TY  - JOUR
N2  - Some gauge theories with Coulomb branches exhibit singularities in perturbation theory, which are usually resolved by nonperturbative physics. In string theory this corresponds to the resolution of timelike singularities near the core of orientifold planes by effects from F or M theory. We propose a new mechanism for resolving Coulomb branch singularities in three-dimensional gauge theories, based on Chern-Simons interactions. This is illustrated in a supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory. We calculate the one-loop corrections to the Coulomb branch of this theory and find a result that interpolates smoothly between the high-energy metric (that would exhibit the singularity) and a regular singularity-free low-energy result. We suggest possible applications to singularity resolution in string theory and speculate a relationship to a similar phenomenon for the orientifold six-plane in massive IIA supergravity.
JF  - Physical Review D
UR  - http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevD.88.045018
TI  - Topological resolution of gauge theory singularities
ID  - eprints2903
AV  - public
A1  - Saracco, Fabio
A1  - Tomasiello, Alessandro
A1  - Torroba, Gonzalo
Y1  - 2013/08//
PB  - American Physical Society
VL  - 88
SN  - 1550-7998
ER  -