Related papers: String islands, discrete theta angles and the 6D $…

We summarize the results and the ideas in 1707.06152, 1707.06154, 1807.07768 where new warped $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ backgrounds are derived in massive IIA string theory by uplifting exact solutions in $\mathcal N=1$, $d=7$ and $\mathcal…

Singularities of Spin(7) manifolds are considered in the worldsheet approach, and it is argued that the internal CFT describing a singular spin(7) has an enhanced ${\cal SW}({3\over 2},{3\over 2},2)$ algebra tensored with ${\cal N}=1$…

Little string theories (LSTs) are UV complete non-local 6D theories decoupled from gravity in which there is an intrinsic string scale. In this paper we present a systematic approach to the construction of supersymmetric LSTs via the…

We point out that the de Sitter swampland conjecture would be falsified if classical fluxed Type IIA orientifold vacua with a single non-BPS D7-brane were indeed part of the string theory landscape. In other words, the dS swampland…

We consider bound states of strings which arise in 6d (1,0) SCFTs that are realized in F-theory in terms of linear chains of spheres with negative self-intersections 1,2, and 4. These include the strings associated to N small E8 instantons,…

We construct N=1 and N=0 chiral four-dimensional vacua of flux compactification in Type IIB string theory. These vacua have the common features that they are free of tadpole instabilities (both NSNS and RR) even for models with N=0…

The discrete tensorial charges carried by orientifold planes define n-gerbes in space-time. The simplest way to ensure a consistent string compactification is to require these gerbes to be flat. This results in expressions for the local…

We consider type II string theory compactified on a symmetric T^6/Z_2 orientifold. We study a general class of discrete deformations of the resulting four-dimensional supergravity theory, including gaugings arising from geometric and…

We demonstrate that the problems of finding stable or metastable vacua in a low energy effective field theory requires solving nested NP-hard and co-NP-hard problems, while the problem of finding near-vacua is in P. Multiple problems…

A large class of new 4-D superstring vacua with non-trivial/singular geometries, spacetime supersymmetry and other background fields (axion, dilaton) are found. Killing symmetries are generic and are associated with non-trivial dilaton and…

We analyse the perturbative four-point amplitudes in the simplest string theory examples of T-fold backgrounds, which enjoy N=6 supersymmetries in four dimensions. There are two theories defined as asymmetric orbifolds of order 2 and 3,…

We construct a new class of exact and stable superstring solutions based on $N=4$ superconformal world-sheet symmetry. In a subclass of these, the full spectrum of string excitations is derived in a modular-invariant way. In the weak…

Scattering of fundamental states of type IIB supergravity and superstring theory is discussed at low orders in perturbation theory in the background of a D-instanton. The integration over fermionic zero modes in both the low energy…

Up-to-date, there is no known example of a classical de Sitter solution of string theory, despite several good candidates. We consider here two newly discovered 10d supergravity de Sitter solutions, and analyse in great detail whether they…

We apply the modular approach to computing the topological string partition function on non-compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau 3-folds with higher Kodaira singularities in the fiber. The approach consists in making an ansatz for the…

We study closed N=2 strings on orbifolds of the form T^4/Z_2 and C^2/Z_2. We compute the torus partition function and prove its modular invariance. We analyse the BRST cohomology of the theory, construct the vertex operators, and compute…

In the first part of the talk, we discuss non-geometric twists and shifts and briefly review asymmetric orbifolds and free fermion constructions. These allow us to build Type IIB models with N = 1_L + 1_R and N = 1_L + 0_R models having few…

We search for the gravity description of unidentified field theories at their conformal fixed points by studying the low energy effective action of six dimensional noncritical string theory. We find constant dilaton solutions by solving…

We construct the six-dimensional Lagrangian for the massless twisted open strings with one end-point ending on a stack of D5 and the other on a stack of D9 branes, interacting with the gauge multiplets living respectively on the D5 and D9…

We study a simple axionlike model with a charged scalar $\phi$ and a double-charged scalar $\zeta$ of global $U(1)$ symmetry. A particular feature of our model is that a vacuum manifold is a torus knot. We consider a hierarchical…