Related papers: F-Theories on Double Sextics and Effective String …
Eight-dimensional non-geometric heterotic strings with gauge algebra $\mathfrak{e}_8\mathfrak{e}_7$ were constructed by Malmendier and Morrison as heterotic duals of F-theory on K3 surfaces with $\Lambda^{1,1}\oplus E_8\oplus E_7$ lattice…
The requirement of target-space duality and the use of nonrenormalization theorems lead to strong constraints on the perturbative prepotential that encodes the low-energy effective action of $N=2$ heterotic superstring vacua. The analysis…
We construct families of hyper-elliptic curves which describe the quantum moduli spaces of vacua of $N=2$ supersymmetric $SU(N_c)$ gauge theories coupled to $N_f$ flavors of quarks in the fundamental representation. The quantum moduli…
We revisit the duality between heterotic string theory compactified on K3 x T^2 and type IIA compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold X in the hypermultiplet sector. We derive an explicit map between the field variables of the respective…
We study the geometry of gauge fluxes in four-dimensional F-theory vacua with gauge group SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1)xU(1) and its implications for phenomenology. The models are defined by a previously introduced class of elliptic fibrations whose…
We study infinite-distance limits in the moduli space of perturbative string vacua. The remarkable interplay of string dualities seems to determine a highly non-trivial dichotomy, summarized by the emergent string conjecture, by which in…
Little string theories (LSTs) are UV complete non-local 6D theories decoupled from gravity in which there is an intrinsic string scale. In this paper we present a systematic approach to the construction of supersymmetric LSTs via the…
In this article we summarize and extend the ideas and investigations on so called target space dualities of heterotic models with (0,2) worldsheet supersymmetry as they were partly presented on the String-Math 2011 conference. After the…
We study the geometry of elliptic fibrations satisfying the conditions of Step 8 of Tate's algorithm. We call such geometries F$_4$-models, as the dual graph of their special fiber is the twisted affine Dynkin diagram…
This article is the author's PhD thesis. After a review of string vacua obtained through compactification (with and wothout fluxes), it presents and describes various aspects of the Landscape of string vacua. At first it gives an…
These lectures begin by reviewing the evidence for S duality of the toroidally compactified heterotic string in 4d that was obtained in the period 1992--94. Next they review recently discovered dualities that relate all five of the 10d…
We analyze $N=2,1,0$ vacua of type IIB string theory on $K3\times T^2/Z_2$ in presence of three-form fluxes from a four dimensional supergravity viewpoint. The quaternionic geometry of the $K3$ moduli space together with the special…
We derive a map relating the gauge symmetry groups of heterotic strings on $T^4$ to other components of the moduli space with rank reduction. This generalizes the results for $T^2$ and $T^3$ which mirror the singularity freezing mechanism…
We present a non-singular, definition-level formulation of F-theory by replacing the traditional shrinking-fiber limit of M-theory with compactification on a tower-completed circle described using perfectoid geometry and condensed…
The strong coupling regime of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric vacua of the heterotic string is analyzed from a dual domain wall perspective. Using modular invariance, we compute a closed form for the non-perturbative corrections to the…
We investigate aspects of certain stringy invariants of singular elliptic fibrations which arise in engineering Grand Unified Theories in F-theory. In particular, we exploit the small resolutions of the total space of these fibrations…
We present F-theories that reduce to 10D Type II Green-Schwarz superstrings. They vary in manifest U-duality according to division between spacetime and "internal" coordinates. They are defined by selfdual current superalgebras in higher…
We recently conjectured a set of dualities relating two-dimensional orthogonal gauge theories with $\mathcal{N}=(4,4)$ supersymmetry, analogous to Hori's dualities with $\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetry. Here we provide a quantitative test…
We study properties of flux vacua in type IIB string theory in several simple but illustrative models. We initiate the study of the relative frequencies of vacua with vanishing superpotential W=0 and with certain discrete symmetries. For…
The study of curved D-brane geometries in type II strings implies a general relation between local singularities $\cx W$ of Calabi-Yau manifolds and gravity free supersymmetric QFT's. The minimal supersymmetric case is described by F-theory…