Related papers: Oh, wait, O8 de Sitter may be unstable!
We derive the equations for the nonsupersymmetric vacua of D3-branes in the presence of nonperturbative moduli stabilization in type IIB flux compactifications, and solve and analyze them in the case of two particular 7-brane embeddings at…
Using the relation between D-brane charges and K-theory, we study non-BPS D-branes and their behavior under T-duality. We point out that in general compactifications, D-brane charges are classified by relative K-theory groups. T-duality is…
One of the long-standing puzzles in string theory has been on the existence of a four-dimensional de Sitter and quasi de Sitter configurations, the latter being defined with a temporally varying dark energy, in E_8 x E_8 and SO(32)…
We show that three-dimensional N=8 $Sp(N)$ and $SO(2N+1)$ gauge theories flow to the same strong coupling fixed point. As a consequence, the corresponding orientifold two-planes in type IIA string theory are described at strong coupling and…
We revisit the issue of uplifting the potential to de Sitter (dS) vacua in type IIB flux compactifications of Kachru, Kallosh, Linde and Trivedi (KKLT). We shed light on some tension between two constraints on dS vacua in type IIB string…
We investigate the correspondence between existence/stability of BPS states in type II string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold and BPS solutions of four dimensional N=2 supergravity. Some paradoxes emerge, and we propose a…
Notwithstanding the central role of D-branes in many recently proposed string dualities, several interesting type I vacua have been found without resorting directly to D-brane technology. In this talk, we analyze a three-generation…
Following Sen's discovery of various stable non-BPS D-branes, K-theory has been shown to be the appropriate mathematical framework for classifying conserved D-brane charges. The classification accounts for known D-branes and predicts some…
We study type IIA string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau fourfolds and heterotic string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau threefolds times a two-torus. We derive the resulting effective theories which have two space-time dimensions and…
We present a large class of models of D-branes at (orientifold) Calabi-Yau singularities which enjoy dynamical supersymmetry breaking at low energy, by means of either the $SU(5)$ or 3-2 supersymmetry breaking models. Once embedded in a…
We consider a wide class of cascading gauge theories which usually lead to runaway behaviour in the IR, and discuss possible deformations of the superpotential at the bottom of the cascade which stabilize the runaway direction and provide…
New no-scale supergravity models with F-term SUSY breaking are introduced, adopting Kaehler potentials parameterizing flat or curved (compact or non-compact) Kaehler manifolds. We systematically derive the form of the superpotentials…
We show that the minimal set of necessary ingredients to construct explicit, four-dimensional de Sitter solutions from IIA string theory at tree-level are O6-planes, non-zero Romans mass parameter, form fluxes, and negative internal…
Bizon and Rostworowski have recently suggested that anti-de Sitter spacetime might be nonlinearly unstable to transfering energy to smaller and smaller scales and eventually forming a small black hole. We consider pure gravity with a…
A recently discovered high-Tc cuprate superconductor Ba2CuO$_{4-\delta}$ exhibits exceptional Jahn-Teller distortion, wherein the CuO6 octahedrons are compressed along the c axis. As a consequence, the O vacancies prefer to reside in the…
In this set of lectures various properties of D-branes are discussed. After reviewing the basics, we discuss unstable D-brane/anti-D-brane systems, a subject pioneered by Sen. Following him, we discuss the construction of the non-BPS…
We present four-dimensional M-theory vacua with N>0 supersymmetry which, from the perspective of perturbative Type IIA string theory, have N=0. Such vacua can appear when the compactifying 7-manifold is a U(1) fibration. The missing…
We have shown that higher dimensional Reissner-Nordstr\"om-de Sitter black holes are gravitationally unstable for large values of the electric charge and cosmological constant in $D \geq 7$ space-time dimensions. We have found the shape of…
We study the dynamics of D-particles (D0-branes) in type I' string theory and of the corresponding states in the dual heterotic description. We account for the presence of the two 8-orientifolds (8 dimensional orientifold planes) and…
We investigate whether a tachyonic scalar field, encompassing both dark energy and dark matter-like features will drive our universe towards a Big Brake singularity or a de Sitter expansion. In doing this it is crucial to establish the…