M5-Branes, D4-Branes and Quantum 5D super-Yang-Mills

TL;DR

This paper explores the connection between 6D (2,0) M5-brane theory and 5D super-Yang-Mills, showing that the latter captures all KK modes and may be a complete, finite quantum theory.

Contribution

It demonstrates that 5D super-Yang-Mills contains all KK modes of the (2,0) theory on a circle, providing evidence for its completeness and potential finiteness.

Findings

5D super-Yang-Mills includes spectrum of soliton states matching KK modes

The (2,0) theory on a circle is equivalent to 5D super-Yang-Mills

Suggests 5D super-Yang-Mills is a well-defined quantum theory

Abstract

We revisit the relation of the six-dimensional (2,0) M5-brane Conformal Field Theory compactified on a circle to 5D maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills Gauge Theory. We show that in the broken phase 5D super-Yang-Mills contains a spectrum of soliton states that can be identified with the complete Kaluza-Klein modes of an M2-brane ending on the M5-branes. This provides evidence that the (2,0) theory on a circle is equivalent to 5D super-Yang-Mills with no additional UV degrees of freedom, suggesting that the latter is in fact a well-defined quantum theory and possibly finite.