Duality Beyond Global Symmetries: the Fate of the B_{\mu\nu} Field

Abstract

Duality between the `axion' field $a$ and the antisymmetric tensor field $B_{\mu\nu}$ is traced after a nonperturbative effect, gaugino condensation, breaks the Peccei-Quinn symmetry $a \rightarrow a +c$. Even though the PQ symmetry was at its origin, duality is nevertheless {\it not} broken by this effect. Below condensation scale, the axion simply gets a mass, but in the `stringy' version, the $ B_{\mu\nu}$ field disappears from the propagating spectrum. Its place is taken by a massive 3-index antisymmetric field $H_{\mu\nu\rho}$ which is the one dual to the massive axion. This is a particular case of a general duality in $D$-dimensions among {\it massive} $p$ and $D-p-1$-index antisymmetric tensor fields.