Related papers: Fluxes, bundle gerbes and 2-Hilbert spaces
We show that if $M$ is a Frobenius manifold of dimension $n$ such that $T_{x} M$ is semisimple for every $x \in M$, then there exists a canonical 2-vector bundle $\mathcal{B}$ over $M$ of rank $n$. This 2-vector bundle encodes the…
In this paper, we develop the mathematical formulation of metric string structures. These play a crucial role in the formulation of certain six-dimensional superconformal field theories and we believe that they also underlie potential…
In the paper arXiv:0810.4291 we have shown, in the context of type II superstring theory, the classification of the allowed B-field and A-field configurations in the presence of anomaly-free D-branes, the mathematical framework being…
Bundle gerbes with connection and their modules play an important role in the theory of two-dimensional sigma models with a background Wess-Zumino flux: their holonomy determines the contribution of the flux to the Feynman amplitudes of…
We study the central charges of the supersymmetry algebra of branes in backgrounds corresponding to wrapped M5-branes. In the case of M5-branes wrapping a holomorphic 2-cycle in two complex-dimensional space, we find this allows for a…
Infinitesimal symmetries of $S^1$-bundle gerbes are modelled with multiplicative vector fields on Lie groupoids. It is shown that a connective structure on a bundle gerbe gives rise to a natural horizontal lift of multiplicative vector…
We consider, in flux compactification of heterotic string theory, spacetime-filling five-branes. Stabilizing the fivebrane involves minimizing the combined energy density of the tension and a Coulomb potential associated with an internal…
We describe a duality relation between configurations of M5-branes in M-theory and type IIB theory on Taub-NUT geometries with NSNS and RR 3-form field strength fluxes. The flux parameters are controlled by the angles between the M5-brane…
We show that the $D=11$ Supermembrane theory (M2-brane) compactified on a $M_9 \times T^2$ target space, with constant fluxes $C_{\pm}$ naturally incorporates the geometrical structure of a twisted torus. We extend the M2-brane theory to a…
We suggest a geometric approach to quantisation of the twisted Poisson structure underlying the dynamics of charged particles in fields of generic smooth distributions of magnetic charge, and dually of closed strings in locally…
Geometric transitions between Calabi-Yau manifolds have proven to be a powerful tool in exploring the intricate and interconnected vacuum structure of string compactifications. However, their role in N=1, 4-dimensional string…
Motivated by the problem of constructing explicit geometric string structures, we give a rigid model for bundle 2-gerbes, and define connective structures thereon. This model is designed to make explicit calculations easier in applications…
The dissertation consists of two parts. The first presents an account of the effective worldvolume description of $N$ coincident M2-branes ending on an M5-brane in M-theory. It reviews Basu and Harvey's recent description of the worldvolume…
For a manifold $M$ with an integral closed 3-form $\omega$, we construct a $PU(H)$-bundle and a Lie groupoid over its total space, together with a curving in the sense of gerbes. If the form is non-degenerate, we furthermore give a natural…
String and membrane dynamics may be unified into a theory of 2+2 dimensional self-dual world-volumes living in a 10+2 dimensional target space. Some of the vacua of this M-theory are described by the N=(2,1) heterotic string, whose target…
In this dissertation, we study various aspects of type IIB string theory compactified on freely acting orbifolds. We focus particularly on asymmetric orbifolds, which are examples of non-geometric string compactifications and constitute an…
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…
Higher Forms Symmetries (HFS) of a closed bosonic M2-brane theory formulated on a compactified target space $\mathcal{M}_9 \times T^2$ are obtained. We show that the cancellation of the 't Hooft anomaly present in the theory is related to a…
We describe the quantization of 2-plectic manifolds as they arise in the context of the quantum geometry of M-branes and non-geometric flux compactifications of closed string theory. We review the groupoid approach to quantizing Poisson…
M5-branes wrapping a holomorphic curve in a Calabi-Yau manifold can be used to construct four-dimensional N=1 gauge theories. In this paper we will consider M5-brane configurations corresponding to N=2 theories broken to N=1 by a…