Multiple M5-branes, string 2-connections, and 7d nonabelian Chern-Simons theory (Q485852)

The structure group of the tangent bundle of a loop space is a loop group, which has odd dimensional characteristic class [\textit{A. Asada}, in: Differential geometry and its applications. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company; Budapest: János Bolyai Mathematical Society. 33--66 (1992; Zbl 0806.57014)]. It used to regard a gauge to be a (non-abelian) cocycle. This suggests to use some kind of higher gauge theory or higher (non-abelian) cocycle, should be necessary in the study of Quantum Field Theory and String theory. The authors contributed in this direction (e.g., [\textit{D. Fiorenza} et al., Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 16, No. 1, 149--250 (2012; Zbl 1420.57074); \textit{H. Sati} et al. in: Quantum field theory. Competitive models. Basel: Birkhäuser. 303--424 (2009; Zbl 1183.83099)]. Identifying the non-abelian 2-form fields in the theory as local data of (twisted) String 2-connections, this paper is concluded to propose a 7d Chern-Simons theory which appears to be a natural candidate for holographic dual of the multiple M5-branes 6d QFT via AdS7 /CFT6 -duality.(\S 4.6) But this is not the main ingredient of the paper. This paper is also a survey of higher gauge theory focusing on its physical meanings and applications. According to the authors, roughly speaking, higher gauge theory of a \(G\)-gauge is a non-abelian cohomological study of a stack whose \(n\)-cocycles are interpreted as String \(n\)-group of \(G\). They are not groups but \(n\)-groupoid. Together with their Lie algebra analog \(L_\infty\)-algebra and Lie \(n\)-algebra and related Chern-Simons theory are explained in \S 2.2 and 2.3 by using homological algebra and algebraic topology. If \(n = 2\) and \(G\) is a simply connected compact simple Lie group, String 2-group is a crossed module of the central extension of \(\Omega G\) and the based path group of \(G\) [\textit{J. C. Baez} et al., Homology Homotopy Appl. 9, No. 2, 101--135 (2007; Zbl 1122.22003)]. Chapter 2 mainly deals with gauge theory of this crossed product (gauge theory of gerbes). By using this gauge theory, it is shown \(E_{8}\) is a particular Lie group that is associated with the fivebrane theory (\S 2.4). Classifying space BG of \(G\)-bundles is interpreted \(s\) the moduli of \(G\)-instantons. In Chapter 3, introducing classifying stack \(\mathbf BG\), higher gauge theory is explained. Then as the geometric realization, higher holonomy and differential characteristic maps are introduced (\S 3.5, 3.6), together with explicit calculation of higher holonomies of the M2-brane and the M5-brane in terms of \(C\)-field. As examples, the differential characteristic map \(\frac16 p_2 : \mathbf B\mathrm{String} \to \mathbf B^7 U(1)\) defined on the 2-stacks of String 2-connections, derived from the second Pontryagin class and related maps are explained. These maps give the indecomposable part of the non-abelian 7-dimensional Chern-Simons theory and their smooth and differential refinement are discussed in \S 3.9, the last paragraph of Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the last one, first presents the general construction principle of a higher Chern-Simons functional, then consider theories from cup product classes (\S 4.1, 4.2). \S 4.3 reviews some spects of the \(C\)-field configuration [\textit{D. Fiorenza} et al., Commun. Math. Phys. 333, No. 1, 117--151 (2015; Zbl 1325.81121)]. In \S 4.4, these are used to form an action functional 7d CS with \(\frac14 p_1\) -back ground charge and \(p_1\) -background charge. \S 4.5 considers the ``indecomposable'' 7d theory induced from \(p_2\) on String 2-connection fields and describes 7d Chern-Simons functional (prop. 4.5.1. (4.5.3) and (4.5.4)). The full non-abelian Chern-Simons term of 7d supergravity on String 2-connection fields is discussed in \S 4.6, the last paragraph of Chapter 4. In the appendix, several definitions of 2-group are presented and show these are equivalent models of the smooth 2-group String defined in -- S3. (3.7.1) (Th.A.1).