Related papers: Stringy surprises
We describe a new class of supersymmetric string compactifications to 4d Minkowski space. These solutions involve type II strings propagating on (orientifolds of) non Calabi-Yau spaces in the presence of background NS and RR fluxes. The…
The cosmological constant problem is a failure of naturalness and suggests that a fine-tuning mechanism is at work, which may also address the hierarchy problem. An example -- supported by Weinberg's successful prediction of the…
This article is devoted to an overview of superstring perturbation theory from the point of view of super Riemann surfaces. We aim to elucidate some of the subtleties of superstring perturbation that caused difficulty in the early…
We elaborate on a recent study of a model of supersymmetry breaking we proposed recently, in the presence of a tunable positive cosmological constant, based on a gauged shift symmetry of a string modulus, external to the Standard Model (SM)…
We review the problem of neutrino masses and mixings in the context of Grand Unified Theories. After a brief summary of the present experimental status of neutrino physics, we describe how the see-saw mechanism can automatically account for…
In six dimensions, cancellation of gauge, gravitational, and mixed anomalies strongly constrains the set of quantum field theories which can be coupled consistently to gravity. We show that for some classes of six-dimensional supersymmetric…
In this Thesis we investigate properties of stability, rigidity and unitarity of the string landscape in ten and lower dimensions. The dissertation explores these aspects by intertwining a detailed analysis of string vacua, with and without…
We consider a class of conformal models describing closed strings in axially symmetric stationary magnetic flux tube backgrounds. These models are closed string analogs of the Landau model of a particle in a magnetic field or the model of…
The general form of soft supersymmetry breaking terms at one loop for effective supergravity models based on the weakly-coupled heterotic string are presented, with special emphasis on those terms arising from the superconformal anomaly.…
The fact that neutrinos are massive suggests that the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) might be extended in order to include three gauge-singlet neutrino superfields with Yukawa couplings of the type $H_2 L \nu^c$. We propose to…
A remarkable achievement of the realistic superstring standard--like models is the successful prediction of the top quark mass, assuming the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model spectrum below the string scale. Recently it was shown that…
With our current level of understanding, the problem of making string theory predictions is not one of "solving" the theory, but rather of trying to determine whether there are any generic expectations. Within this context, we discuss what…
String theory compactifications come with numerous $U(1)$ factors, implying the presence of many hidden photons in the low-energy EFT. One may call this the ``string photoverse''. We argue that, generically, these hidden photons are…
It is argued that the complete S-matrix of string theory at tree level in a flat background can be obtained from a small set of target space properties, without recourse to the worldsheet description. The main non-standard inputs are…
We briefly review attempts to construct string theories that yield the standard model, concentrating on models with a geometric interpretation. Calabi-Yau compactifications are discussed in the context of both the weakly coupled heterotic…
We review efforts in string model building, focusing on the heterotic orbifold compactifications. We survey how one can, starting from an explicit string theory, obtain models which resemble Nature. These models exhibit the standard model…
We discuss the hierarchy of Yukawa couplings in a supersymmetric three family Standard-like string Model. The model is constructed by compactifying Type IIA string theory on a Z_2 x Z_2 orientifold in which the Standard Model matter fields…
String theory, if it describes nature, is probably strongly coupled. In light of recent developments in string duality, this means that the ``real world'' should correspond to a region of the classical moduli space which admits no weak…
If there is a single underlying "theory of everything" which in some limits of its "moduli space" reduces to the five weakly coupled string theories in 10D, and 11D SUGRA, then it is possible that all six of them have some common domain of…
We provide an overview of recent work which aims to understand patterns of vanishing Yukawa couplings that arise in models of particle physics derived from string theory. These patterns are seemingly linked to a plethora of different…