Superconformal Field Theory In Six Dimensions And Supertwistor

Abstract

We studied the quantum dynamics of six dimensional $\mathcal{N}=(2, 0)$ superconformal field theory (the QNG theory). We developed the spinor technique for six-dimensional quantum field theories. By combining this technique with the canonical quantization procedure, we can overcome the subtlety of the chiral nature of $\mathcal{N}=(2, 0)$ free tensor multiplet and work out its quantum mechanical theory. We then studied the $\mathbf{T}^2$ compactification of the QNG theory and argued that the resulting four dimensional quantum field theory is indeed the $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory with the $SL(2, \mathbf{Z})$ duality coming from the mapping class symmetries of $\mathbf{T}^2$. We also investigated the BPS self-dual string excitations by proposing a CFT description to their world sheet theory. At last, we constructed the super-twistor space $\hat{\mathbb{PT}}$ that corresponded to the superconformal group $U^*Sp(4|2, \mathbf{H})\subset OSp(8|4, \mathbb{C})$, encoded the full free tensor multiplet into it and made some speculations on the possible super-twistor formulation of the QNG theory.