Flux Quantization on M5-branes

Abstract

We highlight the need for global completion of the field content in the M5-brane sigma-model analogous to Dirac's charge/flux quantization, and we point out that the superspace Bianchi identities on the worldvolume and on its ambient supergravity background constrain the M5's flux-quantization law to be in a non-abelian cohomology theory rationally equivalent to a twisted form of co-Homotopy. In order to clearly bring out this subtle point we give a streamlined re-derivation of the worldvolume 3-flux via M5 "super-embeddings". Finally, assuming the flux-quantization law to actually be in co-Homotopy ("Hypothesis H") we show how this implies Skyrmion-like solitons on general M5-worldvolumes and (abelian) anyonic solitons on the boundaries of "open M5-branes" in heterotic M-theory.

44 pages; v4: sign convention on covariant derivative changed, following ftn. 11 of arXiv:2403.16456; v3: published version, abstract shortened and typos fixed; v2: minor additions

References in corpus (13)

• Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation
• Fractional M2-branes
• Heisenberg Groups and Noncommutative Fluxes
• M-theory branes and their interactions
• Half-BPS supergravity solutions and superalgebras
• Basics of M-Theory
• Open M5-branes
• Gauge Theories with Ultracold Atoms
• M5-brane in the superspace approach
• Flux Quantization
• Flux Quantization on 11-dimensional Superspace
• Higher abelian gauge theory associated to gerbes on noncommutative deformed M5-branes and S-duality
• Flux Quantization on Phase Space

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Quantum Observables of Quantized Fluxes
• Anyons on M5-Probes of Seifert 3-Orbifolds via Flux Quantization
• Engineering of Anyons on M5-Probes via Flux Quantization
• The Hidden M-Group
• Holographic M-Brane Super-Embeddings
• Gauge potentials on the M5 brane in twisted equivariant cohomotopy
• The M-algebra completes the hierarchy of Super-Exceptional Tangent Spaces
• Flux Quantization on M-Strings