114 research outputs found
Flux-induced SUSY-breaking soft terms on D7-D3 brane systems
We study the effect of RR and NSNS 3-form fluxes on the effective action of
the worldvolume fields of Type IIB D7/D3-brane configurations. The D7-branes
wrap 4-cycles on a local Calabi-Yau geometry. This is an extension of previous
work on hep-th/0311241, where a similar analysis was applied to the case of
D3-branes. Our present analysis is based on the D7- and D3-brane
Dirac-Born-Infeld and Chern-Simons actions, and makes full use of the
R-symmetries of the system, which allow us to compute explicitly results for
the fields lying at the D3-D7 intersections. A number of interesting new
properties appear as compared to the simpler case of configurations with only
D3-branes. As a general result one finds that fluxes stabilize some or all of
the D7-brane moduli. We argue that this is important for the problem of
stabilizing Kahler moduli through non-perturbative effects in KKLT-like vacua.
We also show that (0,3) imaginary self-dual fluxes, which lead to
compactifications with zero vacuum energy, give rise to SUSY-breaking soft
terms including gaugino and scalar masses, and trilinear terms. Particular
examples of chiral MSSM-like models of this class of vacua, based on D3-D7
brane systems at orbifold singularities are presented.Comment: 58 pages, no figures; v2: numerical factor in section 7.2 correcte
Four-modulus "Swiss Cheese" chiral models
We study the 'Large Volume Scenario' on explicit, new, compact, four-modulus
Calabi-Yau manifolds. We pay special attention to the chirality problem pointed
out by Blumenhagen, Moster and Plauschinn. Namely, we thoroughly analyze the
possibility of generating neutral, non-perturbative superpotentials from
Euclidean D3-branes in the presence of chirally intersecting D7-branes. We find
that taking proper account of the Freed-Witten anomaly on non-spin cycles and
of the Kaehler cone conditions imposes severe constraints on the models.
Nevertheless, we are able to create setups where the constraints are solved,
and up to three moduli are stabilized.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures, clarifying comments added, minor mistakes
correcte
D-brane instantons and the effective field theory of flux compactifications
We provide a description of the effects of fluxes on euclidean D-brane
instantons purely in terms of the 4d effective action. The effect corresponds
to the dressing of the effective non-perturbative 4d effective vertex with 4d
flux superpotential interactions, generated when the moduli fields made massive
by the flux are integrated out. The description in terms of effective field
theory allows a unified description of non-perturbative effects in all flux
compactifications of a given underlying fluxless model, globally in the moduli
space of the latter. It also allows us to describe explicitly the effects on
D-brane instantons of fluxes with no microscopic description, like
non-geometric fluxes. At the more formal level, the description has interesting
connections with the bulk-boundary map of open-closed two-dimensional
topological string theory, and with the \NN=1 special geometry.Comment: 33 page
Neutrino Majorana Masses from String Theory Instanton Effects
Finding a plausible origin for right-handed neutrino Majorana masses in
semirealistic compactifications of string theory remains one of the most
difficult problems in string phenomenology. We argue that right-handed neutrino
Majorana masses are induced by non-perturbative instanton effects in certain
classes of string compactifications in which the gauge boson has a
St\"uckelberg mass. The induced operators are of the form
where is a closed string modulus whose imaginary part transforms
appropriately under . This mass term may be quite large since this is not
a gauge instanton and is not directly related to SM gauge couplings.
Thus the size of the induced right-handed neutrino masses could be a few orders
of magnitude below the string scale, as phenomenologically required. It is also
argued that this origin for neutrino masses would predict the existence of
R-parity in SUSY versions of the SM. Finally we comment on other
phenomenological applications of similar instanton effects, like the generation
of a -term, or of Yukawa couplings forbidden in perturbation theory.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figures (v2: added references, small corrections)(v3:
minor corrections
Fluxes, moduli fixing and MSSM-like vacua in a simple IIA orientifold
We study the effects of adding RR, NS and metric fluxes on a T^6/(\Omega
(-1)^{F_L} I_3) Type IIA orientifold. By using the effective flux-induced
superpotential we obtain Minkowski or AdS vacua with broken or unbroken
supersymmetry. In the Minkowski case some combinations of real moduli remain
undetermined, whereas all can be stabilized in the AdS solutions. Many flux
parameters are available which are unconstrained by RR tadpole cancellation
conditions allowing to locate the minima at large volume and small dilaton. We
also find that in AdS supersymmetric vacua with metric fluxes, the overall flux
contribution to RR tadpoles can vanish or have opposite sign to that of
D6-branes, allowing for new model-building possibilities. In particular, we
construct the first N=1 supersymmetric intersecting D6-brane models with
MSSM-like spectrum and with all closed string moduli stabilized. Some
axion-like fields remain undetermined but they are precisely required to give
St\"uckelberg masses to (potentially anomalous) U(1) brane fields. We show that
the cancellation of the Freed-Witten anomaly guarantees that the axions with
flux-induced masses are orthogonal to those giving masses to the U(1)'s.
Cancellation of such anomalies also guarantees that the D6-branes in our N=1
supersymmetric AdS vacua are calibrated so that they are forced to preserve one
unbroken supersymmetry.Comment: 61 pages, Latex, v2: added references, v3: minor correction
Type IIA Moduli Stabilization
We demonstrate that flux compactifications of type IIA string theory can
classically stabilize all geometric moduli. For a particular orientifold
background, we explicitly construct an infinite family of supersymmetric vacua
with all moduli stabilized at arbitrarily large volume, weak coupling, and
small negative cosmological constant. We obtain these solutions from both
ten-dimensional and four-dimensional perspectives. For more general
backgrounds, we study the equations for supersymmetric vacua coming from the
effective superpotential and show that all geometric moduli can be stabilized
by fluxes. We comment on the resulting picture of statistics on the landscape
of vacua.Comment: 48 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX. v2: references added. v3: minor comments
& references adde
Moduli Stabilisation versus Chirality for MSSM like Type IIB Orientifolds
We investigate the general question of implementing a chiral MSSM like
D-brane sector in Type IIB orientifold models with complete moduli
stabilisation via F-terms induced by fluxes and space-time instantons,
respectively gaugino condensates. The prototype examples are the KKLT and the
so-called large volume compactifications. We show that the ansatz of first
stabilising all moduli via F-terms and then introducing the Standard Model
module is misleading, as a chiral sector notoriously influences the structure
of non-perturbative effects and induces a D-term potential. Focusing for
concreteness on the large volume scenario, we work out the geometry of the
swiss-cheese type Calabi-Yau manifold P_[1,3,3,3,5][15]_(3,75) and analyse
whether controllable and phenomenologically acceptable Kaehler moduli
stabilisation can occur by the combination of F- and D-terms.Comment: 43 pages, 4 figures, v2: refs. adde
Chiral 4d string vacua with D-branes and NSNS and RR fluxes
We discuss type IIB orientifolds with D-branes, and NSNS and RR field
strength fluxes. The D-brane sectors lead to open string spectra with
non-abelian gauge symmetry and charged chiral fermions. The closed string field
strengths generate a scalar potential stabilizing most moduli. We describe the
construction of N=1 supersymmetric models in the context of orientifolds of IIB
theory on T^6/Z_2 x Z_2, containing D9-branes with world-volume magnetic
fluxes, and illustrate model building possibilities with several explicit
examples. We comment on a T-dual picture with D8-branes on non-Calabi-Yau
half-flat geometries, and discuss some of the topological properties of such
configurations. We also explore the construction of models with fluxes and with
D3-branes at singularities and present a non-supersymmetric 3-family SU(5)
model.Comment: latex, 49 pages, 2 figure
A heat-stable microparticle platform for oral micronutrient delivery
Micronutrient deficiencies affect up to 2 billion people and are the leading cause of cognitive and physical disorders in the developing world. Food fortification is effective in treating micronutrient deficiencies; however, its global implementation has been limited by technical challenges in maintaining micronutrient stability during cooking and storage. We hypothesized that polymer-based encapsulation could address this and facilitate micronutrient absorption. We identified poly(butylmethacrylate-co-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)methacrylate-co-methylmethacrylate) (1:2:1) (BMC) as a material with proven safety, offering stability in boiling water, rapid dissolution in gastric acid, and the ability to encapsulate distinct micronutrients. We encapsulated 11 micronutrients (iron; iodine; zinc; and vitamins A, B2, niacin, biotin, folic acid, B12, C, and D) and co-encapsulated up to 4 micronutrients. Encapsulation improved micronutrient stability against heat, light, moisture, and oxidation. Rodent studies confirmed rapid micronutrient release in the stomach and intestinal absorption. Bioavailability of iron from microparticles, compared to free iron, was lower in an initial human study. An organotypic human intestinal model revealed that increased iron loading and decreased polymer content would improve absorption. Using process development approaches capable of kilogram-scale synthesis, we increased iron loading more than 30-fold. Scaled batches tested in a follow-up human study exhibited up to 89% relative iron bioavailability compared to free iron. Collectively, these studies describe a broad approach for clinical translation of a heat-stable ingestible micronutrient delivery platform with the potential to improve micronutrient deficiency in the developing world. These approaches could potentially be applied toward clinical translation of other materials, such as natural polymers, for encapsulation and oral delivery of micronutrients
Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts Detected by Fermi and Swift during the LIGO-Virgo Run O3b
We search for gravitational-wave signals associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Fermi and Swift satellites during the second half of the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (2019 November 1 15:00 UTC-2020 March 27 17:00 UTC). We conduct two independent searches: A generic gravitational-wave transients search to analyze 86 GRBs and an analysis to target binary mergers with at least one neutron star as short GRB progenitors for 17 events. We find no significant evidence for gravitational-wave signals associated with any of these GRBs. A weighted binomial test of the combined results finds no evidence for subthreshold gravitational-wave signals associated with this GRB ensemble either. We use several source types and signal morphologies during the searches, resulting in lower bounds on the estimated distance to each GRB. Finally, we constrain the population of low-luminosity short GRBs using results from the first to the third observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. The resulting population is in accordance with the local binary neutron star merger rate. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society
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