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Motivated by the electroweak hierarchy problem, we consider theories with two extra dimensions in which the four-dimensional scalar fields are components of gauge boson in full space, namely the Gauge-Higgs unification framework. We briefly…
Scherk-Schwarz compactification in string theory can be defined as orbifolding by an R symmetry, a symmetry that acts differently on bosons and fermions. Such a symmetry can arise in many situations, including toroidal and orbifold…
The landscape of possible four-dimensional low-energy effective theories arising from compactifications of string/M-theory seems vast. This might lead one to believe that any consistent-looking effective field theory coupled to gravity can…
We show that D-dimensional de Sitter space is unstable to the nucleation of non-singular geometries containing spacetime regions with different numbers of macroscopic dimensions, leading to a dynamical mechanism of compactification. These…
We study the heterotic asymmetric orbifold model in which supersymmetry is broken by the stringy Schark-Schwarz mechanism. This model is a natural non-supersymmetric extension of CHL strings and can also be interpreted as the interpolating…
We discuss Casimir effect of a massless, minimally coupled scalar field in a 6D warped flux compactification model and its implications for the hierarchy and cosmological constant problems, which are longstanding puzzles in phenomenology…
Our main objective is to study how braneworld models of higher codimension differ from the 5D case and traditional Kaluza-Klein compactifications. We first derive the classical dynamics describing the physical fluctuations in a wide class…
We review the construction of non-supersymmetric open string vacua in various dimensions. They can be obtained either projecting the (compactified) non-supersymmetric 0B theory, or applying the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism to open strings.…
Oscillating moduli fields can support a cosmological scaling solution in the presence of a perfect fluid when the scalar field potential satisfies appropriate conditions. We examine when such conditions arise in higher-dimensional,…
In order to lift the continuous moduli space of string vacua, non-trivial fluxes may be the essential input. In this talk I summarize aspects of two approaches to compactifications in the presence of fluxes: (i) generalized Scherk-Schwarz…
We present a 6D orbifold model on $T^2/\Z2$ which emerges as intermediate step in the compactification of the heterotic string to the supersymmetric standard model in four dimensions. It has $\SU6$ gauge symmetry in the bulk and two pairs…
In this paper we analyze the structure of supersymmetric vacua in compactifications of the heterotic string on certain manifolds with SU(3) structure. We first study the effective theories obtained from compactifications on half-flat…
We present a review of supersymmetry, supergravity, and the non-perturbative dynamics of gauge theories, tracing a path from the supersymmetry algebra to moduli stabilisation and de~Sitter vacua in string theory. Representations of the…
We propose a new solution to the strong-CP problem. It involves the existence of an unbroken gauged $U(1)_X$ symmetry whose gauge boson gets a Stuckelberg mass term by combining with a pseudoscalar field $\eta (x)$. The latter has…
We present the generalized Scherk-Schwarz reduction ansatz for the full supersymmetric exceptional field theory in terms of group valued twist matrices subject to consistency equations. With this ansatz the field equations precisely reduce…
The one-loop vacuum energy is explicitly computed for a class of perturbative string vacua where supersymmetry is spontaneously broken by a T-duality invariant asymmetric Scherk-Schwarz deformation. The low-lying spectrum is tachyon-free…
It is well known that the Casimir energy of bulk fields induces a non-trivial potential for the compactification radius of higher-dimensional field theories. On dimensional grounds, the 1-loop potential is ~ 1/R^4. Since the 5d gauge…
Contracting Universe (including bouncing models) solution generally depends on the initial conditions and hence possesses an extreme fine-tuning problem. In order to probe the stability of those solutions, in this work, we consider the…
We construct non-supersymmetric type I string models which correspond to consistent flat-space solutions of all classical equations of motion. Moreover, the one-loop vacuum energy is naturally fixed by the size of compact extra dimensions…
We revisit general arguments for the absence of exact continuous global symmetries in string compactifications and extend them to D-brane models. We elucidate the various ways approximate continuous global symmetries arise in the…