Branes and Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking

TL;DR

This paper investigates dynamical supersymmetry breaking in four-dimensional theories using M-theory fivebrane configurations, providing new insights into stable vacua and moduli spaces, especially for the IYIT model.

Contribution

It introduces a brane-based approach to analyze supersymmetry breaking, including new results on moduli spaces and conditions for stable vacua in M-theory frameworks.

Findings

Brane configurations exhibit runaway behavior when the flavor group is gauged.

Without gauging the flavor group, the brane remains stable, indicating possible stable vacua.

New results on moduli spaces of N=2 and N=1 theories with symplectic gauge groups.

Abstract

We study dynamical supersymmetry breaking in four dimensions using the fivebrane of M theory, in particular for the Izawa-Yanagida-Intriligator-Thomas (IYIT) model, which we realize as the worldvolume theory of a certain M-theory fivebrane configuration. From the brane point of view, supersymmetry is broken when a holomorphic configuration with the proper boundary conditions does not exist. We discuss the difference between explicit and spontaneous supersymmetry breaking and between runaway behavior and having a stable vacuum. As a preparation for the study of the IYIT model, we examine a realization of the orientifold four-plane in M theory. We derive known as well as new results on the moduli spaces of N=2 and N=1 theories with symplectic gauge groups. These results are based on a hypothesis that a certain intersection of the fivebrane and the Z_2 fixed plane breaks supersymmetry. In the IYIT model, we show that the brane exhibits runaway behavior when the flavor group is gauged. On the other hand, if the flavor group is not gauged, we find that the brane does not run away. We suggest that a stable supersymmetry-breaking vacuum is realized in the region beyond the reach of the supergravity approximation.