Related papers: Constructing compact manifolds with exceptional ho…

As is well-known, the compact groups Spin(7) and SO(7) both have a single conjugacy class of compact subgroups of exceptional type G_2. We first show that if H is a subgroup of Spin(7), and if each element of H is conjugate to some element…

We exhibit the first examples of closed 7-dimensional Riemannian manifolds with holonomy G_2 that are homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic. These are also the first examples of closed Ricci-flat manifolds that are homeomorphic but not…

Let M be an 8-manifold with a Spin(7)-structure. We first show that closed Cayley submanifolds of M form a smooth moduli space for a generic Spin(7)-structure. Then we study the deformations of a compact, connected Cayley submanifold X of M…

We consider spaces M_7 and M_8 of G_2 holonomy and Spin(7) holonomy in seven and eight dimensions, with a U(1) isometry. For metrics where the length of the associated circle is everywhere finite and non-zero, one can perform a Kaluza-Klein…

We show that a 7-dimensional non-compact Ricci-flat Riemannian manifold with Riemannian holonomy G_2 can admit non-integrable G_2 structures of type R + S^2_0(R^7) + R^7 in the sense of Fern\'andez and Gray. This relies on the construction…

An explicit expression of the canonical 8-form on a Riemannian manifold with a Spin(9)-structure, in terms of the nine local symmetric involutions involved, is given. The list of explicit expressions of all the canonical forms related to…

We define a measure of spectral asymmetry for G_2 and Spin(7) manifolds. We show that this invariant can be computed in terms of characteristic classes and the covariant constant form defining the G_2 or Spin(7) structure.

A large number of examples of compact $G_2$ manifolds, relevant to supersymmetric compactifications of M-Theory to four dimensions, can be constructed by forming a twisted connected sum of two appropriate building blocks times a circle.…

We consider some infinitesmal and global deformations of G_2 structures on 7-manifolds. We discover a canonical way to deform a G_2 structure by a vector field in which the associated metric gets "twisted" in some way by the vector cross…

We propose a novel approach to obtain non-supersymmetric four-dimensional effective actions by considering F-theory on manifolds with special holonomy Spin(7). To perform such studies we suggest that a duality relating M-theory on a certain…

An important open question in G$_{2}$ geometry concerns whether or not a compact seven-manifold can support an exact G$_{2}$-Structure. Given the significance of this question we initiate a study of exact G$_{2}$-Structures on compact…

Recently, at least 50 million of novel examples of compact $G_2$ holonomy manifolds have been constructed as twisted connected sums of asymptotically cylindrical Calabi-Yau threefolds. The purpose of this paper is to study mirror symmetry…

This paper is a continuation of math.DG/0408005. We first construct special Lagrangian submanifolds of the Ricci-flat Stenzel metric (of holonomy SU(n)) on the cotangent bundle of S^n by looking at the conormal bundle of appropriate…

A topological theory for euclidean gravity in eight dimensions is built by enforcing octonionic self-duality conditions on the spin connection. The eight-dimensional manifold must be of a special type, with G_2 or Spin(7) holonomy. The…

Superstring compactification on a manifold of Spin(7) holonomy gives rise to a 2d worldsheet conformal field theory with an extended supersymmetry algebra. The $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal algebra is extended by additional generators of…

$\mathcal{G}$-structures, where $\mathcal{G}$ is a Lie group, are a uniform characterisation of many differential geometric structures of interest in supersymmetric compactifications of string theories. Calabi-Yau $n$-folds are instances of…

We derive in the SCFT and low energy effective action frameworks the necessary and sufficient conditions for supersymmetric cycles in exceptional holonomy manifolds and Calabi-Yau 4-folds. We show that the Cayley cycles in $Spin(7)$…

For each integer $d$ at least two, we construct non-spin closed oriented flat manifolds with holonomy group $\mathbb Z_2^d$ and with the property that all of their finite proper covers have a spin structure. Moreover, all such covers have…

We give a differential-geometric construction of Calabi-Yau fourfolds by the `doubling' method, which was introduced in \cite{DY14} to construct Calabi-Yau threefolds. We also give examples of Calabi-Yau fourfolds from toric Fano fourfolds.…

We study the types of non-integrable $\mathrm{G}$-structures on Riemannian manifolds. In particular, geometric types admitting a connection with totally skew-symmetric torsion are characterized. 8-dimensional manifolds equipped with a…