67 research outputs found
Top Quarks as a Window to String Resonances
We study the discovery potential of string resonances decaying to
final state at the LHC. We point out that top quark pair production is a
promising and an advantageous channel for studying such resonances, due to
their low Standard Model background and unique kinematics. We study the
invariant mass distribution and angular dependence of the top pair production
cross section via exchanges of string resonances. The mass ratios of these
resonances and the unusual angular distribution may help identify their
fundamental properties and distinguish them from other new physics. We find
that string resonances for a string scale below 4 TeV can be detected via the
channel, either from reconstructing the semi-leptonic
decay or recent techniques in identifying highly boosted tops.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
Soft branes in supersymmetry-breaking backgrounds
We revisit the analysis of effective field theories resulting from
non-supersymmetric perturbations to supersymmetric flux compactifications of
the type-IIB superstring with an eye towards those resulting from the
backreaction of a small number of anti-D3-branes. Independently of the
background, we show that the low-energy Lagrangian describing the fluctuations
of a stack of probe D3-branes exhibits soft supersymmetry breaking, despite
perturbations to marginal operators that were not fully considered in some
previous treatments. We take this as an indication that the breaking of
supersymmetry by anti-D3-branes or other sources may be spontaneous rather than
explicit. In support of this, we consider the action of an anti-D3-brane
probing an otherwise supersymmetric configuration and identify a candidate for
the corresponding goldstino.Comment: 36+5 pages. References added, minor typos correcte
On Supersymmetric D7-branes in the Warped Deformed Conifold
We study the supersymmetric properties of D7-branes in the warped deformed
conifold. We consider the -symmetry conditions on D7-branes in this
specific warped background, taking into account the background NS-NS 2-form
flux. While any holomorphic embedding defines a supersymmetric D7-brane in the
absence of background H-flux, most of the D7-brane embeddings considered in the
literature do not preserve supersymmetry for the warped deformed conifold
without also including brane worldvolume flux. For the simplest such embedding,
we construct numerically the worldvolume fluxnecessary to restore
supersymmetry. We also comment on the dual field theory descriptions in terms
of cascading N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with flavors. Finally, we
discuss some possible applications of our results to moduli stabilization and
vacuum energy uplifting, gauge/gravity duality, and string inflationary model
building.Comment: 37 pages, 2 figures, v3:many clarifications and improvements to susy
restoring flu
Massive Abelian Gauge Symmetries and Fluxes in F-theory
F-theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau fourfold naturally describes
non-Abelian gauge symmetries through the singularity structure of the elliptic
fibration. In contrast Abelian symmetries are more difficult to study because
of their inherently global nature. We argue that in general F-theory
compactifications there are massive Abelian symmetries, such as the uplift of
the Abelian part of the U(N) gauge group on D7-branes, that arise from
non-Kahler resolutions of the dual M-theory setup. The four-dimensional
F-theory vacuum with vanishing expectation values for the gauge fields
corresponds to the Calabi-Yau limit. We propose that fluxes that are turned on
along these U(1)s are uplifted to non-harmonic four-form fluxes. We derive the
effective four-dimensional gauged supergravity resulting from F-theory
compactifications in the presence of the Abelian gauge factors including the
effects of possible fluxes on the gauging, tadpoles and matter spectrum.Comment: 49 page
The gravitational dynamics of warped throats
We investigate the time evolution due to gravitational dynamics of a particular spacetime commonly used in brane-cosmology and string compactifications, namely the Klebanov-Strassler geometry, which is achieved by adding a perturbation to the momentum of the static solution. We observe the effects this has on the spacetime and look for evidence of black hole formation or collapsing cycles which could lead to singular geometry. The cycles are seen to commonly re-expand after reaching a minimum value, showing the stability of the solution against perturbations which would change its size. However black holes are observed to form for certain perturbations, which could impede common uses of the throat's stable tip
Explicit de Sitter Flux Vacua for Global String Models with Chiral Matter
We address the open question of performing an explicit stabilisation of all
closed string moduli (including dilaton, complex structure and Kaehler moduli)
in fluxed type IIB Calabi-Yau compactifications with chiral matter. Using toric
geometry we construct Calabi-Yau manifolds with del Pezzo singularities.
D-branes located at such singularities can support the Standard Model gauge
group and matter content. In order to control complex structure moduli
stabilisation we consider Calabi-Yau manifolds which exhibit a discrete
symmetry that reduces the effective number of complex structure moduli. We
calculate the corresponding periods in the symplectic basis of invariant
three-cycles and find explicit flux vacua for concrete examples. We compute the
values of the flux superpotential and the string coupling at these vacua.
Starting from these explicit complex structure solutions, we obtain AdS and dS
minima where the Kaehler moduli are stabilised by a mixture of D-terms,
non-perturbative and perturbative alpha'-corrections as in the LARGE Volume
Scenario. In the considered example the visible sector lives at a dP_6
singularity which can be higgsed to the phenomenologically interesting class of
models at the dP_3 singularity.Comment: 49 pages, 5 figures; v2: references adde
Branes, U-folds and hyperelliptic fibrations
We construct a class of supersymmetric vacua of type IIB string theory
describing systems of three- and seven-branes non-perturbatively completed by
brane instantons. The vacua are specified by a set of holomorphic functions
defined over a complex plane up to non-trivial U-duality monodromies around the
brane locations. In the simplest setting, the solutions can be seen as a
generalization of F-theory elliptic fibrations, where the torus fiber is
replaced by a genus two Riemann surface with periods encoding the information
on the axio-dilaton, the warp factor and the NS-NS and R-R fluxes.Comment: 49 pages, including 22 pages of Appendix, 2 figures. Minor change
Chiral matter wavefunctions in warped compactifications
We analyze the wavefunctions for open strings stretching between intersecting
7-branes in type IIB/F-theory warped compactifications, as a first step in
understanding the warped effective field theory of 4d chiral fermions. While in
general the equations of motion do not seem to admit a simple analytic
solution, we provide a method for solving the wavefunctions in the case of weak
warping. The method describes warped zero modes as a perturbative expansion in
the unwarped spectrum, the coefficients of the expansion depending on the
warping. We perform our analysis with and without the presence of worldvolume
fluxes, illustrating the procedure with some examples. Finally, we comment on
the warped effective field theory for the modes at the intersection.Comment: 64 pages, 1 figure. References updated, typos fixed, discussion on
varying dilaton case slightly modified. Version to appear in JHE
Computing Brane and Flux Superpotentials in F-theory Compactifications
In four-dimensional F-theory compactifications with N=1 supersymmetry the
fields describing the dynamics of space-time filling 7-branes are part of the
complex structure moduli space of the internal Calabi-Yau fourfold. We
explicitly compute the flux superpotential in F-theory depending on all complex
structure moduli, including the 7-brane deformations and the field
corresponding to the dilaton-axion. Since fluxes on the 7-branes induce 5-brane
charge, a local limit allows to effectively match the F-theory results to a
D5-brane in a non-compact Calabi-Yau threefold with threeform fluxes. We
analyze the classical and instanton contributions to the F-theory
superpotential using mirror symmetry for Calabi-Yau fourfolds. The F-theory
compactifications under consideration also admit heterotic dual descriptions
and we discuss the identification of the moduli in this non-perturbative
duality.Comment: 75 pages, 1 figure; typos corrected, references adde
T-folds, doubled geometry, and the SU(2) WZW model
The SU(2) WZW model at large level N can be interpreted semiclassically as
string theory on S^3 with N units of Neveu-Schwarz H-flux. While globally
geometric, the model nevertheless exhibits an interesting doubled geometry
possessing features in common with nongeometric string theory
compactifications, for example, nonzero Q-flux. Therefore, it can serve as a
fertile testing ground through which to improve our understanding of more
exotic compactifications, in a context in which we have a firm understanding of
the background from standard techniques. Three frameworks have been used to
systematize the study of nongeometric backgrounds: the T-fold construction,
Hitchin's generalized geometry, and fully doubled geometry. All of these double
the standard description in some way, in order to geometrize the combined
metric and Neveu Schwarz B-field data. We present the T-fold and fully doubled
descriptions of WZW models, first for SU(2) and then for general group.
Applying the formalism of Hull and Reid-Edwards, we indeed recover the physical
metric and H-flux of the WZW model from the doubled description. As additional
checks, we reproduce the abelian T-duality group and known semiclassical
spectrum of D-branes.Comment: 69 pages; uses amslatex; v4 minor revision
- …