Evidence for a Non-Supersymmetric 5d CFT from Deformations of 5d $SU(2)$ SYM

TL;DR

This paper investigates supersymmetry-breaking deformations of a 5d fixed point, suggesting the emergence of a non-supersymmetric conformal field theory in five dimensions through phase transition analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to study supersymmetry breaking in 5d fixed points and proposes the existence of a non-supersymmetric 5d CFT based on phase transition evidence.

Findings

Identification of phase transition at strong coupling

Characterization of phases via Chern-Simons terms

Proposal of a non-supersymmetric 5d CFT emergence

Abstract

We study supersymmetry breaking deformations of the $\mathcal{N}=1$ 5d fixed point known as $E_1$, the UV completion of $SU(2)$ super-Yang-Mills. The phases of the non-supersymmetric theory can be characterized by Chern-Simons terms involving background $U(1)$ gauge fields, allowing us to identify a phase transition at strong coupling. We propose that this may signify the emergence of a non-trivial, non-supersymmetric CFT in $d=4+1$ dimensions.