Related papers: On String Vacua without Supersymmetry: brane dynam…
We consider "super no-scale models" in the framework of the heterotic string, where the N=4,2,1 --> 0 spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry is induced by geometrical fluxes realizing a stringy Scherk-Schwarz perturbative mechanism.…
After a short introduction to Matrix theory, we explain how can one generalize matrix models to describe toroidal compactifications of M-theory and the heterotic vacua with 16 supercharges. This allows us, for the first time in history, to…
We conjecture that the end point of bulk closed string tachyon decay at any non-zero coupling, is the annihilation of space time by Witten's bubble of nothing, resulting in a topological phase of the theory. In support of this we present a…
We present a string theory construction in which the particle physics contributions to the one-loop vacuum energy exactly cancel, whilst the gravitational contributions are suppressed in the size of one or two large extra dimensions. This…
Supersymmetry breaking via gaugino condensation is studied in vacua of heterotic M-theory with five-branes. We show that supersymmetry is still broken by a global mechanism and that the non-perturbative superpotential takes the standard…
We argue that traditional methods of compactification of string theory make it very difficult to understand how the cosmological constant becomes zero. String inspired models can give zero cosmological constant after fine tuning but since…
We report on the construction of four-dimensional string vacua by considering general abelian and non-abelian bundles on an internal Calabi-Yau for both heterotic theories. The structure of the resulting gauge sector is extremely rich and…
We find a class of flat supersymmetric brane-antibrane configurations. They follow from ordinary brane-antibrane systems by turning on a specific worldvolume background electric field, which corresponds to dissolved fundamental strings. We…
We propose here a static and axisymmetric braneworld in six dimensions as a string-like model extension. For a subtle warp function, this scenario provides near brane corrections. By varying the bulk cosmological constant, we obtain a…
We study spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in spatially modulated stable or meta-stable vacua in supersymmetric field theories. Such spatial modulation can be realized in a higher derivative chiral model for which vacuum energies are…
The heterotic--string models in the free fermionic formulation gave rise to some of the most realistic string models to date, which possess N=1 spacetime supersymmetry. Lack of evidence for supersymmetry at the LHC instigated recent…
A system of k Neveu-Schwarz (NS) 5-branes of type II string theory with one transverse direction compactified on a circle admits various unstable D-brane systems, - some with geometric instability arising out of being placed at a point of…
A recently proposed \ell=\infty field theory model of tachyon dynamics for unstable bosonic D-branes has been shown to arise as the two-derivative truncation of (boundary)-string field theory. Using an \ell\to \infty limit appropriate to…
Classical superstring vacua have zero vacuum energy and are supersymmetric and Lorentz-invariant. We argue that all these properties may be destroyed when quantum aspects of the interactions between particles and non-perturbative vacuum…
We consider a recent proposal to solve the cosmological constant problem within the context of brane world scenarios with infinite volume extra dimensions. In such theories bulk can be supersymmetric even if brane supersymmetry is…
We investigate the stability of superconducting strings as bound states of strings and fermion zero modes at both the classical and quantum levels. The dynamics of these superconducting strings can result in a stable configuration, known as…
We revisit the problem of stability of string vacua involving hyperbolic orbifolds using methods from homotopy theory and K-homology. We propose a definition of Type II string theory on such backgrounds that further carry stratified systems…
We review several mechanisms for supersymmetry breaking in orientifold models. In particular, we focus on non-supersymmetric open-string realisations that correspond to consistent flat-space solutions of the classical equations of motion.…
We consider certain four dimensional supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric asymmetric orbifolds with vanishing cosmological constant up to two loops and gauge the world sheet parity transformation. This leads to new string vacua, in which…
We review some recent developments in string theory, emphasizing the importance of vacuum instabilities, their relation to the density of states, and the role of space-time fermions in non-critical string theory. We also discuss the…