Related papers: Hyperkahler Singularities in Superstrings Compacti…
We consider the most general SU(3) singlet space of gauged N=8 supergravity in four-dimensions. The SU(3)-invariant six scalar fields in the theory can be viewed in terms of six real four-forms. By exponentiating these four-forms, we…
The moduli dependence of $(2,2)$ superstring compactifications based on Calabi--Yau hypersurfaces in weighted projective space has so far only been investigated for Fermat-type polynomial constraints. These correspond to Landau-Ginzburg…
We present a non-perturbative model of Gauge-Higgs Unification. We consider a five-dimensional pure SU(2) gauge theory with orbifold boundary conditions along the fifth dimension, such that the symmetry is reduced to U(1) at the fixed…
This thesis contains work which appeared in several papers. Additionally to the results in the papers it contains a detailed introduction and some further proofs and remarks. The dissertation gives a description of the topology and…
We explicitly describe, in the language of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric field theory, what happens when the moduli of a heterotic Calabi-Yau compactification change so as to make the internal non-Abelian gauge fields…
To solve the doublet-triplet splitting problem in SU(5) grand unified theories, we propose a four dimensional orbifold grand unified theory by acting Z2 on the SU(5) gauge group. Without an adjoint Higgs, the orbifold procedure breaks the…
We classify ${\cal N}=1$ gauge theories with simple gauge groups in four dimensions which possess a conformal manifold passing through weak coupling. A very rich variety of models is found once one allows for arbitrary representations under…
In this paper, we study the algebraic symplectic geometry of the singular moduli spaces of Higgs bundles of degree $0$ and rank $n$ on a compact Riemann surface $X$ of genus $g$. In particular, we prove that such moduli spaces are…
In this paper we show that the dimensionally reduced Seiberg-Witten equations lead to a Higgs field and study the resulting moduli spaces. The moduli space arising out of a subset of the equations, shown to be non-empty for a compact…
We propose a new Lagrangian describing N=4 superconformal field theory in three dimensions. This theory is believed to describe interacting field theory on the worldvolume of a M2-brane on an orbifold, and is obtained as a Z_2-quotient of…
We address the construction of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on tangent bundles of arbitrary Hermitian symmetric spaces starting from projective superspace. Using a systematic way of solving the (infinite number…
We consider an infinite class of 5d supersymmetric gauge theories involving products of symplectic and unitary groups that arise from D4-branes at orbifold singularities in Type I' string theory. The theories are argued to be dual to warped…
The supersymmetric grand unified theory where the $SU(5)$ gauge symmetry is broken by the Hosotani mechanism provides a natural solution to the so-called doublet-triplet splitting problem. At the same time, this model derives a general and…
We describe a class of supersymmetric unified models with the following properties: i) the full breaking of the gauge group is achieved by Higgs fields in the fundamental representation; ii) the correct unification of the strong and…
In the standard model matter fields form complete representations of a grand unified group whereas Higgs fields belong to incomplete `split' multiplets. This remarkable fact is naturally explained by `local grand unification' in…
We investigate compactifications of type II and M-theory down to $AdS_5$ with generic fluxes that preserve eight supercharges, in the framework of Exceptional Generalized Geometry. The geometric data and gauge fields on the internal…
By studying the Higgs bundle equations with the gauge group replaced by the group of symplectic diffeomorphisms of the 2-sphere we encounter the notion of a folded hyperkaehler 4-manifold and conjecture the existence of a family of such…
We investigate the connections between four-dimensional, N=2 M-theory vacua constructed as orbifolds of type II, heterotic, and type I strings. All these models have the same massless spectrum, which contains an equal number of vector…
In a previous paper (hep-th/9801040), the superconnection formalism was used to fit the Higgs field into a U(n) gauge theory with particular emphasis on the n=2 case, aiming at the reconstruction of certain parts of the Standard Model. The…
We analyse the vacuum structure of isotropic Z_2 x Z_2 flux compactifications, allowing for a single set of sources. Combining algebraic geometry with supergravity techniques, we are able to classify all vacua for both type IIA and IIB…