Related papers: Towards Mirror Symmetry with Semi-Realistic Inters…
We study the presence of discrete flavor symmetries in D-brane models of particle physics. By analyzing the compact extra dimensions of these models one can determine when such symmetries exist both in the context of intersecting and…
This thesis is devoted to derivative corrections to the effective action of D-branes, and to mirror symmetry with D-branes. Series of derivative corrections first predicted by non-commutative gauge theory are completed by couplings between…
In previous work, it was argued that the type IIB T^6/Z_2 orientifold with a choice of flux preserving N=2 supersymmetry is dual to a class of purely geometric type IIA compactifications on abelian surface (T^4) fibered Calabi-Yau…
Discrete gauge symmetries in global intersecting D-brane models constrain the exact form of the perturbative as well as non-perturbative superpotential. We derive the complete set of conditions on the existence of discrete Zn gauge…
We present a 6D orbifold model on $T^2/\Z2$ which emerges as intermediate step in the compactification of the heterotic string to the supersymmetric standard model in four dimensions. It has $\SU6$ gauge symmetry in the bulk and two pairs…
When string theory is compactified on a six-dimensional manifold with a nontrivial NS flux turned on, mirror symmetry exchanges the flux with a purely geometrical composite NS form associated with lack of integrability of the complex…
We present novel continuous supersymmetric transitions which take place among different chiral configurations of D3/D7 branes at singularities in the context of type IIB Calabi-Yau compactifications. We find that distinct local models which…
We study a certain class of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric orientifolds for which the world-sheet parity transformation is combined with a complex conjugation in the compact directions. We investigate in detail the orientifolds of the…
We construct the T duals of certain type IIA brane configurations with one compact dimension (elliptic models) which contain orientifold planes. These configurations realize four-dimensional $\NN=2$ finite field theories. For elliptic…
The most impressively prolific exploration of superstring models (aiming for our physical reality) has been focused on worldsheet-supersymmetric gauged linear sigma models and the closely associated complex-algebraic toric geometry. Mirror…
A new class of six-dimensional asymmetric orientifolds is considered where the orientifold operation is combined with T-duality. The models are supersymmetric in the bulk, but the cancellation of the tadpoles requires the introduction of…
Two subtle aspects of brane intersections are investigated. The first concerns the `half-branes' that arise in discussions of the Hanany-Witten effect, often in the D0/D8 setting. The second involves the validity of seemingly singular…
We discuss the appearance of non-supersymmetric D6-brane GUT model constructions. We focus on the construction of the first examples of flipped SU(5) and SU(5) GUTS which have only the SM at low energy. These constructions are based on 4D…
Techniques are developed for exploring the complete space of intersecting brane models on an orientifold. The classification of all solutions for the widely-studied T^6/Z_2 x Z_2 orientifold is made possible by computing all combinations of…
We discuss geometry underlying orientifolds with non-trivial NS-NS B-flux. If D-branes wrap a torus with B-flux the rank of the gauge group is reduced due to non-commuting Wilson lines whose presence is implied by the B-flux. In the case of…
We describe how local toric singularities, including the Toric Lego construction, can be embedded in compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. We study in detail the addition of D-branes, including non-compact flavor branes as typically used in…
We study moduli spaces of nonlinear sigma-models on Calabi-Yau manifolds, using the one-loop semiclassical approximation. The data being parameterized includes a choice of complex structure on the manifold, as well as some ``extra…
We consider Z2, freely acting orbifolds of the type IIB string with 16 parallel D5-branes. When the string is compactified on T2 X T4 and the D5-branes are wrapped on T2, these systems possess N=2 supersymmetry, originating from the…
Six dimensional compactification of the type IIA matrix model on the ${\bf Z}$-orbifold is studied. Introducing a ${\bf Z}_{3}$ symmetry properly on the three mirror images of fields in the $N$-body system of the supersymmetric D0…
Gauge threshold corrections for intersecting D6-brane string models on toroidal orbifold backgrounds are reconsidered. Both by dimensionally regularising the appearing open string one-loop diagrams in tree-channel as well as by…