Phases of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions

TL;DR

This paper analyzes N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions, detailing their phases, phase transitions, and the exact determination of superpotentials and gauge kinetic terms across different phases.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive description of the phases of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories, including the conditions for phase transitions and the exact holomorphic data in each phase.

Findings

Identification of confining, Coulomb, and Higgs phases in N=1 theories.

Exact superpotential and gauge kinetic terms in various phases.

Description of phase transitions involving massless monopoles and electric charges.

Abstract

We exhibit $N=1$ supersymmetric field theories in confining, Coulomb and Higgs phases. The superpotential and the gauge kinetic terms are holomorphic and can be determined exactly in the various phases. The Coulomb phase generically has points with massless monopoles. When they condense, the theory undergoes a phase transition to a confining phase. When there are points in the Coulomb phase with massless electric charges, their condensation leads to a transition to a Higgs phase. When the Higgs and confinement phases are distinct, we expect to find massless interacting gluons at the transition point between them.