Related papers: Aspects of Collapsing Cycles
We show that, in the presence of a string gas, simple higher-derivative modifications to the effective action for gravity can lead to bouncing and cyclic cosmological models. The modifications bound the expansion rate and avoid…
These lecture notes introduce conifold transitions between complex threefolds with trivial canonical bundle from the differential geometric point of view, and with a particular view towards aspects of mathematical physics and string theory.…
D-branes, topological defects in string theory on which string endpoints can live, may give new insight into the understanding of the cosmological evolution of the Universe at early epochs. We analyze the dynamics of D-branes in curved…
In this work we provide a self-contained and modern introduction to some of the tools, obstacles and open questions arising in string compactifications. Techniques and current progress are illustrated in the context of smooth heterotic…
We briefly review three aspects of string cosmology: (1) the ``stochastic'' approach to the pre-big bang scenario, (2) the presence of chaos in the generic cosmological solutions of the tree-level low-energy effective actions coming out of…
We study a system of intersecting NS and D-branes in type IIA string theory in R^{9,1}. We show that the 3+1 dimensional non-supersymmetric theory at the intersection has unstable vacua which are long-lived in some regions of the parameter…
Some of the phenomenological implications of string cosmological models are reviewed, with particular attention to the spectra of the tensor, scalar and vector modes of the geometry. A class of self-dual string cosmological models is…
Recent scenarios of phenomenologically realistic string compactifications involve the existence of gauge sectors localized on D-branes at singular points of Calabi-Yau threefolds. The spectrum and interactions in these gauge sectors are…
We study renormalization group flows among N=1 SCFTs realized on the worldvolume of D3-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau singularities, thus admitting a brane tiling description. The flows are triggered by masses for adjoint or vector-like…
We formulate and study a class of massive N=2 supersymmetric gauge field theories coupled to boundary degrees of freedom on the strip. For some values of the parameters, the infrared limits of these theories can be interpreted as open…
We study open B-model representing D-branes on 2-cycles of local Calabi--Yau geometries. To this end we work out a reduction technique linking D-branes partition functions and multi-matrix models in the case of conifold geometries so that…
Recent investigations involving the decay of unstable D-branes in string theory suggest that the tree level open string theory which describes the dynamics of the D-brane already knows about the closed string states produced in the decay of…
The dynamics of a classical branelike object in a curved background is derived from the covariant stress-energy conservation of the brane matter. The world sheet equations and boundary conditions are obtained in the pole-dipole…
The effect of fluxes on open string moduli is studied by analyzing the constraints imposed by supersymmetry on D-branes in type IIB flux backgrounds. We show that generically the conditions of supersymmetry cannot be maintained when moving…
We study the Gepner model description of D-branes in Calabi-Yau manifolds with singular curves. From a geometrical point of view, the resolution of singularities leads to additional homology cycles around which branes can wrap. Using…
We study four-dimensional low energy effective actions for conifold transitions of Calabi-Yau spaces in the context of IIB supergravity. The actions are constucted by examining the mass of D3-branes wrapped on collapsing/expanding…
This thesis is based on two papers by the author and consists of two parts. We review the recent developments in the theory of multiple M2-branes and 3-algebras leading to multiple D2-brane theories. The inclusion of flux terms for the…
The state of the art in D-brane model building is briefly reviewed, focusing on recent achievements in the construction of D=4 N = 1 type II string vacua with semi-realistic gauge sectors. Such progress relies on a better understanding of…
The supporting worldsheet of a string, membrane, or other higher dimensional brane, is analysed in terms of its first, second, and third fundamental tensors, and its inner and outer curvature tensors. The dynamical equations governing the…
A system containing a pair of non-BPS D-strings of type IIA string theory on an orbifold, representing a single D2-brane wrapped on a nonsupersymmetric 2-cycle of a Calabi-Yau 3-fold with $(h^{(1,1)},h^{(1,2)})$ = (11,11), is analyzed. In…