Related papers: A Moduli Fixing Mechanism in M theory
Flux compactifications of string theory seem to require the presence of a fine-tuned constant in the superpotential. We discuss a scheme where this constant is replaced by a dynamical quantity which we argue to be a `continuous…
We argue that there are two distinct classes of type I compactification to four dimensions on any space. These two classes are distinguished in a mysterious way by the presence (or absence) of a discrete 6-form potential. In simple…
A topological fact about eleven dimensions is used to motivate a potential new duality in M-theory. We complete the discussion of consistent limits of M-theory raised in a previous paper to include gravitational anomaly cancelation and…
We describe off-shell $\mathcal{N}=1$ M-theory compactifications down to four dimensions in terms of eight-dimensional manifolds equipped with a topological $Spin(7)$-structure. Motivated by the exceptionally generalized geometry…
We study M-theory compactification on ${\mathbb{T}^7/ \mathbb{Z}_2^3}$ in the presence of a seven-flux, metric fluxes and KK monopoles. The effective four-dimensional supergravity has seven chiral multiplets whose couplings are specified by…
The compactification from the 11-dimensional Horava-Witten orbifold to 5-dimensional heterotic M-theory on a Schoen Calabi-Yau threefold is reviewed, as is the specific $SU(4)$ vector bundle leading to the "heterotic standard model" in the…
We introduce a notion of topological M-theory and argue that it provides a unification of form theories of gravity in various dimensions. Its classical solutions involve G_2 holonomy metrics on 7-manifolds, obtained from a topological…
We show that, up to some natural normalizations, the moduli space of singly periodic complete embedded maximal surfaces in the Lorentz-Minkowski space $\l^3=(\r^3,dx_1^2+dx_2^2-dx_3^2),$ with fundamental piece having a finite number $(n+1)$…
The equations of 10 or 11 dimensional supergravity admit supersymmetric compactifications on 7-manifolds of $G_2$ holonomy, but these supergravity vacua are deformed away from special holonomy by the higher-order corrections of string or…
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…
We study the compactification of M-theory on Calabi-Yau five-folds and the resulting N=2 super-mechanics theories. By explicit reduction from 11 dimensions, including both bosonic and fermionic terms, we calculate the one-dimensional…
We discuss an orbifold of the toroidally compactified heterotic string which gives a global reduction of the dimension of the moduli space while preserving the supersymmetry. This construction yields the moduli space of the first of a…
The subspace of the moduli space of F-theory on K3 over which the coupling remains constant develops new branches at special values of this coupling. These values correspond to fixed points under the SL(2,Z) duality group of the type IIB…
Heterotic M-Theory is a promising candidate for that corner of M-theory which makes contact with the real world. However, while the theory requires one of its expansion parameters, $\epsilon$, to be perturbatively small, a successful…
The moduli in a 4D N=1 heterotic compactification on an elliptic CY, as well as in the dual F-theoretic compactification, break into "base" parameters which are even (under the natural involution of the elliptic curves), and "fiber" or…
We define a notion of relative fundamental class that applies to moduli spaces in gauge theory and in symplectic Gromov-Witten theory. For universal moduli spaces over a parameter space, the relative fundamental class specifies an element…
We use the theory of singular foliations to study ${\cal N}=1$ compactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity on eight-manifolds $M$ down to $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ spaces, allowing for the possibility that the internal part $\xi$ of the…
Flux compactifications of $M$ theory on certain $G_2$-manifolds have vacua in which all moduli are determined.These vacua have discrete parameters - the flux quanta. Small changes in these quanta produce small changes in the moduli and…
We show that hierarchically small vacuum expectation values of the superpotential in supersymmetric theories can be a consequence of an approximate R symmetry. We briefly discuss the role of such small constants in moduli stabilization and…
We continue the investigation of symmetries and anomalies of $T[M]$ theories obtained by compactifying 6d SCFTs on an internal manifold $M$. We extend the notion of "polarizations on a manifold $M$" to cases where $M$ may have boundaries or…