Fourier Mukai Transforms and Applications to String Theory

We give an introductory review of Fourier-Mukai transforms and their application to various aspects of moduli problems, string theory and mirror symmetry. We develop the necessary mathematical background for Fourier-Mukai transforms such as aspects of derived categories and integral functors as well as their relative version which becomes important for making precise the notion of fiberwise T-duality on elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds. We discuss various applications of the Fourier-Mukai transform to D-branes on Calabi-Yau manifolds as well as homological mirror symmetry and the construction of vector bundles for heterotic string theory.Comment: 52 pages. To appear in Rev. R. Acad. Cienc. Exactas Fis. Nat. Ser. A Mat. Minor changes, reference of conjecture in section 7.5 changed, references update

Yang-Mills instantons in Kaehler spaces with one holomorphic isometry

We consider self-dual Yang-Mills instantons in 4-dimensional Kaehler spaces with one holomorphic isometry and show that they satisfy a generalization of the Bogomol'nyi equation for magnetic monopoles on certain 3-dimensional metrics. We then search for solutions of this equation in 3-dimensional metrics foliated by 2-dimensional spheres, hyperboloids or planes in the case in which the gauge group coincides with the isometry group of the metric (SO(3), SO(1,2) and ISO(2), respectively). Using a generalized hedgehog ansatz the Bogomol'nyi quations reduce to a simple differential equation in the radial variable which admits a universal solution and, in some cases, a particular one, from which one finally recovers instanton solutions in the original Kaehler space. We work out completely a few explicit examples for some Kaehler spaces of interest.Comment: Latex2e file, 16 pages, no figure

One Thousand and One Bubbles

We propose a novel strategy that permits the construction of completely general five-dimensional microstate geometries on a Gibbons-Hawking space. Our scheme is based on two steps. First, we rewrite the bubble equations as a system of linear equations that can be easily solved. Second, we conjecture that the presence or absence of closed timelike curves in the solution can be detected through the evaluation of an algebraic relation. The construction we propose is systematic and covers the whole space of parameters, so it can be applied to find all five-dimensional BPS microstate geometries on a Gibbons-Hawking base. As a first result of this approach, we find that the spectrum of scaling solutions becomes much larger when non-Abelian fields are present. We use our method to describe several smooth horizonless multicenter solutions with the asymptotic charges of three-charge (Abelian and non-Abelian) black holes. In particular, we describe solutions with the centers lying on lines and circles that can be specified with exact precision. We show the power of our method by explicitly constructing a 50-center solution. Moreover, we use it to find the first smooth five-dimensional microstate geometries with arbitrarily small angular momentum.Comment: 33 pages. v2: typos correcte

Holographic studies of Einsteinian cubic gravity

Einsteinian cubic gravity provides a holographic toy model of a nonsupersymmetric CFT in three dimensions, analogous to the one defined by Quasi-topological gravity in four. The theory admits explicit non-hairy AdS$_4$ black holes and allows for numerous exact calculations, fully nonperturbative in the new coupling. We identify several entries of the AdS/CFT dictionary for this theory, and study its thermodynamic phase space, finding interesting new phenomena. We also analyze the dependence of R\'enyi entropies for disk regions on universal quantities characterizing the CFT. In addition, we show that $\eta/s$ is given by a non-analytic function of the ECG coupling, and that the existence of positive-energy black holes strictly forbids violations of the KSS bound. Along the way, we introduce a new method for evaluating Euclidean on-shell actions for general higher-order gravities possessing second-order linearized equations on AdS$_{(d+1)}$. Our generalized action involves the very same Gibbons-Hawking boundary term and counterterms valid for Einstein gravity, which now appear weighted by the universal charge $a^*$ controlling the entanglement entropy across a spherical region in the CFT dual to the corresponding higher-order theory.Comment: 59 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; v4: typos fixe

A Fourier-Mukai Transform for Stable Bundles on K3 Surfaces

We define a Fourier-Mukai transform for sheaves on K3 surfaces over \C, and show that it maps polystable bundles to polystable ones. The role of ``dual'' variety to the given K3 surface $X$ is here played by a suitable component $\hat X$ of the moduli space of stable sheaves on $X$. For a wide class of K3 surfaces $\hat X$ can be chosen to be isomorphic to $X$; then the Fourier-Mukai transform is invertible, and the image of a zero-degree stable bundle $F$ is stable and has the same Euler characteristic as $F$.Comment: Revised version, 15 pages AMSTeX with AMSppt.sty v. 2.1

Regular Stringy Black Holes?

We study the first-order $\alpha'$ corrections to the singular 4-dimensional massless stringy black holes studied in the nineties in the context of the Heterotic Superstring. We show that the $\alpha'$ corrections not only induce a non-vanishing mass and give rise to an event horizon, but also eliminate the singularity giving rise to a regular spacetime whose global structure includes further asymptotically flat regions in which the spacetime's mass is positive or negative. We study the timelike and null geodesics and their effective potential, showing that the spacetime is geodesically complete. We discuss the validity of this solution, arguing that the very interesting and peculiar properties of the solution are associated to the negative energy contributions coming from the terms quadratic in the curvature. As a matter of fact, the 10-dimensional configuration is singular. We extract some general lessons on attempts to eliminate black-hole singularities by introducing terms of higher order in the curvature.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure