Oddness from Rigidness

We revisit the problem of constructing type IIA orientifolds on T^6/(Z2 x Z2) which admit (non)-factorisable lattices. More concretely, we consider a (Z2 x Z2') orientifold with torsion, where D6-branes wrap rigid 3-cycles. We derive the model building rules and consistency conditions in the case where the compactification lattice is non-factorisable. We show that in this class of configurations, (semi) realistic models with an odd number of families can be easily constructed, in contrast to compactifications where the D6-branes wrap non-rigid cycles. We also show that an odd number of families can be obtained in the factorisable case, without the need of tilted tori. We illustrate the discussion by presenting three family Pati-Salam models with no chiral exotics in both factorisable and non-factorisable toroidal compactifications.Comment: 20 page

Worldsheet instantons and coupling selection rules in heterotic orbifolds

We review recent results on string coupling selection rules for heterotic orbifolds, derived using conformal field theory. Such rules are the first step towards understanding the viability of the recently obtained compactifications with potentially realistic particle spectra. They arise from the properties of the worldsheet instantons that mediate the couplings, and include stringy effects that would seem 'miraculous' to an effective field theory observer.Comment: 4 pages, talk presented at SQS'13, JINR, Dubna, Russia, 29 July - 03 August, 201

Orientifold's Landscape: Non-Factorisable Six-Tori

We construct type IIA orientifolds on T6/(Z2 x Z2) which admit non factorisable lattices. We describe a method to deal with this kind of configurations and discuss how the compactification lattice affects the tadpole cancellation conditions. Moreover, we include D6-branes which are not parallel to O6-planes. These branes can give rise to chiral spectra in four dimensions, thus uncovering a new corner in the landscape of intersecting D-brane model constructions. We demonstrate the construction at an explicit example. In general we argue that obtaining an odd number of families is problematic.Comment: 24 pages, one figure, v2: references added, v3: small proof added in footnote 5, minor changes, to appear in JHE

Gravity at the tip of the throat

We study the gravitational signatures that arise from compactifying Type IIB supergravity on a compact space containing a Klebanov-Strassler warped throat. After reviewing the dimensional reduction of the 10d graviton and explicitly obtaining the equa- tions of motion for the 4d tensor hμν, vector hμn and scalar hmn modes, we find the masses and wavefunctions of the Kaluza-Klein tower of spin-2 states. We explore how the masses and wavefunctions depend on the balance between the strength of the warping and the size of the bulk, and how these relate to the range and strength of the interactions which correct the Newtonian gravitational potential. By computing the modified Newtonian potential for sources on a brane somewhere along the throat, and applying consistency constraints on the Klebanov-Strassler parameters, we obtain predictions for the phenomenological pa- rameter space. In the case of a fully warped throat, and depending on where the brane is along the throat, these predictions are narrow in range and consistent with current obser- vational and experimental constraints. We also begin an exploration of gravitational wave signatures of KK gravitons in warped throats, finding that strong warping can bring the corresponding frequencies down to the windows of current and proposed experiments

A new de Sitter solution with a weakly warped deformed conifold

We revisit moduli stabilisation for type IIB flux compactifications that include a warped throat region corresponding to a warped deformed conifold, with an anti-D3-brane sitting at its tip. The warping induces a coupling between the conifold’s deformation modulus and the bulk volume modulus in the Kähler potential. Previous works have studied the scalar potential assuming a strong warping such that this coupling term dominates, and found that the anti-D3-brane uplift may destabilise the conifold modulus and/or volume modulus, unless flux numbers within the throat are large, which makes tadpole cancellation a challenge. We explore the regime of parameter space corresponding to a weakly-but-still warped throat, such that the coupling between the conifold and volume moduli is subdominant. We thus discover a new metastable de Sitter solution within the four-dimensional effective field theory. We discuss the position of this de Sitter vacuum in the string theory landscape and swampland

De Sitter vacua — when are ‘subleading corrections’ really subleading?

We consider various string-loop, warping and curvature corrections that are expected to appear in type IIB moduli stabilisation scenarios. It has recently been argued, in the context of strongly-warped LVS de Sitter vacua, that it is impossible to achieve parametric suppression in all of these corrections simultaneously [1]. We investigate corrections in the context of the recently discovered weakly-warped LVS de Sitter vacua, which represent a distinct branch of solutions in type IIB flux compactifications. The weakly-warped solution is supported by small conifold flux numbers MK ≲ 32, but still requires a large flux contribution to the D3-tadpole, now from the bulk. Warping corrections become less problematic, and some corrections even help to reach the weakly-warped regime of parameter space. Other corrections continue to be dangerous and would require numerical coefficients to be computed — and found to be small — in order not to destroy the consistency of the weakly-warped LVS de Sitter solution. We motivate why this may be possible

Rapid-turn inflation in supergravity is rare and tachyonic

Strongly non-geodesic, or rapidly turning trajectories in multifield inflation have attracted much interest recently from both theoretical and phenomenological perspectives. Most models with large turning rates in the literature are formulated as effective field theories. In this paper we investigate rapid-turn inflation in supergravity as a first step towards understanding them in string theory. We find that large turning rates can be generated in a wide class of models, at the cost of high field space curvature. In these models, while the inflationary trajectories are stable, one Hessian eigenvalue is always tachyonic and large, in Hubble units. Thus, these models satisfy the de Sitter swampland conjecture along the inflationary trajectory. However, the high curvatures underscore the difficulty of obtaining rapid-turn inflation in realistic string-theoretical models. In passing, we revisit the η-problem in multifield slow-roll inflation and show that it does not arise, inasmuch as the inflatons, ϕi, can all be heavier (in absolute value) that the Hubble scale: |mi|/H>1, ∀i

Cycling in the Throat

We analyse the dynamics of a probe D3-(anti-)brane propagating in a warped string compactification, making use of the Dirac-Born-Infeld action approximation. We also examine the time dependent expansion of such moving branes from the ``mirage cosmology'' perspective, where cosmology is induced by the brane motion in the background spacetime. A range of physically interesting backgrounds are considered: AdS5, Klebanov-Tseytlin and Klebanov-Strassler. Our focus is on exploring what new phenomenology is obtained from giving the brane angular momentum in the extra dimensions. We find that in general, angular momentum creates a centrifugal barrier, causing bouncing cosmologies. More unexpected, and more interesting, is the existence of bound orbits, corresponding to cyclic universes.Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures. JHEP3 style. Matches published versio