Related papers: String Vacua with N=2 Supersymmetry in Four Dimens…
We study type II string vacua defined by torus compactifications accompanied by T-duality twists. We realize the string vacua, specifically, by means of the asymmetric orbifolding associated to the chiral reflections combined with a shift,…
We discuss supersymmetry breaking in the field-theoretical limit of the strongly-coupled heterotic string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold, from the different perspectives of four and five dimensions. The former applies to light…
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…
Using a $U$-duality symmetry of type II compactification on $T^4$ represented by triality action on the $T$-duality group, and applying the adiabatic argument we construct dual pairs of type II compactifications in lower dimensions. The…
The study of the geometry of Calabi-Yau fourfolds is relevant for compactifications of string theory, M-theory, and F-theory to various dimensions. In the first part of this thesis, we study the action of mirror symmetry on two-dimensional…
We compute and analyse a variety of four-derivative gravitational terms in the effective action of six- and four-dimensional type II string ground states with N=4 supersymmetry. In six dimensions, we compute the relevant perturbative…
Certain four-dimensional $N=4$ supersymmetric theories have special vacua in which massive charged vector supermultiplets become massless, resulting in an enhanced non-abelian gauge symmetry. We show here that any two $N=4$ theories having…
We perform a systematic search for N=1 Minkowski vacua of type II string theories on compact six-dimensional parallelizable nil- and solvmanifolds (quotients of six-dimensional nilpotent and solvable groups, respectively). Some of these…
We propose a construction of K\"ahler and non-K\"ahler Calabi-Yau manifolds by branched double covers of twistor spaces. In this construction we use the twistor spaces of four-manifolds with self-dual conformal structures, with the examples…
It has recently been proposed that certain nonsupersymmetric type II orbifolds have vanishing perturbative contributions to the cosmological constant. We show that techniques of Sen and Vafa allow one to construct dual type II descriptions…
This thesis addresses three problems arising in type II string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold. In the first one we study the hypermultiplet moduli space (HM), by working on its twistor space. Using data derived via mirror…
The non-perturbative superpotential can be effectively calculated in $M$-theory compactification to three dimensions on a Calabi-Yau four-fold $X$. For certain $X$, the superpotential is identically zero, while for other $X$, a…
We construct a new class of metastable de Sitter vacua of flux compactifications of type IIB string theory. These solutions provide a natural extension of the `Large Volume Scenario' anti-de Sitter vacua, and can analogously be realised at…
We use the embedding tensor formalism to analyse maximally symmetric backgrounds of N=2 gauged supergravities which have the full N=2 supersymmetry. We state the condition for N=2 vacua and discuss some of their general properties. We show…
We address non-perturbative effects and duality symmetries in $N=2$ heterotic string theories in four dimensions. Specifically, we consider how each of the four lines of enhanced gauge symmetries in the perturbative moduli space of $N=2$…
Based on the assumption that the target space duality ($T\to 1/T$) is preserved even nonperturbatively, the properties of static string vacua are studied. A discussion of the effective four-dimensional supergravity action based on…
We study aspects of Calabi-Yau four-folds as compactification manifolds of F-theory, using mirror symmetry of toric hypersurfaces. Correlation functions of the topological field theory are determined directly in terms of a natural ring…
We argue that the heterotic string does not have classical vacua corresponding to de Sitter space-times of dimension four or higher. The same conclusion applies to type II vacua in the absence of RR fluxes. Our argument extends prior…
The four dimensional gauged supergravities descending from non-geometric string compactifications involve a wide class of flux objects which are needed to make the theory invariant under duality transformations at the effective level.…
We study gauge theories which are associated with classical vacua of perturbative Type II string theory that allows for a conformal field theory description. We show that even if we compactify seven spatial dimensions (allowing for one…