A gauge theory analog of some "stringy" D-instantons

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that certain stringy D-instantons can be understood as UV completions of gauge instantons in broken gauge groups, allowing superpotential effects to be inferred from field theory.

Contribution

It establishes a gauge theory analog of stringy D-instantons, linking string theory effects to familiar gauge instantons in a novel way.

Findings

D-instantons correspond to gauge instantons in broken gauge groups

Superpotential effects can be derived from pure field theory

Provides a new perspective on stringy instanton contributions

Abstract

We argue that one can see a specific class of "stringy" D-instantons in the underlying 4D gauge theory as the UV completion of an ordinary gauge instanton of a completely broken gauge group corresponding to the "empty" cycle the D-instanton is located on. In this sense, the D-instanton induced non-perturbative superpotential can be qualitatively inferred directly from pure field-theory considerations.