Anomaly cancellation in D=4, N=1 orientifolds and linear/chiral multiplet duality

TL;DR

This paper explains how gauge and Kaehler anomalies in four-dimensional type IIB orientifolds are canceled via a Green-Schwarz mechanism using linear/chiral multiplet duality, highlighting the role of linear multiplets in anomaly cancellation.

Contribution

It clarifies the role of linear multiplets in anomaly cancellation and their relation to duality between linear and chiral multiplets in N=1 orientifolds.

Findings

All twisted fields in N=1 sectors are in linear multiplets.

Linear multiplets are responsible for anomaly cancellation.

SL(2,R) symmetry can be restored at the quantum level for certain planes.

Abstract

It has been proposed that gauge and Kaehler anomalies in four-dimensional type IIB orientifolds are cancelled by a generalized Green-Schwarz mechanism involving exchange of twisted RR-fields. We explain how this can be understood using the well-known duality between linear and chiral multiplets. We find that all the twisted fields associated to the N=1 sectors and some of the fields associated to the N=2 sectors reside in linear multiplets. But there are no linear multiplets associated to order-two twists. Only the linear multiplets contribute to anomaly cancellation. This suffices to cancel all U(1) anomalies. In the case of Kaehler symmetries the complete SL(2,R) can be restored at the quantum level for all planes that are not fixed by an order-two twist.