Related papers: Generalized N=1 and N=2 structures in M-theory and…
We study M-theory on G_2 holonomy spaces that are constructed by dividing a seven-torus by some discrete symmetry group. We classify possible group elements that may be used in this construction and use them to find a set of possible…
In seven dimensions any spin manifold admits an SU(2) structure and therefore very general M-theory compactifications have the potential to allow for a reduction to N=4 gauged supergravity. We perform this general SU(2) reduction and give…
We discuss orientifold projections on superspace effective actions for hypermultiplets. We present a simple and new mechanism that allows one to find the Kahler potential and complex structure for the N=1 theory directly in terms of the…
The four-dimensional N=1 supergravity theories arising in compactifications of type IIA and type IIB on generalized orientifold backgrounds with background fluxes are discussed. The Kahler potentials are derived for reductions on SU(3)…
We study the orientifold truncation that arises when compactifying type II string theory on Calabi-Yau orientifolds with O3/O7-planes, in the context of supergravity. We look at the N=2 to N=1 reduction of the hypermultiplet sector of N=2…
We analyse the geometry of generic Minkowski $\mathcal{N}=1$, $D=4$ flux compactifications in string theory, the default backgrounds for string model building. In M-theory they are the natural string theoretic extensions of $\mathrm{G}_2$…
Four dimensional N=2 generalized superconformal field theory can be defined by compactifying six dimensional (0,2) theory on a Riemann surface with regular punctures. In previous studies, gauge coupling constant space is identified with the…
We rederive the recently introduced $N=2$ topological gauge theories, representing the Euler characteristic of moduli spaces ${\cal M}$ of connections, from supersymmetric quantum mechanics on the infinite dimensional spaces ${\cal A}/{\cal…
We reduce M-theory on a G_2 orbifold with co-dimension four singularities, taking explicitly into account the additional gauge fields at the singularities. As a starting point, we use 11-dimensional supergravity coupled to seven-dimensional…
We define the notion of Y-algebroids, generalising the Lie, Courant, and exceptional algebroids that have been used to capture the local symmetry structure of type II string theory and M-theory compactifications to $D \geq 5$ dimensions.…
These are notes based on lectures given at TASI99. We review the geometry of the moduli space of N=2 theories in four dimensions from the point of view of superstring compactification. The cases of a type IIA or type IIB string compactified…
We compute the prepotential of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions obtained by toroidal compactifications of gauge theories from 6 dimensions, as a function of Kahler and complex moduli of T^2. We use three different…
We discuss the structure of "exceptional generalised geometry" (EGG), an extension of Hitchin's generalised geometry that provides a unified geometrical description of backgrounds in eleven-dimensional supergravity. On a d-dimensional…
We demonstrate that M-theory compactifications on 7-manifolds of G_2 holonomy, which yield 4d N=1 supersymmetric systems, often admit at special loci in their moduli space a description as type IIA orientifolds. In this way, we are able to…
In the framework of heterotic compactifications, we consider the one-loop corrections to the gauge couplings, which were shown to be free of any infra-red ambiguity. For a class of N=2 models, namely those that are obtained by toroidal…
We provide an M-theory geometric set-up to describe four-dimensional N=1 gauge theories. This is realized by a generalization of Hitchin's equation. This framework encompasses a rich class of theories including superconformal and confining…
Extending the recent work in hep-th/9803076, we consider string perturbative expansion in the presence of D-branes and orientifold planes imbedded in orbifolded space-time. In the $\alpha'\to 0$ limit the weak coupling string perturbative…
We study consistent truncations of M-theory to gauged N=2 supergravity in four dimensions, based on a large class of SU(3)-structures in seven dimensions. We show that the gauging involves isometries of the vector multiplet scalar manifold…
In this paper we discuss compactifications of M-theory to four dimensions on X \times S^1/Z_2, in which nonstandard embeddings in the E_8 \times E_8 vacuum gauge bundle are considered. At the level of the effective field theory description…
We study the structure of the moduli spaces of vacua and superpotentials of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions. By analyzing the instanton corrections, we compute the exact superpotentials and determine the quantum…