Related papers: Anomaly, Fluxes and (2,0) Heterotic-String Compact…
We consider compactifications of the heterotic string on $K3 \times T2$ so that the resulting theory in $d = 4$ space-time dimensions has $N = 2$ supersymmetry. The gravitational and gauge coupling constants of the low-energy effective…
We examine the role of global topological data associated to choices of holonomy for flat gauge fields in string compactification. Our study begins with perturbative string compactification on compact flat manifolds preserving 8…
The moduli space of the Calabi-Yau three-folds, which play a role as superstring ground states, exhibits the same {\em special geometry} that is known from nonlinear sigma models in $N=2$ supergravity theories. We discuss the symmetry…
In this thesis we study string compactifications on manifolds equipped with a $G$-structure, placing a special emphasis on the interplay between geometry and physics. We follow two complementary approaches. In the first part of the thesis…
We study moduli stabilization for type IIB orientifold compactifications on Calabi-Yau three-folds with (non-)geometric fluxes. For this setting it is possible to stabilize all closed-string moduli classically without the need for…
In this paper we initiate a broad study of some central properties of the string axiverse arising from Calabi-Yau compactifications of the perturbative heterotic $E_8\times E_8$ theory. Along this road toward a heterotic axiverse, we…
We analyze the moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau threefolds and their associated conformally invariant nonlinear sigma-models and show that they are described by an unexpectedly rich geometrical structure. Specifically, the Kahler sector of the…
We study a supersymmetry-preserving solution-generating method in heterotic supergravity. In particular, we use this method to construct one-parameter non-Kahler deformations of Calabi-Yau manifolds with a U(1) isometry, in which the…
We study aspects of Calabi-Yau four-folds as compactification manifolds of F-theory, using mirror symmetry of toric hypersurfaces. Correlation functions of the topological field theory are determined directly in terms of a natural ring…
We consider flux compactification of type IIB string theory as the orientifold limit of an F-theory on a Calabi-Yau fourfold. We show that when supersymmetry is dominantly broken by the axion-dilaton and the contributions of the F-terms…
The compactification from the eleven-dimensional Ho\v{r}ava-Witten orbifold to five-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…
In this work we attempt to bridge the gap between heterotic orbifold models and Calabi-Yau compactifications using gauged linear sigma models (GLSMs) with (2,0) worldsheet supersymmetry. We associate a specific GLSM to a heterotic orbifold…
Compactifications of the heterotic string are a viable route to phenomenologically realistic vacua and interesting new mathematics. While supergravity aspects of heterotic compactifications are largely well-understood their worldsheet…
We discuss prospects for stabilizing the volume modulus of N=1 supersymmetric type IIB orientifold compactifications using only perturbative corrections to the Kahler potential. Concretely, we consider the known string loop corrections and…
We determine the instanton corrected hypermultiplet moduli space in type IIB compactifications near a Calabi-Yau conifold point where the size of a two-cycle shrinks to zero. We show that D1-instantons resolve the conifold singularity…
We construct spacetime supersymmetric, modular invariant partition functions of strings on the conifold-type singularities which include contributions from the discrete-series representations of SL(2, R). The discrete spectrum is…
The construction of mirror symmetry in the heterotic string is reviewed in the context of Calabi-Yau and Landau-Ginzburg compactifications. This framework has the virtue of providing a large subspace of the configuration space of the…
We present a systematic study of the constraints coming from target-space duality and the associated duality anomaly cancellations on orbifold-like 4-D strings. A prominent role is played by the modular weights of the massless fields. We…
We study compactifications of the heterotic pure spinor superstring to six and four dimensions focusing on two simple Calabi-Yau orbifolds. We show that the correct spectrum can be reproduced only if, in the twisted sector, there remain…
Heterotic orbifolds provide promising constructions of MSSM-like models in string theory. We investigate the connection of such orbifold models with smooth Calabi-Yau compactifications by examining resolutions of the T^6/Z6-II orbifold…