A note on brane boxes at finite string coupling

TL;DR

This paper explores how finite string coupling affects brane configurations in N=1 supersymmetric SU(N_c) gauge theories, revealing stability conditions and differences in configurations for various flavor numbers, with implications for Seiberg duality.

Contribution

It demonstrates that at non-zero string coupling, only non-anomalous, stable vacua are realizable in brane constructions, and discusses the qualitative differences in configurations for different flavor regimes.

Findings

Only non-anomalous gauge theories with N_f >= N_c are constructible at finite coupling.

Distinct brane configurations for N_f <= 3N_c and N_f > 3N_c, corresponding to different IR behaviors.

Insights into brane configurations relevant to Seiberg duality.

Abstract

We consider N=1 supersymmetric SU(N_c) gauge theories, using the type IIB brane construction recently proposed by Hanany and Zaffaroni. At non-zero string coupling, we find that the bending of branes imposes consistency conditions that allow only non-anomalous gauge theories with stable vacua, i.e., N_f >= N_c, to be constructed. We find qualitative differences between the brane configurations for N_f <= 3N_c and N_f > 3N_c, corresponding to asymptotically free and infrared free theories respectively. We also discuss some properties of the brane configurations that may be relevant to constructing Seiberg's duality in this framework.