63 research outputs found
Box Graphs and Singular Fibers
We determine the higher codimension fibers of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau
fourfolds with section by studying the three-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric
gauge theory with matter which describes the low energy effective theory of
M-theory compactified on the associated Weierstrass model, a singular model of
the fourfold. Each phase of the Coulomb branch of this theory corresponds to a
particular resolution of the Weierstrass model, and we show that these have a
concise description in terms of decorated box graphs based on the
representation graph of the matter multiplets, or alternatively by a class of
convex paths on said graph. Transitions between phases have a simple
interpretation as `flopping' of the path, and in the geometry correspond to
actual flop transitions. This description of the phases enables us to enumerate
and determine the entire network between them, with various matter
representations for all reductive Lie groups. Furthermore, we observe that each
network of phases carries the structure of a (quasi-)minuscule representation
of a specific Lie algebra. Interpreted from a geometric point of view, this
analysis determines the generators of the cone of effective curves as well as
the network of flop transitions between crepant resolutions of singular
elliptic Calabi-Yau fourfolds. From the box graphs we determine all fiber types
in codimensions two and three, and we find new, non-Kodaira, fiber types for
E_6, E_7 and E_8.Comment: 107 pages, 44 figures, v2: added case of E7 monodromy-reduced fiber
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
An Instanton Toolbox for F-Theory Model Building
Several dimensionful parameters needed for model building can be engineered
in a certain class of SU(5) F-theory GUTs by adding extra singlet fields which
are localized along pairwise intersections of D7-branes. The values of these
parameters, however, depend on dynamics external to the GUT which causes the
singlets to acquire suitable masses or expectation values. In this note, we
demonstrate that D3-instantons which wrap the same 4-cycle as one of the
intersecting D7's can provide precisely the needed dynamics to generate several
important scales, including the supersymmetry-breaking scale and the
right-handed neutrino mass. Furthermore, these instantons seem unable to
directly generate the \mu term suggesting that, at least in this class of
models, it should perhaps be tied to one of the other scales in the problem.
More specifically, we study the simple system consisting of a pair of D7-branes
wrapping del Pezzo surfaces which intersect along a curve of genus 0
or 1 and classify all instanton configurations which can potentially contribute
to the superpotential. This allows one to formulate topological conditions
which must be imposed on \Sigma for various model-building applications. Along
the way, we also observe that the construction of arXiv:0808.1286 which
engineers a linear superpotential in fact realizes an O'Raifeartaigh model at
the KK scale whose 1-loop Coleman-Weinberg potential generically leads to a
metastable, long-lived SUSY-breaking vacuum.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures; v2: updated to reflect corrections in v2 of
0808.128
F-theory Compactifications for Supersymmetric GUTs
We construct a family of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau four-folds Y_4 for
F-theory compactifications that realize SU(5) GUTs in the low-energy limit. The
three-fold base X_3 of these fibrations is almost Fano and satisfies the
topological criteria required to ensure that the U(1)_Y gauge boson remains
massless, while allowing a decoupling of GUT and Planck scale physics. We study
generic features of these models and the ability to engineer three chiral
generations of MSSM matter. Finally, we demonstrate that it is relatively easy
to implement the topological conditions required to reproduce certain
successful features of local F-theory models, such as the emergence of flavor
hierarchies.Comment: 55 pages, 10 figure
Theories of Class F and Anomalies
We consider the 6d (2,0) theory on a fibration by genus g curves, and
dimensionally reduce along the fiber to 4d theories with duality defects. This
generalizes class S theories, for which the fibration is trivial. The
non-trivial fibration in the present setup implies that the gauge couplings of
the 4d theory, which are encoded in the complex structures of the curve, vary
and can undergo S-duality transformations. These monodromies occur around 2d
loci in space-time, the duality defects, above which the fiber is singular. The
key role that the fibration plays here motivates refering to this setup as
theories of class F. In the simplest instance this gives rise to 4d N=4
Super-Yang-Mills with space-time dependent coupling that undergoes SL(2, Z)
monodromies. We determine the anomaly polynomial for these theories by pushing
forward the anomaly polynomial of the 6d (2,0) theory along the fiber. This
gives rise to corrections to the anomaly polynomials of 4d N=4 SYM and theories
of class S. For the torus case, this analysis is complemented with a field
theoretic derivation of a U(1) anomaly in 4d N=4 SYM. The corresponding anomaly
polynomial is tested against known expressions of anomalies for wrapped
D3-branes with varying coupling, which are known field theoretically and from
holography. Extensions of the construction to 4d N = 0 and 1, and 2d theories
with varying coupling, are also discussed.Comment: 54 pages, 1 figure, v2: added discussion of non-supersymmetric
extension, v3: version as appears in JHE
Unification and Phenomenology of F-Theory GUTs with U(1)_PQ
We undertake a phenomenological study of SU(5) F-theory GUT models with an
additional U(1)_{PQ} symmetry. In such models, breaking SU(5) with hypercharge
flux leads to the presence of non-GUT multiplets in the spectrum. We study the
effect these have on the unification of gauge couplings, including two-loop
running as well as low- and high-scale threshold corrections. We use the
requirement of unification to constrain the size of thresholds from KK modes of
SU(5) gauge and matter fields. Assuming the non-GUT multiplets play the role of
messengers of gauge mediation leads to controlled non-universalities in the
sparticle spectrum while maintaining grand unification, and we study the LHC
phenomenology of this scenario. We find that the MSSM spectrum may become
compressed or stretched out {by up to a factor of three} depending on the
distribution of hypercharge flux. We present a set of benchmark points whose
production cross-sections and decays we investigate, and argue that precision
kinematic edge measurements will allow the LHC to distinguish between our model
and mGMSB.Comment: 46 pages, 15 figure
Expression of Y-box-binding protein dbpC/contrin, a potentially new cancer/testis antigen
Y-box-binding proteins are members of the human cold-shock domain protein superfamily, which includes dbpA, dbpB/YB-1, and dbpC/contrin. dbpC/contrin is a germ cell-specific Y-box-binding protein and is suggested to function as a nuclear transcription factor and RNA-binding protein in the cytoplasm. Whereas ubiquitous dbpB/YB-1 expression has been well studied in various types of human carcinomas as a prognostic or predictive marker, the dbpC/contrin expression in human tumour cells has not been reported. In this report, we provide the first evidence showing that dbpC was highly expressed in human testicular seminoma and ovarian dysgerminomas, and in carcinomas in other tissues and that its expression in normal tissues is nearly restricted to germ cells and placental trophoblasts. These results indicate that dbpC/contrin would be a potentially novel cancer/testis antigen
- …