Related papers: Perturbative Couplings and Modular Forms in N=2 St…
I review findings of various research groups regarding perturbative heterotic string model building in the last 12 months. Attention is given to recent studies of extra U(1)'s and local discrete symmetries (LDS's) in generic string models.…
We present the most complete list of mirror pairs of Calabi-Yau complete intersections in toric ambient varieties and develop the methods to solve the topological string and to calculate higher genus amplitudes on these compact Calabi-Yau…
We propose a duality between the complex Liouville string and a two-matrix integral. The complex Liouville string is defined by coupling two Liouville theories with complex central charges $c = 13 \pm i \lambda$ on the worldsheet. The…
Duality covariant curvature and torsion tensors in double field theory/generalized geometry are central in analyzing consistent truncations, generalized dualities, and related integrable $\sigma$-models. They are constructed systematically…
Spacetime theories obtained from perturbative string theory constructions are automatically free of perturbative anomalies, but it is not settled whether they are always free of global anomalies. Here we discuss a possible…
The string coupling of N=2 supersymmetric compactifications of type II string theory on a Calabi-Yau manifold belongs to the so-called universal dilaton hypermultiplet, that has four real scalars living on a quaternion-Kaehler manifold.…
We study orbifolds by permutations of two identical N=2 minimal models within the Gepner construction of four dimensional heterotic strings. This is done using the new N=2 supersymmetric permutation orbifold building blocks we have recently…
We consider 4-dimensional $\mathcal{N} = 2$ superconformal quiver theories with $SU(N)^M$ gauge group and bi-fundamental matter and we evaluate correlation functions of $n$ coincident Wilson loops in the planar limit of the theory.…
We review the construction of open descendants of the type IIB superstring on the Z-orbifold. It results in a chiral four-dimensional model with gauge group $SO(8) \otimes U(12)$ and three generations of matter in the $(8,12^*)\oplus…
In this note we explore the possible marginal deformations of general (0,2) non-linear sigma-models, which arise as descriptions of the weakly-coupled (large radius) limits of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}= 1$ compactifications of the…
In this short note, we examine the relationship between the string coupling constant, $\gstring{}$, and the grand unified gauge coupling constant, $\alphagut{}$, in a highly successful class of models based on anisotropic orbifold…
We study ${\cal N}=2$ compactifications of heterotic string theory on the CHL orbifold $(K3\times T^2)/\mathbb{Z}_N$ with $N= 2, 3, 5, 7$. $\mathbb{Z}_N$ acts as an involution on $K3$ together with a shift of $1/N$ along one of the circles…
Type-IIB supersymmetric theories have an SL(2,Z) invariance, known as U-duality, which controls the non-perturbative behavior of the theory. Under SL(2,Z) the supercharges are doublets, implying that the bosonic charges would be singlets or…
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…
We search for supersymmetric standard model realizations with extra singlets and extra $ U(1)$ using the heterotic string compactification on the $ Z_{6-II}$ orbifold with two Wilson lines. We analyze the vacuum restabilization mechanism…
Topological strings on Calabi--Yau manifolds are known to undergo phase transitions at small distances. We study this issue in the case of perturbative topological strings on local Calabi--Yau threefolds given by a bundle over a two-sphere.…
We study modular symmetries in non-supersymmetric heterotic string theories on toroidal backgrounds with Wilson line modulus, constructed by stringy Scherk-Schwartz compactification. In particular, we focus on a subgroup of the T-duality…
This work addresses nonperturbative effects in both matrix models and topological strings, and their relation with the large-order behavior of the 1/N expansion. We study instanton configurations in generic one-cut matrix models, obtaining…
Moduli stabilisation in superstring compactifications on Calabi-Yau orientifolds remains a key challenge in the search for realistic string vacua. In particular, odd moduli arising from the reduction of 2-forms $(B_2,C_2)$ in type IIB are…
We give evidence that the all genus amplitudes of topological string theory on compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds can be written in terms of meromorphic Jacobi forms whose weight grows linearly and whose index grows…