Related papers: Moduli Stabilization in String Gas Cosmology
We study the scalar sector of type IIB superstring theory compactified on Calabi-Yau orientifolds as a place to find a mechanism of inflation in the early universe. In the large volume limit, one can stabilize the moduli in stages using…
We review recent work in which compactifications of string and M theory are constructed in which all scalar fields (moduli) are massive, and supersymmetry is broken with a small positive cosmological constant, features needed to reproduce…
Ooguri, Vafa, and Verlinde have recently proposed an approach to string cosmology which is based on the idea that cosmological string moduli should be selected by a Hartle-Hawking wave function. They are led to consider a certain Euclidean…
We consider compactifications of type II string theory using exact internal CFT's with central charge $c=9+\epsilon$, $|\epsilon| \ll 1$, leading to an effective potential for the dilaton. For $\epsilon>0$ the potential is positive and the…
We revisit the issue of moduli stabilization in a class of N=1 four dimensional supergravity theories which are low energy descriptions of standard perturbative heterotic string vacua compactified on Calabi-Yau spaces. In particular, we…
Cosmic strings in realistic particle physics models have fermion zero modes in the string core. Such zero modes change the underlying cosmology; for example, the string can carry a current. We consider the stability of fermion zero modes to…
In a universe whose elementary constituents are point particles there does not seem to be any obvious mechanism for avoiding the initial singularities in physical quantities in the standard model of cosmology. In contrast in string theory…
In string/M-theory with a large compactification radius, some axion-like moduli can be much lighter than the gravitino. Generic moduli in gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models also have a mass far below the weak scale. Motivated by…
At its very beginning, the universe is believed to have grown exponentially in size via the mechanism of inflation. The almost scale-invariant density perturbation spectrum predicted by inflation is strongly supported by cosmological…
We consider the effect of the ultraviolet (UV) or short wavelength modes on the background of Brane Gas Cosmology. We find that the string matter sources are negligible in the UV and that the evolution is given primarily by the dilaton…
In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the inflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility, not a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not…
We discuss the moduli stabilization arising in the presence of gauge fluxes, R-symmetry twists and non-perturbative effects in the context of 6-dimensional supergravity models. We show how the presence of D-terms, due to the gauge fluxes,…
In braneworld scenarios with compact extra dimensions, the modulus field typically remains undetermined without an appropriate stabilization mechanism. A common approach introduces a bulk scalar field that generates an effective potential…
It has been pointed out that cosmic string solutions can exist in gauge field theories with broken symmetry even when $\pi _1(G/H)$ is trivial. The stability of such semilocal defects is not guaranteed by topology and depends on dynamical…
This article reviews recent developments in the study of universes with a positive cosmological constant in string theory.
We discuss several aspects of the cosmological evolution of moduli fields in heterotic string/M-theory scenarios. In particular we study the equations of motion of both the dilaton and overall modulus of these theories in the presence of an…
In this paper we discuss the issues of supersymmetry breaking and moduli stabilization within the context of E_8 x E_8 heterotic orbifold constructions and, in particular, we focus on the class of "mini-landscape" models. In the…
Heterotic orbifold compactifications yield a myriad of models that reproduce many properties of the supersymmetric extension of the standard model and provide potential solutions to persisting problems of high energy physics, such as the…
In the standard model, stabilization of a classically unstable cosmic string may occur through the quantum fluctuations of a heavy fermion doublet. We review numerical results from a semiclassical expansion in a reduced version of the…
In order to lift the continuous moduli space of string vacua, non-trivial fluxes may be the essential input. In this talk I summarize aspects of two approaches to compactifications in the presence of fluxes: (i) generalized Scherk-Schwarz…