Related papers: Axion decay constants away from the lamppost
Natural inflation relies on the existence of an axion decay constant which is super-Planckian. In string theory only sub-Planckian axion decay constants have been found in any controlled regime. However in field theory it is possible to…
We report that the hypothesis that the upper bound on the axion decay constant can be moved up beyond $10^{12}$ GeV in models with a stronger QCD in the early universe is not realized. This proof is possible by studying the superpotential…
We present a new constraint for the axion monopole-dipole coupling in the range of 1 micrometer to a few millimeters, previously unavailable for experimental study. The constraint was obtained using our recent results on the observation of…
Tree-level moduli stabilization via geometric and non-geometric fluxes in type IIB orientifolds on Calabi-Yau manifolds is investigated. The focus is on stable non-supersymmetric minima, where all moduli are fixed except for some massless…
We present a novel way to classify Calabi-Yau threefolds by systematically studying their infinite volume limits. Each such limit is at infinite distance in Kahler moduli space and can be classified by an associated limiting mixed Hodge…
The moduli spaces of Calabi--Yau (CY) manifolds are the special K\"ahler manifolds. The special K\"ahler geometry determines the low-energy effective theory which arises in Superstring theory after the compactification on a CY manifold. For…
We study infinite-distance limits in the complex structure moduli space of elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds. In F-theory compactifications to six dimensions, such limits include infinite-distance trajectories in the non-perturbative open…
We present a new mechanism to deplete the energy density of the QCD axion, making decay constants as high as $f_a \simeq 10^{17}\,\rm{GeV}$ viable for generic initial conditions. In our setup, the axion couples to a massless dark photon…
Cosmological evolution of axionic string network is analyzed in terms of field-theoretic simulations in a box of 512^3 grids, which are the largest ever, using a new and more efficient identification scheme of global strings. The scaling…
In a certain strong coupling limit, compactification of the $E_8\times E_8$ heterotic string on a Calabi-Yau manifold $X$ can be described by an eleven-dimensional theory compactified on $X\times \S^1/\Z_2$. In this limit, the usual…
In the presence of membranes, M-theory becomes in the low energy limit 11 dimensional supergravity action coupled to a supermembrane action. The fields of the first action are the same fields which couple to the membrane. It is shown that…
The recent detection of the cosmic microwave background polarimeter experiment BICEP2 of tensor fluctuations in the B-mode power spectrum basically excludes all plausible axion models where its decay constant is above $10^{13}$ GeV.…
Axions, grand unification, and string theory are each compelling extensions of the Standard Model. We show that combining these frameworks imposes strong constraints on the QCD axion mass. Using unitarity arguments and explicit string…
We discuss inflation models within supersymmetry and supergravity frameworks with a landscape of chiral superfields and one $U(1)$ shift symmetry which is broken by non-perturbative symmetry breaking terms in the superpotential. We label…
It is known that moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau (CY) manifolds are special K\"ahler manifolds. This structure determines the corresponding low-energy effective theory which arises in superstring compactifications on CY manifolds. In the case,…
Models of large-field inflation based on axion-like fields with shift symmetries can be simple and natural, and make a promising prediction of detectable primordial gravitational waves. The Weak Gravity Conjecture is known to constrain the…
We study the large volume limit of the scalar potential in Calabi-Yau flux compactifications of type IIB string theory. Under general circumstances there exists a limit in which the potential approaches zero from below, with an associated…
In this work we study interesting corners of the quantum gravity landscape with 8 supercharges pushing the boundaries of our current understanding. Calabi-Yau threefolds compactifications of F/M/type II theories to 6, 5 and 4 dimensions are…
We propose a conceptual framework that leads to an abstract characterization for the exact solvability of Calabi-Yau varieties in terms of abelian varieties with complex multiplication. The abelian manifolds are derived from the cohomology…
We consider the physical implications of very light axiodilatons motivated by a novel mechanism to substantially reduce the vacuum energy proposed in arXiv:2110.10352. We address the two main problems concerning the light axiodilaton that…