Related papers: Twistor Approach to String Compactifications: a Re…

The non-perturbative dynamics of quantum field theories is studied using theoretical tools inspired by string formalism. Two main lines are developed: the analysis of stringy instantons in a class of four-dimensional N=2 gauge theories and…

We study compactifications of Type IIB string theory on a K3 \times T^2/Z_2 orientifold in the presence of RR and NS flux. We find the most general supersymmetry preserving, Poincare invariant, vacua in this model. All the complex structure…

The r\^ole of string loop corrections on the existence of de Sitter vacua and the moduli stabilization problem is examined in type IIB effective theories. The fundamental building blocks are a minimum of three intersecting D7 brane stacks,…

We study perturbative compactifications of Type II string theory that rely on a fibration structure of the extra dimensions a la SYZ. Non-geometric spaces are obtained by using T-dualities as monodromies. These vacua generically preserve…

In this thesis we have studied various applications of asymptotic Hodge theory in string compactifications. This mathematical framework captures how physical couplings of the resulting effective theories behave near field space boundaries…

We analyze N=2 (perturbative and non-perturbative) corrections to the effective theory in type I orbifold models where a dual heterotic description is available. These corrections may play an important role in phenomenological scenarios.…

These lectures provide a self-contained introduction to flux compactifications of type IIB string theory on Calabi-Yau orientifolds. The first lecture begins with geometric foundations, then presents vacuum solutions in Calabi-Yau…

Kachru, Kallosh, Linde, & Trivedi recently constructed a four-dimensional de Sitter compactification of IIB string theory, which they showed to be metastable in agreement with general arguments about de Sitter spacetimes in quantum gravity.…

A type IIA string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold which admits a K3 fibration is believed to be equivalent to a heterotic string in four dimensions. We study cases where a Calabi-Yau manifold can have more than one such fibration…

We study N=2 four-dimensional flux vacua describing intrinsic non-perturbative systems of 3 and 7 branes in type IIB string theory. The solutions are described as compactifications of a G(ravity) theory on a Calabi Yau threefold which…

We analyze the U-duality group for the case of a type II superstring compactified to four dimensions on a K3 surface times a torus. The various limits of this theory are considered which have interpretations as type IIA and IIB…

We study the possibility of obtaining metastable de Sitter vacua of heterotic string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold which are classical and simple in the K\"ahler moduli sector of the theory. For this, we exploit a known…

In this thesis, we explore two approaches to string phenomenology. In the first half of the work, we investigate M-theory compactifications on spaces with co-dimension four, orbifold singularities. We construct M-theory on C^2/Z_N by…

We discuss two-dimensional sigma models on moduli spaces of instantons on K3 surfaces. These N=(4,4) superconformal field theories describe the near-horizon dynamics of the D1-D5-brane system and are dual to string theory on AdS_3. We…

We review exact results obtained for R^4 couplings in maximally supersymmetric type II string theories. These couplings offer a privileged scene to understand the rules of semiclassical calculus in string theory. Upon expansion in weak…

This is a very brief survey of some results in the geometry of string duality delivered at a lecture given at ICM 1998, Berlin. String Duality is the statement that one kind of string theory compactified on one space is equivalent in some…

We discuss a string model where a conformal four-dimensional N=2 gauge theory receives corrections to its gauge kinetic functions from "stringy" instantons. These contributions are explicitly evaluated by exploiting the localization…

Yau proved an existence theorem for Ricci-flat K\"ahler metrics in the 1970's, but we still have no closed form expressions for them. Nevertheless there are several ways to get approximate expressions, both numerical and analytical. We…

We review aspects of twistor theory, its aims and achievements spanning thelast five decades. In the twistor approach, space--time is secondary with events being derived objects that correspond to compact holomorphic curves in a complex…

This thesis is concerned with the geometry of toroidal orbifolds and their applications in string theory. By resolving the orbifold singularities via blow-ups, one arrives at a smooth Calabi-Yau manifold. The systematic method to do so is…