Related papers: Non-Supersymmetric Open String Vacua
We consider the open string sigma-model in the presence of a constant Neveu-Schwarz B-field on the world-sheet that is topologically equivalent to a disk with n holes. First, we compute the sigma-model partition function. Second, we make a…
We investigate in detail solutions of supergravity that involve warped products of flat geometries of the type M(p+1) x R x T(D-p-2) depending on a single coordinate. In the absence of fluxes, the solutions include flat space and…
In addition to the familiar string theories with spacetime supersymmetry, there exist a number of non-supersymmetric ten-dimensional superstrings. Nearly all of these theories have closed string tachyons, indicating a misidentification of…
We consider a recent proposal to solve the cosmological constant problem within the context of brane world scenarios with infinite volume extra dimensions. In such theories bulk can be supersymmetric even if brane supersymmetry is…
We propose, based on the viewpoint that our three-dimensional space is a stack of BPS D3-branes located at the conifold singularity of the Calabi-Yau three-fold, a new mechanism to address the cosmological constant problem in the framework…
We investigate the possibility of false vacuum decay in $N=1$ supergravity theories. By establishing a Bogomol'nyi bound for the energy density stored in the domain wall of the $O(4)$ invariant bubble, we show that supersymmetric vacua…
We construct non-supersymmetric type I string models which correspond to consistent flat-space solutions of all classical equations of motion. Moreover, the one-loop vacuum energy is naturally fixed by the size of compact extra dimensions…
We construct a general class of chiral four-dimensional string models with Scherk--Schwarz supersymmetry breaking, involving freely acting orbifolds. The basic ingredient is to combine an ordinary supersymmetry-preserving Z_N projection…
We argue that tachyon-free type I string vacua with supersymmetry breaking in the open sector at the string scale can be interpreted, via S and T-duality arguments, as metastable vacua of supersymmetric type I superstring. The dynamics of…
We derive conditions for the existence of four-dimensional \N=1 supersymmetric flux vacua of massive type IIA string theory with general supergravity fluxes turned on. For an SU(3) singlet Killing spinor, we show that such flux vacua exist…
A recently introduced framework for the compactification of supersymmetric string theory involving noncritical manifolds of complex dimension $2k+D_{crit}$, $k\geq 1$, is reviewed. These higher dimensional manifolds are spaces with…
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…
We review several mechanisms for supersymmetry breaking in orientifold models. In particular, we focus on non-supersymmetric open-string realisations that correspond to consistent flat-space solutions of the classical equations of motion.…
A non-supersymmetric ten-dimensional open string theory is constructed as an orbifold of type I string theory, and as an orientifold of the bosonic type B theory. It is purely bosonic, and cancellation of massless tadpoles requires the…
Vacuum compactifications may suffer from instabilities under small perturbations or tunnel effects; both are difficult to analyze. In this paper we consider the issue from a higher-dimensional perspective. We first look at how stability…
We argue that a class of ``non-critical superstring'' vacua is holographically related to the (non-gravitational) theory obtained by studying string theory on a singular Calabi-Yau manifold in the decoupling limit $g_s\to 0$. In two…
A mechanism for addressing the 'decompactification problem' is proposed, which consists of balancing the vacuum energy in Scherk-Schwarzed theories against contributions coming from non- perturbative physics. Universality of threshold…
The heterotic--string models in the free fermionic formulation gave rise to some of the most realistic string models to date, which possess N=1 spacetime supersymmetry. Lack of evidence for supersymmetry at the LHC instigated recent…
In supersymmetric models with the run-away vacua or with the stable but non-supersymmetric ground state there exist stable field configurations (vacua) which restore one half of supersymmetry and are characterized by constant positive…
We systematically develop the explicit map between string vacua constructed in the Free Fermionic Formulation and their $\mathbb{Z}_2^N$ toroidal orbifold counterparts. We illustrate the map in various example classes of models, including…