Remarks on the Green-Schwarz terms of six-dimensional supergravity theories

Abstract

We construct the Green-Schwarz terms of six-dimensional supergravity theories on spacetimes with non-trivial topology and gauge bundle. We prove the cancellation of all global gauge and gravitational anomalies for theories with gauge groups given by products of $U(n)$, $SU(n)$ and $Sp(n)$ factors, as well as for $E_8$. For other gauge groups, anomaly cancellation is equivalent to the triviality of a certain 7-dimensional spin topological field theory. We show in the case of a finite Abelian gauge group that there are residual global anomalies imposing constraints on the 6d supergravity. These constraints are compatible with the known F-theory models. Interestingly, our construction requires that the gravitational anomaly coefficient of the 6d supergravity theory is a characteristic element of the lattice of string charges, a fact true in six-dimensional F-theory compactifications but that until now was lacking a low-energy explanation. We also discover a new anomaly coefficient associated with a torsion characteristic class in theories with a disconnected gauge group.