Brane-worlds and theta-vacua

Abstract

Reductions from odd to even dimensionalities ($5\to 4$ or $3\to 2$), for which the effective low-energy theory contains chiral fermions, present us with a mismatch between ultraviolet and infrared anomalies. This applies to both local (gauge) and global currents; here we consider the latter case. We show that the mismatch can be explained by taking into account a change in the spectral asymmetry of the massive modes--an odd-dimensional analog of the phenomenon described by the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer theorem in even dimensionalities. The result has phenomenological implications: we present a scenario in which a QCD-like $\theta$-angle relaxes to zero on a certain (possibly, cosmological) timescale, despite the absence of any light axion-like particle.

44 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Supersymmetry and Quantum Mechanics
• Localization of Matters on a String-like Defect
• Anomalies on Orbifolds
• (Quasi)Localized Gauge Field on a Brane: Dissipating Cosmic Radiation to Extra Dimensions?
• Is the electric charge conserved in brane world?
• Extra dimensions as an alternative to Higgs mechanism?
• Einstein static universe as a brane in extra dimensions
• Extra dimensions and the strong CP problem

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• Observational manifestations of anomaly inflow
• Anomalies as a signature of extra dimensions
• Classical thermodynamics of gravitational collapse
• Bulk black hole, escaping photons, and bounds on violations of Lorentz invariance
• D-Brane solutions under market panic
• Massive Schwinger model with a finite inductance: theta-(in)dependence, the U(1) problem, and low-energy theorems
• Compact extra-dimensions as solution to the strong CP problem
• Axion arising from warped extra-dimensional gauge fields