of contexts -- from counting RG walls to AdS/CFT correspondence -- will not only provide favorable answers, but will also lead us to a unified general framework that is powerful enough to account for peculiar RG flows and predict new physical phenomena. Namely, using Bott's version of Morse theory we relate the topology of conformal manifolds to certain properties of RG flows that can be used as precise diagnostics and "topological obstructions" for the strong form of the C-theorem in any dimension. Moreover, this framework suggests a precise mechanism for how the violation of the strong C-theorem happens and predicts "phase transitions" along the RG flow when the topological obstruction is non-trivial. Along the way, we also find new conformal manifolds in well-known 4d CFT's and point out connections with the superconformal index and classifying spaces of global symmetry groups.

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Research Organization:: California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0011632

OSTI ID:: 1327329

Journal Information:: Journal of High Energy Physics (Online), Vol. 2016, Issue 1; ISSN 1029-8479

Publisher:: Springer BerlinCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 19 works

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