Topological sectors for heterotic M5-brane charges under Hypothesis H

Abstract

Assuming Fiorenza-Sati-Schreiber's Hypothesis H, on the charge quantization of M-theory's $C$-field, the topological sectors of the resulting $Strin{g}^{c_2}(4)$-valued higher gauge theory on a heterotic M5-brane are classified by homotopy classes of maps from the worldvolume ${\Sigma }_{M5}$ to $BStrin{g}^{c_2}(4)$. This note calculates the sectors in a number of examples of M5-brane topology, including examples considered in the 3d-3d correspondence, the emergence of skyrmions from higher-dimensional instantons and Witten's analysis of the S-duality of 4d Yang-Mills theory.

16 pages; accepted version, some additional discussion