One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string

Abstract Compactification of heterotic string on a Calabi-Yau threefold can lead to a four-dimensional low-energy effective theory which contains a U(1) gauge theory which is pseudo-anomalous, meaning that the fermion content is anomalous, but that the fermion anomaly is cancelled by a four-dimensio...

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Main Authors: Jeffrey A. Harvey, Tai Wai Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)151
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author Jeffrey A. Harvey
Tai Wai Hu
author_facet Jeffrey A. Harvey
Tai Wai Hu
author_sort Jeffrey A. Harvey
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Compactification of heterotic string on a Calabi-Yau threefold can lead to a four-dimensional low-energy effective theory which contains a U(1) gauge theory which is pseudo-anomalous, meaning that the fermion content is anomalous, but that the fermion anomaly is cancelled by a four-dimensional version of the Green-Schwarz mechanism involving a shift of the model-independent axion field. It is also well known that a field-dependent Fayet-Iliopoulos like term is induced at one-loop in string perturbation theory in such compactifications and that this leads to a mass for the U(1) gauge field. Explicit one-loop computations of the mass shifts of massless charged scalars and fermions implied by this mechanism were originally carried out in the 1980’s and have been revisited more recently using techniques of string field theory and super Riemann surfaces. We consider such theories further compactified on a circle of radius R. There is then an infinite tower of BPS states with winding and momenta on the circle. BPS strings which wind the circle can, at large R, be viewed as macroscopic or cosmic strings in four spacetime dimensions, or, at generic R, as BPS states in three dimensions. We compute the one-loop mass renormalization of such states and show that it is nonzero and proportional to their pseudo-anomalous U(1) charge.
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spelling doaj-art-ff67b8edc17d4eb9b368ce22edda8c392025-08-20T03:42:34ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792025-06-012025612410.1007/JHEP06(2025)151One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic stringJeffrey A. Harvey0Tai Wai Hu1Kadanoff Center, Enrico Fermi Institute and Department of Physics, University of ChicagoKadanoff Center, Enrico Fermi Institute and Department of Physics, University of ChicagoAbstract Compactification of heterotic string on a Calabi-Yau threefold can lead to a four-dimensional low-energy effective theory which contains a U(1) gauge theory which is pseudo-anomalous, meaning that the fermion content is anomalous, but that the fermion anomaly is cancelled by a four-dimensional version of the Green-Schwarz mechanism involving a shift of the model-independent axion field. It is also well known that a field-dependent Fayet-Iliopoulos like term is induced at one-loop in string perturbation theory in such compactifications and that this leads to a mass for the U(1) gauge field. Explicit one-loop computations of the mass shifts of massless charged scalars and fermions implied by this mechanism were originally carried out in the 1980’s and have been revisited more recently using techniques of string field theory and super Riemann surfaces. We consider such theories further compactified on a circle of radius R. There is then an infinite tower of BPS states with winding and momenta on the circle. BPS strings which wind the circle can, at large R, be viewed as macroscopic or cosmic strings in four spacetime dimensions, or, at generic R, as BPS states in three dimensions. We compute the one-loop mass renormalization of such states and show that it is nonzero and proportional to their pseudo-anomalous U(1) charge.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)151String Theory and Cosmic StringsAnomalies in Field and String TheoriesSuperstring VacuaSuperstrings and Heterotic Strings
spellingShingle Jeffrey A. Harvey
Tai Wai Hu
One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string
Journal of High Energy Physics
String Theory and Cosmic Strings
Anomalies in Field and String Theories
Superstring Vacua
Superstrings and Heterotic Strings
title One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string
title_full One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string
title_fullStr One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string
title_full_unstemmed One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string
title_short One-loop renormalization of BPS string masses in pseudo-anomalous heterotic string
title_sort one loop renormalization of bps string masses in pseudo anomalous heterotic string
topic String Theory and Cosmic Strings
Anomalies in Field and String Theories
Superstring Vacua
Superstrings and Heterotic Strings
url https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)151
work_keys_str_mv AT jeffreyaharvey onelooprenormalizationofbpsstringmassesinpseudoanomalousheteroticstring
AT taiwaihu onelooprenormalizationofbpsstringmassesinpseudoanomalousheteroticstring