New vacua for Yang-Mills theory on a 3-torus

TL;DR

This thesis explores new vacua structures in Yang-Mills theory on a 3-torus, revealing disconnected moduli space components and their realization in string theory, with implications for gauge theory and string dualities.

Contribution

It introduces new disconnected vacua in Yang-Mills theory on a 3-torus for orthogonal and exceptional groups, and demonstrates their realization in heterotic string theories as asymmetric orbifolds.

Findings

Existence of disconnected components in the moduli space for certain gauge groups

Construction of vacua with twisted boundary conditions using orientifold descriptions

Realization of these vacua within heterotic string theories as asymmetric orbifolds

Abstract

In this thesis we discuss recent new insights in the structure of the moduli space of flat connections of Yang-Mills theory on a 3-torus. Chapter 2 discusses the computation of Witten's index for 4-dimensional gauge theories, and the paradox that arises in comparing various computations. This was resolved by the discovery that for orthogonal and exceptional gauge groups, periodic flat connections exist that are contained in seperate, disconnected components of the moduli space. Chapter 3 and 4 discuss some aspects of the construction of holonomies parametrising vacua on such disconnected components. Chapter 5 demonstrates a construction of vacua and holonomies for gauge theories with classical groups, with non-periodic (twisted) boundary conditions, using an orientifold description. The new solutions with exceptional and orthogonal gauge groups also occur in string theory. Chapter 6, containing previously unpublished material, shows that they can be realised within heterotic string theories as asymmetric orbifolds. The presence of string winding states modifies the analysis for the gauge theory in a crucial way, eliminating many possibilities. The remaining ones are related by string dualities to known and new theories.