Heterotic Ouroboros
High Energy Physics - Theory
2026-05-11 v2
Abstract
M-theory on has recently been proposed to yield, via quotients, ten-dimensional non-supersymmetric string theories. We revisit the construction that leads to the heterotic theories, finding a consistent set of rules that reproduces the light spectra and gauge groups, including indications of their global structure. Our approach uses the gauge enhancement mechanism of type I' string theory, applied to a setting in which the type I' interval is curled onto itself, with its two boundaries separated by a branch cut. Using these tools, we reproduce the ten-dimensional heterotic theories and provide some evidence for junctions among them.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.22915,
title = {Heterotic Ouroboros},
author = {Chiara Altavista and Salvatore Raucci and Angel M. Uranga and Chuying Wang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.22915},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
37 pages, 11 figures; references added