58 research outputs found
Asymmetric Orbifolds, Non-Geometric Fluxes and Non-Commutativity in Closed String Theory
In this paper we consider a class of exactly solvable closed string flux
backgrounds that exhibit non-commutativity in the closed string coordinates.
They are realized in terms of freely-acting asymmetric Z_N-orbifolds, which are
themselves close relatives of twisted torus fibrations with elliptic
Z_N-monodromy (elliptic T-folds). We explicitly construct the modular invariant
partition function of the models and derive the non-commutative algebra in the
string coordinates, which is exact to all orders in {\alpha}'. Finally, we
relate these asymmetric orbifold spaces to inherently stringy Scherk-Schwarz
backgrounds and non-geometric fluxes.Comment: 30 page
Matrix theory origins of non-geometric fluxes
We explore the origins of non-geometric fluxes within the context of M theory
described as a matrix model. Building upon compactifications of Matrix theory
on non-commutative tori and twisted tori, we formulate the conditions which
describe compactifications with non-geometric fluxes. These turn out to be
related to certain deformations of tori with non-commutative and
non-associative structures on their phase space. Quantization of flux appears
as a natural consequence of the framework and leads to the resolution of
non-associativity at the level of the unitary operators. The quantum-mechanical
nature of the model bestows an important role on the phase space. In
particular, the geometric and non-geometric fluxes exchange their properties
when going from position space to momentum space thus providing a duality among
the two. Moreover, the operations which connect solutions with different fluxes
are described and their relation to T-duality is discussed. Finally, we provide
some insights on the effective gauge theories obtained from these matrix
compactifications.Comment: 1+31 pages, reference list update
Non-perturbative Vacuum Destabilization and D-brane Dynamics
We analyze the process of string vacuum destabilization due to instanton
induced superpotential couplings which depend linearly on charged fields. These
non-perturbative instabilities result in potentials for the D-brane moduli and
lead to processes of D-brane recombination, motion and partial moduli
stabilization at the non-perturbative vacuum. By using techniques of D-brane
instanton calculus, we explicitly compute this scalar potential in toroidal
orbifold compactifications with magnetized D-branes by summing over the
possible discrete instanton configurations. We illustrate explicitly the
resulting dynamics in globally consistent models. These instabilities can have
phenomenological applications to breaking hidden sector gauge groups, open
string moduli stabilization and supersymmetry breaking. Our results suggest
that breaking supersymmetry by Polonyi-like models in string theory is more
difficult than expected.Comment: 61 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables; Minor corrections, version published
in JHE
Holomorphic variables in magnetized brane models with continuous Wilson lines
We analyze the action of the target-space modular group in toroidal type IIB
orientifold compactifications with magnetized D-branes and continuous Wilson
lines. The transformation of matter fields agree with that of twisted fields in
heterotic compactifications, constituting a check of type I/heterotic duality.
We identify the holomorphic N = 1 variables for these compactifications. Matter
fields and closed string moduli are both redefined by open string moduli. The
redefinition of matter fields can be read directly from the perturbative Yukawa
couplings, whereas closed string moduli redefinitions are obtained from D-brane
instanton superpotential couplings. The resulting expressions reproduce and
generalize, in the presence of internal magnetic fields, previous results in
the literature.Comment: 9 pages, no figures; v2: conventions for Wilson lines changed, major
simplifications in expressions, discussions extended, typos corrected, some
references adde
Membrane Sigma-Models and Quantization of Non-Geometric Flux Backgrounds
We develop quantization techniques for describing the nonassociative geometry
probed by closed strings in flat non-geometric R-flux backgrounds M. Starting
from a suitable Courant sigma-model on an open membrane with target space M,
regarded as a topological sector of closed string dynamics in R-space, we
derive a twisted Poisson sigma-model on the boundary of the membrane whose
target space is the cotangent bundle T^*M and whose quasi-Poisson structure
coincides with those previously proposed. We argue that from the membrane
perspective the path integral over multivalued closed string fields in Q-space
is equivalent to integrating over open strings in R-space. The corresponding
boundary correlation functions reproduce Kontsevich's deformation quantization
formula for the twisted Poisson manifolds. For constant R-flux, we derive
closed formulas for the corresponding nonassociative star product and its
associator, and compare them with previous proposals for a 3-product of fields
on R-space. We develop various versions of the Seiberg-Witten map which relate
our nonassociative star products to associative ones and add fluctuations to
the R-flux background. We show that the Kontsevich formula coincides with the
star product obtained by quantizing the dual of a Lie 2-algebra via convolution
in an integrating Lie 2-group associated to the T-dual doubled geometry, and
hence clarify the relation to the twisted convolution products for topological
nonassociative torus bundles. We further demonstrate how our approach leads to
a consistent quantization of Nambu-Poisson 3-brackets.Comment: 52 pages; v2: references adde
3-cocycles, non-associative star-products and the magnetic paradigm of R-flux string vacua
We consider the geometric and non-geometric faces of closed string vacua arising by T-duality from principal torus bundles with constant H-flux and pay attention to their double phase space description encompassing all toroidal coordinates, momenta and their dual on equal footing. We construct a star-product algebra on functions in phase space that is manifestly duality invariant and substitutes for canonical quantization. The 3-cocycles of the Abelian group of translations in double phase space are seen to account for non-associativity of the star-product. We also provide alternative cohomological descriptions of non-associativity and draw analogies with the quantization of point-particles in the field of a Dirac monopole or other distributions of magnetic charge. The magnetic field analogue of the R-flux string model is provided by a constant uniform distribution of magnetic charge in space and non-associativity manifests as breaking of angular symmetry. The Poincare vector comes to rescue angular symmetry as well as associativity and also allow for quantization in terms of operators and Hilbert space only in the case of charged particles moving in the field of a single magnetic monopole
Pre - Inflationary Clues from String Theory ?
"Brane supersymmetry breaking" occurs in String Theory when the only
available combinations of D-branes and orientifolds are not mutually BPS and
yet do not introduce tree-level tachyon instabilities. It is characterized by
the emergence of a steep exponential potential, and thus by the absence of
maximally symmetric vacua. The corresponding low-energy supergravity admits
intriguing spatially-flat cosmological solutions where a scalar field is forced
to climb up toward the steep potential after an initial singularity, and
additional milder terms can inject an inflationary phase during the ensuing
descent. We show that, in the resulting power spectra of scalar perturbations,
an infrared suppression is typically followed by a pre-inflationary peak that
reflects the end of the climbing phase and can lie well apart from the
approximately scale invariant profile. A first look at WMAP9 raw data shows
that, while the chi^2 fits for the low-l CMB angular power spectrum are clearly
compatible with an almost scale invariant behavior, they display nonetheless an
eye-catching preference for this type of setting within a perturbative string
regime.Comment: 34 pages, LaTeX, 16 eps figures. Relative displacement in fig. 14 and
some typos corrected, references and acknowledgments updated. To appear in
JCA
Non-perturbative transitions among intersecting-brane vacua
We investigate the transmutation of D-branes into Abelian magnetic
backgrounds on the world-volume of higher-dimensional branes, within the
framework of global models with compact internal dimensions. The phenomenon,
T-dual to brane recombination in the intersecting-brane picture, shares some
similarities to inverse small-instanton transitions in non-compact spaces,
though in this case the Abelian magnetic background is a consequence of the
compactness of the internal manifold, and is not ascribed to a zero-size
non-Abelian instanton growing to maximal size. We provide details of the
transition in various supersymmetric orientifolds and non-supersymmetric
tachyon-free vacua with Brane Supersymmetry Breaking, both from brane
recombination and from a field theory Higgs mechanism viewpoints.Comment: 52 pages, 2 figures. Typos correcte
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