String Webs from Field Theory

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the decay of supersymmetric particles in gauge theories can be understood through semiclassical field configurations, extending the string web picture to a broader class of theories.

Contribution

It generalizes the string web description of stable supersymmetric states using semiclassical field configurations within the low energy effective action.

Findings

Decay processes are described by semiclassical configurations.

The string web picture is extended beyond string theory constructions.

Stable spectrum analysis applies at strong coupling.

Abstract

The spectrum of stable electrically and magnetically charged supersymmetric particles can change discontinuously as one changes the vacuum on the Coulomb branch of gauge theories with extended supersymmetry in four dimensions. We show that this decay process can be understood and is well described by semiclassical field configurations purely in terms of the low energy effective action on the Coulomb branch even when it occurs at strong coupling. The resulting picture of the stable supersymmetric spectrum is a generalization of the ``string web'' picture of these states found in string constructions for certain theories.