Bound state transformation walls

Abstract

In four dimensional N = 2 supergravity theories, BPS bound states near marginal stability are described by configurations of widely separated constituents with nearly parallel central charges. When the vacuum moduli can be dialed adiabatically until the central charges become anti -parallel, a paradox arises. We show that this paradox is always resolved by the existence of “bound state transformation walls” across which the nature of the bound state changes, although the index does not jump. We find that there are two distinct phenomena that can take place on these walls, which we call recombination and conjugation. The latter is associated to the presence of singularities at finite distance in moduli space. Consistency of conjugation and wall-crossing rules near these singularities leads to new constraints on the BPS spectrum. Singular loci supporting massless vector bosons are particularly subtle in this respect. We argue that the spectrum at such loci necessarily contains massless magnetic monopoles, and that bound states around them transform by intricate hybrids of conjugation and recombination.