Related papers: Gauge and Gravitational Couplings from Modular Orb…
We investigate the possibility of lowering the string scale in four dimensional heterotic models possessing a non-perturbative extension of the gauge group. In particular, we consider a class of compactifications in which the perturbative…
We establish a relation, conjectured recently by E. Witten, between the hypermultiplet moduli space in compactifications of the heterotic string on an A-D-E singularities, and the moduli spaces of three dimensional pure gauge theories with…
We propose a manifestly U-duality invariant modular form for the D^4 R^4 interaction in type IIB string theory compactified on T^2. It receives perturbative contributions upto two loops, and non-perturbative contributions from D-instantons…
Monopole-antimonopole pairs connected by strings can be formed as topological defects in a sequence of cosmological phase transitions. Such hybrid defects typically decay early in the history of the universe but can still generate an…
We study the string topology of a closed oriented Riemannian manifold M. We describe a compact moduli space of diagrams, and show how the cellular chain complex of this space gives algebraic operations on the singular chains of the free…
We generalize to the case of compactified superstrings a construction given previously for critical superstrings of finite one loop amplitudes that are well-defined for all external momenta. The novel issues that arise for compactified…
A four-point function of $E_6$ singlets, of interest in elucidating the moduli space of (0,2) deformations of the quintic string vacuum, is computed using analytic and numerical methods. The conformal field theory amplitude satisfies the…
We investigate the low--energy properties of a Z_12 orbifold with continuous Wilson line moduli. They give rise to a (0,2) superstring compactification. Their Kaehler potentials and Yukawa couplings are calculated. We study the discrete…
These are notes based on lectures given at TASI99. We review the geometry of the moduli space of N=2 theories in four dimensions from the point of view of superstring compactification. The cases of a type IIA or type IIB string compactified…
A holographic perspective to study and characterize field spaces that arise in string compactifications is suggested. A concrete correspondence is developed by studying two-dimensional moduli spaces in supersymmetric string…
We present a moduli dependent target space effective field theory action for (truncated) heterotic string toroidal compactifications. When moving continuously along moduli space, the stringy gauge symmetry enhancement-breaking effects,…
In this paper, we establish a fully string-theoretic framework for calculating one-loop Higgs masses directly from first principles in perturbative closed string theories. Our framework makes no assumptions other than worldsheet modular…
We discuss the variation of gauge couplings in time in the framework of orbifold constructions, due to a change of the extra compact dimension's size. Models with gauge coupling unification allow to estimate the variation of the strong…
We investigate the spectrum of gravitational waves arising from primordial inflation in the presence of a string-theoretical higher curvature correction, specifically, the Gauss-Bonnet coupling term for the inflaton (modulus) field. We show…
We consider the E8 x E8 heterotic string theory compactified on Calabi-Yau manifolds with bundles containing abelian factors in their structure group. Generic low energy consequences such as the generalised Green-Schwarz mechanism for the…
Grand unified models in four dimensions typically suffer from the doublet-triplet splitting problem. This obstacle can be overcome in higher-dimensional settings, where a non-trivial gauge group topography can explain the simultaneous…
By employing the symmetries of the underlying conformal field theory, the tree-level K\"ahler potentials for untwisted moduli of the heterotic string compactifications on orbifolds with continuous Wilson lines are derived. These symmetries…
In this paper we study string compactifications on Deligne-Mumford stacks. The basic idea is that all such stacks have presentations to which one can associate gauged sigma models, where the group gauged need be neither finite nor…
The c-map relates classical hypermultiplet moduli spaces in compactifications of type II strings on a Calabi-Yau threefold to vector multiplet moduli spaces via a further compactification on a circle. We give an off-shell description of the…
The $\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{Z}_2$ heterotic string orbifold yielded a large space of phenomenological three generation models and serves as a testing ground to explore how the Standard Model of particle physics may be incorporated in a…