Related papers: Orbifolds from $\boldsymbol{\mathrm{Sp}(4,\mathbb …
The recent classification of Landau--Ginzburg potentials and their abelian symmetries focuses attention on a number of models with large positive Euler number for which no mirror partner is known. All of these models are related to…
We study mirror symmetry of type II strings on manifolds with the exceptional holonomy groups $G_2$ and Spin(7). Our central result is a construction of mirrors of Spin(7) manifolds realized as generalized connected sums. In parallel to…
We present the first example of a grand unified theory (GUT) with a modular symmetry interpreted as a family symmetry. The theory is based on supersymmetric $SU(5)$ in 6d, where the two extra dimensions are compactified on a…
We show that a flavour symmetry a la Froggatt-Nielsen can be naturally incorporated in models with gauge-Higgs unification, by exploiting the heavy fermions that are anyhow needed to realize realistic Yukawa couplings. The case of the…
We construct a three family flipped SU(5) model from the heterotic string theory compactified on the $\Z_{12-I}$ orbifold with one Wilson line. The gauge group is $\rm SU(5)\times U(1)_X\times U(1)^2\times[SU(2)\times SO(10)\times…
Given a two-dimensional conformal field theory with a global symmetry, we propose a method to implement an orbifold construction by taking orbits of the modular group. For the case of cyclic symmetries we find that this approach always…
By normalizing the space of commuting pairs of elements in a reductive Lie group G, and the corresponding space for the Langlands dual group, we construct pairs of hyperkahler orbifolds which satisfy the conditions to be mirror partners in…
Understanding the origin of flavour hierarchies in the Standard Model remains an open problem, motivating extensions with non-trivial flavour symmetries. We unify deconstructed weak isospin $\mathrm{SU}(2)_\mathrm{L}^3$ into an…
We present a class of supersymmetric models which address the flavor puzzle and have an inverted hierarchy of sfermions. Their construction involves quiver-like models with link fields in generic representations. The magnitude of…
We do not know why there are three fermion families in the Standard Model (SM), nor can we explain the observed pattern of fermion masses and mixing angles. Standard grand unified theories based on the SU(5) and SO(10) groups fail to shed…
We investigate the options for imposing flavor symmetries on a minimal renormalizable non-supersymmetric $\mathrm{SU}(5)$ grand unified theory, without introducing additional flavor-related fields. Such symmetries reduce the number of free…
We prove a gluing formula for the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of families of $4$-manifolds obtained by fibrewise connected sum. Our formula expresses the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of such a connected sum family in terms of…
Effective field theories arising from string compactifications are subject to constraints originating from the duality transformations of string theory. Interpreting these so-called selection rules in terms of conventional symmetries has…
Let A_2 be the moduli stack of principally polarized abelian surfaces and V a smooth l-adic sheaf on A_2 associated to an irreducible rational finite dimensional representation of Sp(4). We give an explicit expression for the cohomology of…
We study the origin of non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetries in superstring theory. We classify all possible non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetries which can appear in heterotic orbifold models. These symmetries include D_4 and Delta(54).…
This thesis contains an introductory chapter on orbifolds. The following chapter explains the foundations of orientifolds. Chapters 4-7 present own research. In chapter 4 we quantize open strings with linear boundary conditions, as they…
We discuss aspects of a promising top-down origin of flavor symmetries in particle physics. Modular transformations originating from string theory dualities are shown to play a crucial role. We introduce the notion of an "eclectic" flavor…
This is the author's PhD thesis. Two main sections address various aspects of mirror symmetry for compact Calabi-Yau threefolds and the roles that classically modular varieties play in string theory compactifications. The main results…
We study non-compact Gepner models that preserve sixteen or eight supercharges in type II string theories. In particular, we develop an orbifolded Landau-Ginzburg description of these models analogous to the Landau-Ginzburg formulation of…
Motivated by orbifold grand unified theories, we construct a class of three-family Pati-Salam models in a Z6 abelian symmetric orbifold with two discrete Wilson lines. These models have marked differences from previously-constructed…