M-theory description of 1/4 BPS states in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

TL;DR

This paper explores the M-theory description of 1/4 BPS states in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, revealing how M2-branes and M5-branes encode these states and connecting to string theory configurations.

Contribution

It provides a novel M-theory framework for understanding 1/4 BPS states in N=4 SYM, including explicit M2-brane configurations and their relation to string theory.

Findings

Explicit M2-brane configurations for 1/4 BPS states

Discrete constraints on M2-brane moduli with handles

Connections between M-theory and type IIB/IIA string theories

Abstract

We discuss BPS states preserving 1/4 supersymmetries of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory as M2-branes holomorphically embedded and ending on M5-branes. We use techniques in electrodynamics to find the M2-brane configurations, and give some explicit examples. In case the M2-brane worldsheet has handles, the worldsheet moduli of the M2-brane is constrained in a discrete manner. Several aspects of multi-pronged strings in type IIB string theory are beautifully reproduced in the M-theory description. We also discuss the relation between the above construction and the D2-brane dynamics in type IIA string theory.