From Weyl Anomaly to Universal Defect Casimir Energy and Rényi Entropy
Abstract
We establish universal relations between surface defect Weyl anomalies, the ground state energy, and entanglement structure in higher-dimensional supersymmetric quantum field theories. As a concrete example, we show that for surface defects in 6d superconformal field theories (SCFTs), the defect contribution to supersymmetric Casimir energy is determined by the combination of b and d_{2}, where b and d_{2} are the surface defect Weyl anomalies. A similar closed-form expression is also derived for the defect contribution to supersymmetric Rényi entropy. The comprehensive method we develop here combines supersymmetric localization, anomaly polynomials, and holography, with applications to broader SCFTs with defects.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical Review Letters
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 136
- Issue
- 20
- Pages
- 201601–201601
- Publication date
- 22 April 2026
- Language
- EN