Gauged 2-form Symmetries in 6D SCFTs Coupled to Gravity

Abstract

We study six dimensional supergravity theories with superconformal sectors (SCFTs). Instances of such theories can be engineered using type IIB strings, or more generally F-Theory, which translates field theoretic constraints to geometry. Specifically, we study the fate of the discrete 2-form global symmetries of the SCFT sectors. For both $(2,0)$ and $(1,0)$ theories we show that whenever the charge lattice of the SCFT sectors is non-primitively embedded into the charge lattice of the supergravity theory, there is a subgroup of these 2-form symmetries that remains unbroken by BPS strings. By the absence of global symmetries in quantum gravity, this subgroup much be gauged. Using the embedding of the charge lattices also allows us to determine how the gauged 2-form symmetry embeds into the 2-form global symmetries of the SCFT sectors, and we present several concrete examples, as well as some general observations. As an alternative derivation, we recover our results for a large class of models from a dual perspective upon reduction to five dimensions.

arXiv comment35 pages plus appendices; v2: typos fixed, references added

References in corpus (79)

• String Theory Dynamics In Various Dimensions
• Generalized Global Symmetries
• Dual Polyhedra and Mirror Symmetry for Calabi-Yau Hypersurfaces in Toric Varieties
• Symmetries and Strings in Field Theory and Gravity
• The Swampland: Introduction and Review
• Comments on String Dynamics in Six Dimensions
• The String Landscape and the Swampland
• A Note on the Green - Schwarz Mechanism in Open - String Theories
• Small $E_8$ Instantons and Tensionless Non-critical Strings
• Exploring 2-Group Global Symmetries
• On the Classification of 6D SCFTs and Generalized ADE Orbifolds
• Atomic Classification of 6D SCFTs
• 6d Conformal Matter
• K3 Surfaces and String Duality
• On 2-Group Global Symmetries and Their Anomalies
• Constraints on symmetry from holography
• Non-Invertible Global Symmetries and Completeness of the Spectrum
• Branes, Calabi-Yau Spaces, and Toroidal Compactification of the N=1 Six-Dimensional E_8 Theory
• F-Theory on all Toric Hypersurface Fibrations and its Higgs Branches
• AdS/CFT Correspondence And Topological Field Theory
• On the Defect Group of a 6D SCFT
• Classifying bases for 6D F-theory models
• Anti-de Sitter Space and the Center of the Gauge Group
• 5d Superconformal Field Theories and Graphs
• Generalized Global Symmetries of $T[M]$ Theories. I
• Heisenberg Groups and Noncommutative Fluxes
• Duality Between the Webs of Heterotic and Type II Vacua
• Toric bases for 6D F-theory models
• Fibers add Flavor, Part I: Classification of 5d SCFTs, Flavor Symmetries and BPS States
• Mordell-Weil Torsion and the Global Structure of Gauge Groups in F-theory
• The Global Form of Flavor Symmetries and 2-Group Symmetries in 5d SCFTs
• Charge Lattices and Consistency of 6D Supergravity
• Top Down Approach to 6D SCFTs
• 2-Group Global Symmetries and Anomalies in Six-Dimensional Quantum Field Theories
• Higher Form Symmetries and M-theory
• Classifying 5d SCFTs via 6d SCFTs: Arbitrary rank
• F-theory and the Classification of Little Strings
• Non-Simply-Connected Gauge Groups and Rational Points on Elliptic Curves
• Fibers add Flavor, Part II: 5d SCFTs, Gauge Theories, and Dualities
• On the 6d origin of discrete additional data of 4d gauge theories
• Higher-form symmetries of 6d and 5d theories
• Classifying 5d SCFTs via 6d SCFTs: Rank one
• Fibrations in CICY Threefolds
• 2-Group Symmetries of 6d Little String Theories and T-duality
• Higher-Form Symmetries and Their Anomalies in M-/F-Theory Duality
• Twisted Circle Compactifications of 6d SCFTs
• IIB flux non-commutativity and the global structure of field theories
• E-String Theory on Riemann Surfaces
• D-type Conformal Matter and SU/USp Quivers
• String Universality and Non-Simply-Connected Gauge Groups in 8d
• Compactification of 6d minimal SCFTs on Riemann surfaces
• Compactifications of 6d $N=(1,0)$ SCFTs with non-trivial Stiefel-Whitney classes
• Four Dimensional $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM and the Swampland
• Elliptic fibrations on a generic Jacobian Kummer surface
• Higher Form Symmetries of Argyres-Douglas Theories
• Compactifications of ADE conformal matter on a torus
• From gauge to higher gauge models of topological phases
• The frozen phase of F-theory
• Revisiting the classifications of 6d SCFTs and LSTs
• Exploring the landscape of heterotic strings on T^d
• Anomaly Cancelation in Field Theory and F-theory on a Circle
• F-theory on Quotient Threefolds with (2,0) Discrete Superconformal Matter
• Multiple Fibrations in Calabi-Yau Geometry and String Dualities
• Sequences of $6d$ SCFTs on generic Riemann surfaces
• N=1 theories of class S_k
• Flux compactification on smooth, compact three-dimensional toric varieties
• Non-Simply-Connected Symmetries in 6D SCFTs
• Mordell-Weil Torsion in the Mirror of Multi-Sections
• Symmetry Enhancements in 7d Heterotic Strings
• Heterotic Line Bundle Models on Elliptically Fibered Calabi-Yau Three-folds
• The partition bundle of type A_{N-1} (2, 0) theory
• F-Theory on Quotients of Elliptic Calabi-Yau Threefolds
• Modular Curves and Mordell-Weil Torsion in F-theory
• 4d N=1 from 6d N=(1,0) on a torus with fluxes
• On the Classification of Elliptic Fibrations modulo Isomorphism on K3 Surfaces with large Picard Number
• The Fate of Discrete 1-Form Symmetries in 6d
• Fibrations in Non-simply Connected Calabi-Yau Quotients
• On elliptic K3 surfaces
• A Finiteness Theorem for Elliptic Calabi-Yau Threefolds

Cited by in corpus (13)

• The Branes Behind Generalized Symmetry Operators
• Non-invertible Symmetries of Class $\mathcal{S}$ Theories
• 2-Group Symmetries in Class S
• Symmetry TFTs for 3d QFTs from M-theory
• 2-Group Symmetries and M-Theory
• Higher Symmetries of 5d Orbifold SCFTs
• 0-Form, 1-Form and 2-Group Symmetries via Cutting and Gluing of Orbifolds
• Higher Form Symmetries TFT in 6d
• Relative Defects in Relative Theories: Trapped Higher-Form Symmetries and Irregular Punctures in Class S
• Generalized Symmetries in F-theory and the Topology of Elliptic Fibrations
• Anomalies of Generalized Symmetries from Solitonic Defects
• Disconnected 0-Form and 2-Group Symmetries
• B-brane transport in anomalous (2,2) models and localization