Exact effective interactions and 1/4-BPS dyons in heterotic CHL orbifolds

TL;DR

This paper conjectures an exact formula for certain higher-derivative couplings in three-dimensional string theories with 16 supercharges, linking perturbative, non-perturbative, and black hole instanton effects through modular integrals and BPS state counting.

Contribution

It introduces a novel conjecture for the exact coefficient of a specific effective interaction, connecting perturbative results with non-perturbative dyon degeneracies in heterotic CHL orbifolds.

Findings

Reproduces known perturbative corrections at weak coupling.

Predicts new higher-genus perturbative contributions.

Identifies instanton effects from 1/4-BPS black holes and their moduli dependence.

Abstract

Motivated by precision counting of BPS black holes, we analyze six-derivative couplings in the low energy effective action of three-dimensional string vacua with 16 supercharges. Based on perturbative computations up to two-loop, supersymmetry and duality arguments, we conjecture that the exact coefficient of the $\nabla^2(\nabla\phi)^4$ effective interaction is given by a genus-two modular integral of a Siegel theta series for the non-perturbative Narain lattice times a specific meromorphic Siegel modular form. The latter is familiar from the Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde (DVV) conjecture on exact degeneracies of 1/4-BPS dyons. We show that this Ansatz reproduces the known perturbative corrections at weak heterotic coupling, including tree-level, one- and two-loop corrections, plus non-perturbative effects of order $e^{-1/g_3^2}$. We also examine the weak coupling expansions in type I and type II string duals and find agreement with known perturbative results, as well as new predictions for higher genus perturbative contributions. In the limit where a circle in the internal torus decompactifies, our Ansatz predicts the exact $\nabla^2 F^4$ effective interaction in four-dimensional CHL string vacua, along with infinite series of exponentially suppressed corrections of order $e^{-R}$ from Euclideanized BPS black holes winding around the circle, and further suppressed corrections of order $e^{-R^2}$ from Taub-NUT instantons. We show that instanton corrections from 1/4-BPS black holes are precisely weighted by the BPS index predicted from the DVV formula, including the detailed moduli dependence. We also extract two-instanton corrections from pairs of 1/2-BPS black holes, demonstrating consistency with supersymmetry and wall-crossing, and estimate the size of instanton-anti-instanton contributions.