277 research outputs found
G-flux and Spectral Divisors
We propose a construction of G-flux in singular elliptic Calabi-Yau fourfold
compactifications of F-theory, which in the local limit allow a spectral cover
description. The main tool of construction is the so-called spectral divisor in
the resolved Calabi-Yau geometry, which in the local limit reduces to the Higgs
bundle spectral cover. We exemplify the workings of this in the case of an E_6
singularity by constructing the resolved geometry, the spectral divisor and in
the local limit, the spectral cover. The G-flux constructed with the spectral
divisor is shown to be equivalent to the direct construction from suitably
quantized linear combinations of holomorphic surfaces in the resolved geometry,
and in the local limit reduces to the spectral cover flux.Comment: 30 page
Compact F-theory GUTs with U(1)_PQ
We construct semi-local and global realizations of SU(5) GUTs in F-theory
that utilize a U(1)_PQ symmetry to protect against dimension four proton decay.
Symmetries of this type, which assign charges to H_u and H_d that forbid a tree
level \mu term, play an important role in scenarios for neutrino physics and
gauge mediation that have been proposed in local F-theory model building. As
demonstrated in arXiv:0906.4672, the presence of such a symmetry implies the
existence of non-GUT exotics in the spectrum, when hypercharge flux is used to
break the GUT group and to give rise to doublet-triplet splitting. These
exotics are of precisely the right type to solve the unification problem in
such F-theory models and might also comprise a non-standard messenger sector
for gauge mediation. We present a detailed description of models with U(1)_PQ
in the semi-local regime, which does not depend on details of any specific
Calabi-Yau four-fold, and then specialize to the geometry of arXiv:0904.3932 to
construct three-generation examples with the minimal allowed number of non-GUT
exotics. Among these, we find a handful of models in which the D3-tadpole
constraint can be satisfied without requiring the introduction of
anti-D3-branes. Finally, because SU(5) singlets that carry U(1)_PQ charge may
serve as candidate right-handed neutrinos or can be used to lift the exotics,
we study their origin in compact models and motivate a conjecture for how to
count their zero modes in a semi-local setting.Comment: 73 pages, 5 figures, v2: minor corrections to 4.3 and 6.3.1,
reference adde
F-theory GUTs with U(1) Symmetries: Generalities and Survey
We study the structure of SU(5) F-theory GUT models that engineer additional
U(1) symmetries. These are highly constrained by a set of relations observed by
Dudas and Palti (DP) that originate from the physics of 4D anomaly
cancellation. Using the DP relations, we find a general tension between
unification and the suppression of dimension 5 proton decay when one or more
U(1)'s are PQ symmetries and hypercharge flux is used to break the SU(5) GUT
group. We then specialize to spectral cover models, whose global completions in
F- theory we know how to construct. In that setting, we provide a technical
derivation of the DP relations, construct spectral covers that yield all
possible solutions to them, and provide a complete survey of spectral cover
models for SU(5) GUTs that exhibit two U(1) symmetries.Comment: 27 pages plus 5 appendices (70 pages total) ; v2 references adde
Building SO(10) models from F-theory
We revisit local F-theory SO(10) and SU(5) GUTs and analyze their properties
within the framework of the maximal underlying E_8 symmetry in the elliptic
fibration. We consider the symmetry enhancements along the intersections of
seven-branes with the GUT surface and study in detail the embedding of the
abelian factors undergoing monodromies in the covering gauge groups. We combine
flux data from the successive breaking of SO(10) to SU(5) gauge symmetry and
subsequently to the Standard Model one, and further constrain the parameters
determining the models' particle spectra. In order to eliminate dangerous
baryon number violating operators we propose ways to construct matter parity
like symmetries from intrinsic geometric origin. We study implementations of
the resulting constrained scenario in specific examples obtained for a variety
of monodromies.Comment: 53 page
Rational F-Theory GUTs without exotics
We construct F-theory GUT models without exotic matter, leading to the MSSM
matter spectrum with potential singlet extensions. The interplay of engineering
explicit geometric setups, absence of four-dimensional anomalies, and realistic
phenomenology of the couplings places severe constraints on the allowed local
models in a given geometry. In constructions based on the spectral cover we
find no model satisfying all these requirements. We then provide a survey of
models with additional U(1) symmetries arising from rational sections of the
elliptic fibration in toric constructions and obtain phenomenologically
appealing models based on SU(5) tops. Furthermore we perform a bottom-up
exploration beyond the toric section constructions discussed in the literature
so far and identify benchmark models passing all our criteria, which can serve
as a guideline for future geometric engineering.Comment: 27 Pages, 1 Figur
On F-theory Quiver Models and Kac-Moody Algebras
We discuss quiver gauge models with bi-fundamental and fundamental matter
obtained from F-theory compactified on ALE spaces over a four dimensional base
space. We focus on the base geometry which consists of intersecting F0=CP1xCP1
Hirzebruch complex surfaces arranged as Dynkin graphs classified by three kinds
of Kac-Moody (KM) algebras: ordinary, i.e finite dimensional, affine and
indefinite, in particular hyperbolic. We interpret the equations defining these
three classes of generalized Lie algebras as the anomaly cancelation condition
of the corresponding N =1 F-theory quivers in four dimensions. We analyze in
some detail hyperbolic geometries obtained from the affine A base geometry by
adding a node, and we find that it can be used to incorporate fundamental
fields to a product of SU-type gauge groups and fields.Comment: 13 pages; new equations added in section 3, one reference added and
typos correcte
Lectures on F-theory compactifications and model building
These lecture notes are devoted to formal and phenomenological aspects of
F-theory. We begin with a pedagogical introduction to the general concepts of
F-theory, covering classic topics such as the connection to Type IIB
orientifolds, the geometry of elliptic fibrations and the emergence of gauge
groups, matter and Yukawa couplings. As a suitable framework for the
construction of compact F-theory vacua we describe a special class of
Weierstrass models called Tate models, whose local properties are captured by
the spectral cover construction. Armed with this technology we proceed with a
survey of F-theory GUT models, aiming at an overview of basic conceptual and
phenomenological aspects, in particular in connection with GUT breaking via
hypercharge flux.Comment: Invited contribution to the proceedings of the CERN Winter School on
Supergravity, Strings and Gauge Theory 2010, to appear in Classical and
Quantum Gravity; 63 pages; v2: references added, typos correcte
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