Non-perturbative Supersymmetry Breaking and Finite Temperature Instabilities in N=4 Superstrings

Antoniadis, I.; Derendinger, J. -P.; Kounnas, C.

Non-perturbative Supersymmetry Breaking and Finite Temperature Instabilities in N=4 Superstrings

Authors

Antoniadis, I.

Derendinger, J. -P.

Kounnas, C.

Description

We obtain the non-perturbative effective potential for the dual five-dimensional N=4 strings in the context of finite-temperature regarded as a breaking of supersymmetry into four space-time dimensions. Using the properties of gauged N=4 supergravity we derive the universal thermal effective potential describing all possible high-temperature instabilities of the known N=4 superstrings. These strings undergo a high-temperature transition to a new phase in which five-branes condense. This phase is described in detail, using both the effective supergravity and non-critical string theory in six dimensions. In the new phase, supersymmetry is perturbatively restored but broken at the non-perturbative level.
21 pages. Proceedings of the Corfu Summer Institute on Elementary Particle Physics, Corfu, Greece, September 1998