Infrared properties of two-dimensional $\mathrm{SU}(N)/H$ nonlinear $\sigma$ models at nonzero $\theta$ angles

Abstract

A general strategy is proposed to explore the low-energy properties of two-dimensional nonlinear $\sigma$ models with $\theta$ terms. We demonstrate its application to nonlinear $\sigma$ models with the target space $\text{SU($N$)}$/H, which include $\mathbb{C}{P}^{N-1}$, complex Grassmannian manifolds as well as the flag $\text{SU($N$)}/\text{U(1)}^{N-1}$ and $\text{SU($N$)})/\text{SO($N$)}$ manifolds. By analyzing the symmetry and its anomaly content, we realize these nonlinear $\sigma$ models through perturbations added to the SU(N)${}_1$ conformal field theory. For the flag-manifold $\text{SU($N$)}/\text{U(1)}^{N-1}$ and $\text{SU($N$)})/\text{SO($N$)}$ models, those perturbations are shown to correspond to the marginal current-current operator with the specific sign which leads to a massless renormalization group flow to the SU(N)${}_1$ fixed point. In contrast, a massive regime with a two-fold ground-state degeneracy is found for the $\mathbb{C}{P}^{N-1}$ ($N>2$) and Grassmannian nonlinear $\sigma$ models at $\theta =\pi$.

29 pages, 1 figure, v2: one added figure and change of format, v3: final version to be published in SciPost Phys, in Memoriam: Ian Affleck Collection