QED from six-dimensional vortex and gauge anomalies

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how a six-dimensional anomaly-free Abelian Higgs model can produce an effective four-dimensional theory with anomalies, offering insights into regularizing anomalous chiral gauge theories.

Contribution

It constructs a 4D effective theory from a 6D anomaly-free model, showing the emergence of anomalies and a mass gap in the fermion spectrum.

Findings

Anomaly-free 6D model yields anomalous 4D theory.

Charged fermions have a mass gap.

Potential regularization of anomalous chiral theories.

Abstract

Starting from an anomaly-free Abelian Higgs model coupled to gravity in a 6-dimensional space-time we construct an effective four-dimensional theory of charged fermions interacting with U(1) Abelian gauge field and gravity, both localised near the core of a Nielsen-Olesen vortex configuration. We show that an anomaly free theory in 6-dimensions can give rise to an anomalous theory in D=4, which suggests a possibility of consistent regularisation of abelian anomalous chiral gauge theories in four dimensions. We also show that the spectrum of charged bulk fermions has a mass gap.