Related papers: Connections, Field Redefinitions and Heterotic Sup…
M-theory geometric engineering on manifolds of special holonomy yields a rich class of novel field theories. In this paper, we construct new 3d $\mathcal{N}=2^{\ast}$ and $\mathcal{N}=4^{\ast}$ gauge theories, realized as mass-deformations…
We describe the geometry of generic heterotic backgrounds preserving minimal supersymmetry in four dimensions using the language of generalised geometry. They are characterised by an $SU(3)\times Spin(6+n)$ structure within…
We describe here a degeneration of the symplectic desingularization of the moduli spaces of topologically trivial $GL(2,\mathbb{C})$ and $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$-Higgs bundles over a hyperelliptic curve, into O'Grady's ten and six dimensional…
Supergravity (SUGRA) theories are specified by a few functions, most notably the real K\"ahler function denoted by $G(T_i, \bar {T}_i) = K + \log |W|^2$, where K is a real K\"ahler potential, and W is a holomorphic superpotential. A field…
We investigate exotic supergravity theories in 6D with maximal (4,0) and (3,1) supersymmetry, which were conjectured by C. Hull to exist and to describe strong coupling limits of ${\cal N}=8$ theories in 5D. These theories involve exotic…
We construct a mathematical framework for twisted N=2 supersymmetric topological quantum field theory on a 4-manifold. Supersymmetry in flat space is defined and the twist homomorphism is constructed, giving us a supermanifold that is the…
We study symplectic groups and indefinite orthogonal groups over involutive, possibly noncommutative, algebras $(A, \sigma)$. In the case when the algebra $(A, \sigma)$ is Hermitian, or the complexification $(A_{\mathbb{C}},…
The problem of the gauge hierarchy is brought up in a hypercomplex scheme for a U(1) field theory; in such a scheme a compact gauge group is deformed through a \gamma-parameter that varies along a non-compact internal direction, transverse…
We revisit Vafa-Witten theory in the more general setting whereby the underlying moduli space is not that of instantons, but of the full Vafa-Witten equations. We physically derive (i) a novel Vafa-Witten four-manifold invariant associated…
We discuss an orbifold of the toroidally compactified heterotic string which gives a global reduction of the dimension of the moduli space while preserving the supersymmetry. This construction yields the moduli space of the first of a…
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…
A review of orbifold geometry is given, followed by a review of the construction of four-dimensional heterotic string models by compactification on a six-dimensional Z_3 orbifold. Particular attention is given to the details of the…
This expository paper details the theory of rank one Higgs bundles over a closed Riemann surface X and their relationship to representations of the fundamental group of X. We construct an equivalence between the deformation theories of flat…
The restrictions of target--space duality are imposed at the perturbative level on the holomorphic Wilsonian couplings that encode certain higher-order gravitational interactions in $N=2, D=4$ heterotic string compactifications. A crucial…
We extend the recently established Mellin correspondence of supergravity and superstring amplitudes to the case of arbitrary helicity configurations. The amplitudes are discussed in the framework of Grassmannian varieties. We generalize…
We consider the geometric formulation of the Hamiltonian formalism for field theory in terms of {\em Hamiltonian connections} and {\em multisymplectic forms}. In this framework the covariant Hamilton equations for Mechanics and field theory…
We show that the heterotic supersymmetry (Killing spinor equations) and the anomaly cancellation imply the heterotic equations of motion in dimensions five, six, seven, eight if and only if the connection on the tangent bundle is an…
We consider a family of perturbative heterotic string backgrounds. These are complex threefolds X with c_1 = 0, each with a gauge field solving the Hermitian Yang-Mill's equations and compatible B and H fields that satisfy the anomaly…
We consider compactifications of heterotic supergravity on anti-de Sitter space, with a six-dimensional nearly K"ahler manifold as the internal space. Completing the model proposed by Frey and Lippert with the particular choice of…
We reformulate twistor-string theory as a heterotic string based on a twisted (0,2) model. The path integral localizes on holomorphic maps, while the (0,2) moduli naturally correspond to the states of N=4 super Yang-Mills and conformal…