Related papers: On the Sen limit squared
We explore 6-dimensional compactifications of F-theory exhibiting (2,0) superconformal theories coupled to gravity that include discretely charged superconformal matter. Beginning with F-theory geometries with Abelian gauge fields and…
We present a systematic way of generating F-theory models dual to nonperturbative vacua (i.e., vacua with extra tensor multiplets) of heterotic E8xE8 strings compactified on K3, using hypersurfaces in toric varieties. In all cases, the…
While M- and F-theory compactifications describe a much larger class of vacua than perturbative string compactifications, they typically need singularities to generate non-abelian gauge fields and charged matter. The physical explanation…
We construct several examples of genus-one fibered K3 surfaces without a global section with type $I_{n}$ fibers, by considering double covers of a special class of rational elliptic surfaces lacking a global section, known as Halphen…
We construct compact examples of D-manifolds for type IIB strings. The construction has a natural interpretation in terms of compactification of a 12 dimensional `F-theory'. We provide evidence for a more natural reformulation of type IIB…
We derive the anomaly 8-form of 6-dimensional gauge theories arising in F theory compactifications on elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds. The result allows to determine the matter content of certain such theories in terms of intersection…
We study the compactification of the $(2,0)$ and type-II little-string theories on $S^1$, $T^2$ and $T^3$ with an R-symmetry twist that preserves half the supersymmetry. We argue that it produces the same moduli spaces of vacua as…
We initiate the systematic study of flux scalar potentials and their vacua by using asymptotic Hodge theory. To begin with, we consider F-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau fourfolds with four-form flux. We argue that a classifications…
We study the elliptic fibrations of some Calabi-Yau three-folds, including the $Z_2\times Z_2$ orbifold with $(h_{1,1},h_{2,1})=(27,3)$, which is equivalent to the common framework of realistic free-fermion models, as well as related…
In recent scans of 4D F-theory geometric models, it was shown that a dominant majority of the base geometries only support SU(2), $G_2$, $F_4$ and $E_8$ gauge groups. Moreover, most of these gauge groups are shown to couple to strongly…
Applying the Ashok-Denef-Douglas estimation method to elliptic Calabi-Yau fourfolds suggests that a single elliptic fourfold ${\cal M}_{\rm max}$ gives rise to ${\cal O} (10^{272,000})$ F-theory flux vacua, and that the sum total of the…
The heterotic string compactified on an (n-1)-dimensional elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau Z-->B is conjectured to be dual to F-theory compactified on an n-dimensional Calabi-Yau X-->B, fibered over the same base with elliptic K3 fibers. In…
We study the space of geometric and open string moduli of type IIB compactifications from the perspective of complex structure deformations of F-theory. In order to find a correspondence, we work in the weak coupling limit and for…
It is emphasized that compactified little string theories have compact moduli spaces of vacua, which globally probe compact string geometry. Compactifying various little string theories on T^3 leads to 3d theories with exact, quantum…
We interpret infinite-distance limits in the complex structure moduli space of F-theory compactifications to six dimensions in the light of general ideas in quantum gravity. The limits we focus on arise from non-minimal singularities in the…
M5 branes probing D-type singularities give rise to 6d (1,0) SCFTs with $SO \times SO$ flavor symmetry known as D-type conformal matter theories. Gauging the diagonal $SO$-flavor symmetry leads to a little string theory with an intrinsic…
F-theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau fourfold naturally describes non-Abelian gauge symmetries through the singularity structure of the elliptic fibration. In contrast Abelian symmetries are more difficult to study because of their…
We study M-theory compactified on a specific class of seven-dimensional manifolds with SU(3) structure. The manifolds can be viewed as a fibration of an arbitrary Calabi-Yau threefold over a circle, with a U-duality twist around the circle.…
We study in detail some aspects of duality between type IIB and M-theory. We focus on the duality between type IIB string theory on K3 x T^2/Z_2 orientifold and M-theory on K3 x K3, in the F-theory limit. We give the explicit map between…
We show that F-theory compactifications with abelian gauge factors generally exhibit a non-trivial global gauge group structure. The geometric origin of this structure lies with the Shioda map of the Mordell--Weil generators. This results…