Related papers: Towards Bootstrapping F-theory
We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to compute the central charges of the d=4, N=2 superconformal field theories arising from N D3-branes at singularities in F-theory. These include the conformal theories with E_n global symmetries. We…
D3-branes are often a necessary ingredient in global compactifications of F-theory. In minimal realizations of flavor hierarchies in F-theory GUT models, suitable fluxes are turned on, which in turn attract D3-branes to the Yukawa points.…
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…
Matrix theory and the AdS/CFT correspondence provide nonperturbative holographic formulations of string theory. In both cases the finite N theories can be thought of as infrared regulated versions of flat space string theory in which…
We add fundamental flavors to N=2 Chern-Simons-matter theories living on M2 branes probing a Calabi-Yau four-fold singularity. This is dual, in the 't Hooft limit described by IIA string theory, to the introduction of supersymmetric D6…
We demonstrate how non-simply-laced gauge and flavor symmetries arise in F-theory on spaces with non-isolated singularities. The breaking from a simply-laced symmetry to one that is non-simply-laced is induced by Calabi-Yau complex…
We initiate a study of the holographic duals of a class of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories that are engineered by wrapping M5-branes on a sphere with an irregular puncture. These notably include the…
This thesis studies meta- and exactly stable supersymmetry breaking mechanisms in heterotic and type IIB string theories and constructs an F-theory Grand Unified Theory model for neutrino physics in which neutrino mass is determined by the…
In the quest for mathematical foundations of M-theory, the "Hypothesis H" that fluxes are quantized in Cohomotopy theory, implies, on flat but possibly singular spacetimes, that M-brane charges locally organize into equivariant homotopy…
We study correlators of insertions along 1/2 BPS line defects in the holographic dual to type IIB string theory in $AdS_3 \times S^3 \times T^4$ with mixed Ramond-Ramond and Neveu Schwarz-Neveu Schwarz three-form flux. These defects break…
This paper, in a sense, completes a series of three papers. In the previous two hep-th/0404013, hep-th/0410293, we have explored the possibility of refining the K-theory partition function in type II string theories using elliptic…
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…
We combine supersymmetric localization and the conformal bootstrap to study five-dimensional superconformal field theories. To begin, we classify the admissible counter-terms and derive a general relation between the five-sphere partition…
We consider mixed gluon-graviton scattering in Type IIB string theory on AdS$_5\times S^5/\mathbb{Z}_2$ in the presence of D7 branes, which is dual to a mixed correlator of the $SO(8)$ and $SU(2)_L$ flavor multiplets of a certain 4d…
We propose a new geometric mechanism for naturally realizing unparallel three families of flavors in string theory, using the framework of F-theory. We consider a set of coalesced local 7-branes of a particular Kodaira singularity type and…
We consider 4d N=1 theories arising from F-theory compactifications on elliptically-fibered Calabi-Yau four-folds and investigate the non-perturbative structure of their scalar field space beyond the large volume/large complex structure…
In order to produce a low energy effective field theory from a string model, it is necessary to specify a vacuum state. In order that this vacuum be supersymmetric, it is well known that all field expectation values must be along so-called…
We find non-critical string backgrounds in five and eight dimensions, holographically related to four-dimensional conformal field theories with N=0 and N=1 supersymmetries. In the five-dimensional case we find an AdS_5 background metric for…
Starting from concrete AdS/CFT dual pairs, one can introduce ingredients which produce cosmological solutions, including metastable de Sitter and its decay to non-accelerating FRW. We present simple FRW solutions sourced by magnetic flavor…
In this letter we study topological open string field theory on D--branes in a IIB background given by non compact CY geometries ${\cal O}(n)\oplus{\cal O}(-2-n)$ on $\P1$ with a singular point at which an extra fiber sits. We wrap $N$…