Related papers: Extremal Transitions in Heterotic String Theory

We study heterotic $E_8\times E_8$ models that are dual to compactifications of F-theory and type IIA string on certain classes of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds. Different choices for the specific torus in the fibration have…

Phenomenological implications of the volume of the Calabi-Yau threefolds on the hidden and observable M-theory boundaries, together with slope stability of their corresponding vector bundles, constrain the set of Kaehler moduli which give…

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…

In this paper we work out some basic results concerning heterotic string compactifications on stacks and, in particular, gerbes. A heterotic string compactification on a gerbe can be understood as, simultaneously, both a compactification on…

This is a very brief survey of some results in the geometry of string duality delivered at a lecture given at ICM 1998, Berlin. String Duality is the statement that one kind of string theory compactified on one space is equivalent in some…

We argue that all conjectured dualities involving various string, M- and F- theory compactifications can be `derived' from the conjectured duality between type I and SO(32) heterotic string theory, T-dualities, and the definition of M- and…

We study orbifold compactifications of heterotic strings on Enriques surfaces. We classify the inequivalent shift vectors for both the E8\times E8 and Spin(32)/Z2 lattices, and analyse the light spectrum of the resulting models. We show…

Recent work on four dimensional effective descriptions of the heterotic string has identified the moduli of such systems as being given by kernels of maps between ordinary Dolbeault cohomology groups. The maps involved are defined by the…

We compare the spectrum of chiral multiplets in the N=1 vacua of the heterotic string on a Calabi-Yau together with an $E_8\times E_8$ vector bundle and F-theory on a smooth Calabi-Yau fourfold. Under suitable restrictions we show agreement…

We study the noncritical two-dimensional heterotic string. Long fundamental strings play a crucial role in the dynamics. They cancel anomalies and lead to phase transitions when the system is compactified on a Euclidean circle. A careful…

Calabi--Yau compactifications of the $E_8\times E_8$ heterotic string provide a promising route to recovering the four-dimensional particle physics described by the Standard Model. While the topology of the Calabi--Yau space determines the…

In this lecture we summarize some recent work on the understanding of instanton effects in string theories with 16 supersymmetries. In particular, we consider F^4 couplings using the duality between the heterotic string on T^4 and type IIA…

E8 X E8 heterotic string and M-theory, when appropriately compactified, can give rise to realistic, N=1 supersymmetric particle physics. In particular, the exact matter spectrum of the MSSM, including three right-handed neutrino…

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 review recent work concerning topology changing phase transitions through black hole condensation in Type II string theory. We then also briefly describe a present study aimed at extending the known web of interconnections between…

Bundles of strings which interact via short-ranged pair potentials are studied in two dimensions. The corresponding transfer matrix problem is solved analytically for arbitrary string number N by Bethe ansatz methods. Bundles consisting of…

A long-standing puzzle about the heterotic string has been what happens when an instanton shrinks to zero size. It is argued here that the answer at the quantum level is that an extra $SU(2)$ gauge symmetry appears that is supported in the…

We describe the infinitesimal moduli space of pairs $(Y, V)$ where $Y$ is a manifold with $G_2$ holonomy, and $V$ is a vector bundle on $Y$ with an instanton connection. These structures arise in connection to the moduli space of heterotic…

We review recent results on string coupling selection rules for heterotic orbifolds, derived using conformal field theory. Such rules are the first step towards understanding the viability of the recently obtained compactifications with…

We study four-dimensional compactifications of type II superstrings on Calabi-Yau spaces in the hybrid formalism. Chiral and twisted-chiral interactions are rederived, which involve the coupling of the compactification moduli to two powers…