Large U(1) charges from flux breaking in 4D F-theory models

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in 4D F-theory models, flux breaking can produce massless U(1) gauge fields with extremely large charges, up to 657, surpassing previous known limits and suggesting an upper bound in the landscape.

Contribution

It provides the first explicit F-theory construction with large U(1) charges from flux breaking, exceeding prior results and exploring bounds on charges in the landscape.

Findings

Constructed a 4D F-theory model with charges up to 657

Large charges can occur with decoupled U(1)s from flux breaking

Charges can be even larger when U(1) is coupled to other gauge groups

Abstract

We study the massless charged spectrum of U(1) gauge fields in F-theory that arise from flux breaking of a nonabelian group. The U(1) charges that arise in this way can be very large. In particular, using vertical flux breaking, we construct an explicit 4D F-theory model with a U(1) decoupled from other gauge sectors, in which the massless/light fields have charges as large as 657. This result greatly exceeds prior results in the literature. We argue heuristically that this result may provide an upper bound on charges for light fields under decoupled U(1) factors in the F-theory landscape. We also show that the charges can be even larger when the U(1) is coupled to other gauge groups.