Related papers: STRINGVACUA: A Mathematica Package for Studying Va…
String geometry theory is a candidate of the non-perturvative formulation of string theory. In this theory, strings constitute not only particles but also the space-time. In this review, we identify perturbative vacua, and derive the…
Moduli stabilisation in string compactifications with many light scalars remains a major blind-spot in the string landscape. In these regimes, analytic methods cease to work for generic choices of UV parameters which is why numerical…
We derive conditions for the existence of four-dimensional \N=1 supersymmetric flux vacua of massive type IIA string theory with general supergravity fluxes turned on. For an SU(3) singlet Killing spinor, we show that such flux vacua exist…
The four dimensional gauged supergravities descending from non-geometric string compactifications involve a wide class of flux objects which are needed to make the theory invariant under duality transformations at the effective level.…
We review the prospect of obtaining tree-level de Sitter (dS) vacua and slow-roll inflation models in string compactifications. Restricting ourselves to the closed string sector and assuming the absence of NSNS-sources, we classify the…
We investigate in detail solutions of supergravity that involve warped products of flat geometries of the type M(p+1) x R x T(D-p-2) depending on a single coordinate. In the absence of fluxes, the solutions include flat space and…
We give an overview of moduli stabilization in compactifications of string theory. We summarize current methods for construction and analysis of vacua with stabilized moduli, and we describe applications to cosmology and particle physics.…
Finding vacua of supergravity theories is an outstanding problem which has been tackled in several ways, and with this work we add a new method to the puzzle. We analyse the scalar sector of maximal gauged supergravity theories in seven…
We propose a new guiding principle for phenomenology: special geometry in the vacuum space. New algorithmic methods which efficiently compute geometric properties of the vacuum space of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories are described. We…
I investigate two discrete models of random geometries, namely simplicial quantum gravity and quantum string theory. In four-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity, I show that the addition of matter gauge fields to the model is capable of…
We present a Mathematica package for performing algebraic and numerical computations in cosmological models based on supersymmetric theories. The programs allow for (I) evaluation and study of the properties of a scalar potential in a large…
Fundamental theories, like strings, supergravity, Kaluza-Klein, lead after dimensional reduction and a suitable choice of field configurations, to an effective action in four dimensions where gravity is coupled non-mininally to one scalar…
This text is a review of aspects of supergravity theories that are relevant in superstring cosmology. In particular, it considers the possibilities and restrictions for `uplifting terms', i.e. methods to produce de Sitter vacua. We…
The strong coupling regime of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric vacua of the heterotic string is analyzed from a dual domain wall perspective. Using modular invariance, we compute a closed form for the non-perturbative corrections to the…
These lectures present an introduction to supergravity, and are intended for graduate students with a working knowledge of quantum field theory, including the elementary group theory needed for it, but no prior knowledge of general…
String theory is the leading contemporary framework to explore the synthesis of quantum mechanics with gravity. String phenomenology aims to study string theory while maintaining contact with observational data. The fermionic $Z_2\times…
Attempts to connect string theory with astrophysical observation are hampered by a jargon barrier, where an intimidating profusion of orientifolds, Kahler potentials, etc. dissuades cosmologists from attempting to work out the astrophysical…
We study the vacuum structure of compactifications of type II string theories on orientifolds with SU(3)xSU(3) structure. We argue that generalised geometry enables us to treat these non-geometric compactifications using a supergravity…
In this thesis we investigate some aspects of the dramatic consequences of supersymmetry breaking on string vacua. In particular, we focus on the issue of vacuum stability in ten-dimensional string models with broken, or without,…
We present an exact description of the metric on the moduli space of vacua and the spectrum of massive states for four dimensional N=2 supersymmetric SU(n) gauge theories. The moduli space of quantum vacua is identified with the moduli…