Related papers: Superstrings and Manifolds of Exceptional Holonomy

We investigate the local geometry on the moduli space of G_2 structures that arises in compactifications of M-theory on holonomy G_2 manifolds. In particular, we determine the homogeneity properties of couplings of the associated N=1, D=4…

We demonstrate that M-theory compactifications on 7-manifolds of G_2 holonomy, which yield 4d N=1 supersymmetric systems, often admit at special loci in their moduli space a description as type IIA orientifolds. In this way, we are able to…

We construct modular invariant partition functions for strings propagating on non-compact manifolds of G_2 holonomy. Our amplitudes involve a pair of N=1 minimal models M_m, M_{m+2} (m=3,4,...) and are identified as describing strings on…

The exceptional holonomy groups are G2 in 7 dimensions, and Spin(7) in 8 dimensions. Riemannian manifolds with these holonomy groups are Ricci-flat. This is a survey paper on constructions for compact 7- and 8-manifolds with holonomy G2 and…

We construct more dual pairs of type II-heterotic strings in four dimensions with $N=2,1$ spacetime supersymmetry. On the type II side the construction utilizes the various possible choices of K3 automorphisms with fixed points which…

We study perturbative compactifications of Type II string theory that rely on a fibration structure of the extra dimensions a la SYZ. Non-geometric spaces are obtained by using T-dualities as monodromies. These vacua generically preserve…

For supersymmetric spacetimes in eleven dimensions admitting a null Killing spinor, a set of explicit necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of any number of arbitrary additional Killing spinors is derived. The necessary and…

We construct flux-stabilised IIB compactifications whose extra dimensions (EDs) have very different sizes, and use these to describe several vacua with a TeV string scale. Because we can access regimes where 2 dimensions are hierarchically…

In a certain strong coupling limit, compactification of the $E_8\times E_8$ heterotic string on a Calabi-Yau manifold $X$ can be described by an eleven-dimensional theory compactified on $X\times \S^1/\Z_2$. In this limit, the usual…

The SL(2,Z) anomaly recently derived for type IIB supergravity in 10 dimensions is shown to be a consequence of T-duality with the type IIA string, after compactification to 2 dimensions on an 8-fold. This explains the identity of the…

We study the constraints of spacetime supersymmetry for perturbative three- and two-dimensional Minkowski vacua of the critical heterotic string. Assuming a standard RNS construction of the spacetime supersymmetry generators and a compact…

We consider spaces M_7 and M_8 of G_2 holonomy and Spin(7) holonomy in seven and eight dimensions, with a U(1) isometry. For metrics where the length of the associated circle is everywhere finite and non-zero, one can perform a Kaluza-Klein…

In this work, we provide evidence for a duality between 4-dimensional Calabi-Yau compactifications of the heterotic string, in which the base manifolds are linked by a conifold transition. In recent work, a geometric proposal was put…

We outline a general geometric structure that underlies the N=1 superpotentials of a certain class of flux and brane configurations in type II string compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds. This ``holomorphic N=1 special geometry'' is…

We continue our study of compactifications of F-theory on Calabi--Yau threefolds. We gain more insight into F-theory duals of heterotic strings and provide a recipe for building F-theory duals for arbitrary heterotic compactifications on…

We study the compactification of the pure spinor superstring down to four dimensions. We find that the compactified string is described by a conformal invariant system for both the four dimensional and for the compact six dimensional…

We compactify the ten-dimensional spacetime in heterotic supergravity leaving four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. We search for nonsupersymmetric, non-Ricci-flat solutions of the equations of motion with the quadratic curvature term. By…

The restrictions of target--space duality are imposed at the perturbative level on the holomorphic Wilsonian couplings that encode certain higher-order gravitational interactions in $N=2, D=4$ heterotic string compactifications. A crucial…

We study the structure of warped compactifications of type IIB string theory to six space-time dimensions. We find that the most general four-manifold describing the internal dimensions is conformal to a Kahler manifold, in contrast with…

A brief, example-oriented introduction is given to special holonomy and its uses in string theory and M-theory. We discuss A_k singularities and their resolution; the construction of a K3 surface by resolving T^4/Z_2; holomorphic cycles,…