Softly Broken SQCD: in the Continuum, on the Lattice, on the Brane

We discuss the physics of four-dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theory from the point of view of softly broken N=2 supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. We provide arguments in favor of (pseudo-)critical mass exponents 1/3, 5/11 and 1/2, in agreement with the values observed in the computer simulations. We also show that the J^{CP} assignment of some of the lowest lying states can be naturally explained.

We discuss the low-energy physics which arises on stacks of squashed brane solutions of $SU(N)$ ${\cal N}=4$ SYM, deformed by a cubic soft SUSY breaking potential. A brane configuration is found which leads to a low-energy physics similar to the standard model in the broken phase, assuming suitable VEV's of the scalar zero modes. Due to the triple self-intersection of the branes, the matter content includes that of the MSSM with precisely 3 generations and right-handed neutri...

Anomalously small gaugino masses are a common feature of various models of direct gauge mediation. This problem is closely related to the vacuum structure of the theory. In this paper we show that massive SQCD can have SUSY-breaking vacua which are qualitatively different from the ISS vacuum. These novel vacua are metastable with respect to decay to the ISS vacuum. We demonstrate the possibility of addressing the gaugino mass problem in this framework. We study the properties...

We consider a model which in a certain limit reduces to the large N ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory without matter. The gaugino condensate in this model is controlled by the dynamics of an additional singlet superfield. Using this model we explicitly construct BPS domain walls arising due to the chiral symmetry breaking. In particular, in the large N limit we obtain the exact shapes of the domain walls corresponding to solitons, and also of the domain walls int...

This article contains lecture notes of M. Shifman from the Saalburg Summer School 2004. The topic is supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, in particular the gluino condensate in pure SUSY gluodynamics.

In a recent paper [1] we showed that N=1 supersymmetric QCD in the presence of certain superpotential deformations has a rich landscape of supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric vacua. In this paper we embed this theory in string theory as a low energy theory of intersecting NS and D-branes. We find that in the region of parameter space of brane configurations that can be reliably studied using classical string theory, the vacuum structure is qualitatively similar to that in t...

Recent discoveries in supersymmetric gauge theories have significant implications for our understanding for QCD and of field theory in general. The phases of N=1 supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) are discussed, and the possibility of similar phases in non-supersymmetric QCD is emphasized. It is described how duality in SQCD links many previously known duality transformations that were thought to be distinct, including Olive-Montonen duality of N=4 supersymmetric gauge theory and quar...

Supersymmetric gauge theories are an essential part of most theories beyond the standard model. In the present work we investigate the pure gauge sector of Super-QCD focusing on the bound states, i.e. mesonic gluinoballs, gluino-glueballs and pure glueballs. To improve chiral properties and to minimize breaking of supersymmetry at finite lattice spacing, we introduce a deformed Super-Yang-Mills lattice action. It contains a twist term, similar to the twisted-mass formulation ...

Mass spectra are calculated for ${\cal N}=1$ SQCD and SQCD-type theories and for softly broken ${\cal N}=2$ SQCD in vacua with unbroken $Z_{(2N_c-N_F)\geq 2}$ symmetry. It is shown that the Seiberg ${\cal N}=1$ duality works, at best, for massless quarks within the conformal window only. Besides: a) the gauge invariant order parameter for scalar quarks is introduced which distinguishes confinement and higgs phases, b) the phase transition are described in ${\cal N}=1$ SQCD-...

We revisit the study of singular points in N=2 SQCD with classical gauge groups. Using a technique proposed recently by Gaiotto, Seiberg and Tachikawa we find that the low-energy physics at the maximally singular point involves two superconformal sectors coupled to an infrared free SU(2) gauge group. When one softly breaks extended supersymmetry to N=1 adding a mass term for the chiral multiplet in the adjoint representation, a finite number of vacua remain and the theory bec...