Related papers: Gauge Unification in Highly Anisotropic String Com…
In this thesis, we consider heterotic string vacua based on a warped product of a four-dimensional domain wall and a six-dimensional internal manifold preserving only two supercharges. Thus, they correspond to half-BPS states of heterotic…
The lower limit to string coupling unification in weakly coupled heterotic strings was shown by Kaplunovsky to be around Lambda_H ~ 5 x 10^{17} GeV. In contrast, under the scenario of an intermediate scale desert, the SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x…
We discuss the structure of general Anisotropic Compactification in Type I D=4, N=1 string theory. It is emphasized that, in this context, a possible interpretation of M_{Planck} as ``dual'' to (at least) one of the Kaluza-Klein or Windings…
Orbifolds in field theory are potentially singular objects for at their fixed points the curvature becomes infinite, therefore one may wonder whether field theory calculations near orbifold singularities can be trusted. String theory is…
We consider the scenario where all the couplings in the theory are strong at the cut-off scale, in the context of higher dimensional grand unified field theories where the unified gauge symmetry is broken by an orbifold compactification. In…
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…
A detailed study of the charge spectrum of three dimensional Abelian Topological Massive Gauge Theory (TMGT) is given. When this theory is defined on a manifold with two disconnected boundaries there are induced chiral Conformal Field…
The unification of gauge couplings suggests that there is an underlying (supersymmetric) unification of the strong, electromagnetic and weak interactions. The prediction of the unification scale may be the first quantitative indication that…
We consider 5-dimensional supersymmetric field theories where supersymmetry is broken by the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism (or, equivalently, by the F-term VEV of the radion). In such models, the radion effective potential is calculable in terms…
We analyze the gauge unification in minimal supersymmetric SO(10) grand unified theories in 5 dimensions. The single extra spatial dimension is compactified on the orbifold S^1/(Z_2 x Z_2') reducing the gauge group to that of Pati-Salam…
Compactifications of the heterotic string on T^d are the simplest, yet rich enough playgrounds to uncover swampland ideas: the U(1)^{d+16} left-moving gauge symmetry gets enhanced at special points in moduli space only to certain groups. We…
Grand unified theory defined on higher-dimensional orbifolds provides a new way to solve the hierarchy problem. In gauge theory on an orbifold many different sets of boundary conditions imposed at orbifold fixed points (branes) are related…
We discuss the low energy implications of gauge coupling unification at the string scale, taking into account string threshold corrections in the $SU(4) {\times} O(4)$ model. We express $sin^2\theta_W$ and $a_3$ as functions of the…
We examine the vacuum stability of gauge symmetry breaking in five dimensions, compactified on the $S_1/(\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}'_2)$ orbifold. We consider $SU(N)$, $Sp(N)$, $SO(2N)$ and $SO(2N+1)$ theories in the bulk, and provide…
We show that in heterotic string theory -- and dual corners of the landscape including Type I string theory -- the QCD axion mass is bounded from below by $m_a \gtrsim 0.5$ neV, a direct consequence of the model-independent axion whose…
We introduce a class of (0,2) superconformal field theories based on hybrid geometries, generalizing various known constructions. We develop techniques for the computation of the complete massless spectrum when the theory can be interpreted…
We study a class of extremal transitions between topological distinct Calabi--Yau manifolds which have an interpretation in terms of the special massless states of a type II string compactification. In those cases where a dual heterotic…
Convergence of the standard model gauge coupling constants to a common value at around $2\times 10^{16}$ GeV is studied in the context of orbifold theories where the modular symmetry groups for $T$ and $U$ moduli are broken to subgroups of…
We study the gauge coupling unification of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with non-universal soft scalar and gaugino masses. The unification scale of the gauge couplings is estimated for non-universal cases. It is sensitive to…
Strong, electromagnetic, and weak forces were unified in the Standard Model (SM) with spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking. These forces were further conjectured to be unified in a simple Lie group gauge interaction in the Grand Unification…