Related papers: Compactification of $M$-Theory to Two Dimensions
We show how supersymmetry conditions for flux compactifications of supergravity and string theory can be described in terms of a flat subalgebra of the Kahler-Atiyah algebra of the compactification space, a description which has…
We present a uniform treatment of rigid supersymmetric field theories in a curved spacetime $\mathcal{M}$, focusing on four-dimensional theories with four supercharges. Our discussion is significantly simpler than earlier treatments,…
We study total and partial supersymmetry breaking by freely acting orbifolds, or equivalently by Scherk-Schwarz compactifications, in type I string theory. In particular, we describe a four-dimensional chiral compactification with…
We consider N=2 four dimensional field theories compactified on a two torus in the presence of a U(1) magnetic field. We discuss the restrictions leading to theories with (2,2) supersymmetry or (0,2) supersymmetry in two dimensions. The…
We make use of the conformal compactification of Minkowski spacetime $M^{\#}$ to explore a way of describing general, nonlinear Maxwell fields with conformal symmetry. We distinguish the inverse Minkowski spacetime $[M^{\#}]^{-1}$ obtained…
We study the moduli space of M-theories compactified on G_2 manifolds which are asymptotic to a cone over quotients of S^3 x S^3. We show that the moduli space is composed of several components, each of which interpolates smoothly among…
We describe a new class of supersymmetric string compactifications to 4d Minkowski space. These solutions involve type II strings propagating on (orientifolds of) non Calabi-Yau spaces in the presence of background NS and RR fluxes. The…
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…
In this thesis, we explore two approaches to string phenomenology. In the first half of the work, we investigate M-theory compactifications on spaces with co-dimension four, orbifold singularities. We construct M-theory on C^2/Z_N by…
We discuss the topology of the symmetry groups appearing in compactified (super-)gravity, and discuss two applications. First, we demonstrate that for 3 dimensional sigma models on a symmetric space G/H with G non-compact and H the maximal…
We study U-duality symmetries of toroidally compactified M theory from the membrane worldvolume point of view. This is done taking the most general set of bosonic background fields into account. Upon restriction to pure moduli backgrounds,…
We derive the three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ effective theories obtained by compactifying all five ten-dimensional string theories on generic seven-dimensional manifolds with $G_2$ structure. The resulting flux compactifications are…
We study the orientifold truncation that arises when compactifying type II string theory on Calabi-Yau orientifolds with O3/O7-planes, in the context of supergravity. We look at the N=2 to N=1 reduction of the hypermultiplet sector of N=2…
We compactify $M$-theory on a Calabi-Yau manifold to five dimensions by wrapping the membrane and fivebrane solitons of the eleven-dimensional supergravity limit around Calabi-Yau two-cycles and four-cycles respectively. We identify the…
In this review we discuss hidden symmetries of toroidal compactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity. We recall alternative versions of this theory which exhibit traces of the hidden symmetries when still retaining the massive…
We report on a classification of supersymmetric solutions to 11D supergravity with $SO(2,2) \times SO(3)$ isometry, which are AdS/CFT dual to 2D CFTs with $\mathcal{N} = (0,4)$ supersymmetry. We recover the Maldacena, Strominger, Witten…
We study supersymmetric $AdS_4\times \Sigma_2$ and $AdS_3\times \Sigma_3$ solutions in half-maximal gauged supergravity in six dimensions with $SU(2)_R\times SU(2)$ gauge group. The gauged supergravity is obtained by coupling three vector…
We relate Type IIB superstrings compactified to six dimensions on K3 to an eleven-dimensional theory compactified on $({\bf S}^1)^5/{\bf Z}_2$. Eleven-dimensional five-branes enter the story in an interesting way.
Oscillating moduli fields can support a cosmological scaling solution in the presence of a perfect fluid when the scalar field potential satisfies appropriate conditions. We examine when such conditions arise in higher-dimensional,…
We review cosmological solutions of type II superstrings and M-theory, emphasizing the role of non-vanishing Ramond form backgrounds. Compactifications on flat and, more generally, maximally symmetric spatial subspaces are presented. We…