Non-abelian duality in N=4 supersymmetric gauge theories

Abstract

A semi-classical check of the Goddard-Nuyts-Olive (GNO) generalized duality conjecture for gauge theories with adjoint Higgs fields is performed for the case where the unbroken gauge group is non-abelian. The monopole solutions of the theory transform under the non-abelian part of the unbroken global symmetry and the associated component of the moduli space is a Lie group coset space. The well-known problems in introducing collective coordinates for these degrees-of-freedom are solved by considering suitable multi-monopole configurations in which the long-range non-abelian fields cancel. In the context of an $N=4$ supersymmetric gauge theory, the multiplicity of BPS saturated states is given by the number of ground-states of a supersymmetric quantum mechanics on the compact internal moduli space. The resulting degeneracy is expressed as the Euler character of the coset space. In all cases the number of states is consistent with the dimensions of the multiplets of the unbroken dual gauge group, and hence the results provide strong support for the GNO conjecture.