176 research outputs found
Heterotic Matrix String Theory and Riemann Surfaces
We extend the results found for Matrix String Theory to Heterotic Matrix
String Theory, i.e. to a 2d O(N) SYM theory with chiral (anomaly free) matter
and N=(8,0) supersymmetry. We write down the instanton equations for this
theory and solve them explicitly. The solutions are characterized by branched
coverings of the basis cylinder, i.e. by compact Riemann surfaces with
punctures. We show that in the strong coupling limit the action becomes the
heterotic string action plus a free Maxwell action. Moreover the amplitude
based on a Riemann surface with p punctures and h handles is proportional to
g^{2-2h-p}, as expected for the heterotic string interaction theory with string
coupling g_s=1/g.Comment: 17 pages, JHEP LaTeX style, sentence delete
New string vacua from twistor spaces
We find a new family of AdS_4 vacua in IIA string theory. The internal space
is topologically either the complex projective space CP^3 or the "flag
manifold" SU(3)/(U(1)xU(1)), but the metric is in general neither Einstein nor
Kaehler. All known moduli are stabilized by fluxes, without using quantum
effects or orientifold planes. The analysis is completely ten--dimensional and
does not rely on assumptions about Kaluza--Klein reduction.Comment: 19 pages. v3: published version, further minor correction
Perturbing gauge/gravity duals by a Romans mass
We show how to produce algorithmically gravity solutions in massive IIA (as
infinitesimal first order perturbations in the Romans mass parameter) dual to
assigned conformal field theories. We illustrate the procedure on a family of
Chern--Simons--matter conformal field theories that we recently obtained from
the N=6 theory by waiving the condition that the levels sum up to zero.Comment: 30 page
A scan for new N=1 vacua on twisted tori
We perform a systematic search for N=1 Minkowski vacua of type II string theories on compact six-dimensional parallelizable nil- and solvmanifolds (quotients of six-dimensional nilpotent and solvable groups, respectively). Some of these manifolds have appeared in the construction of string backgrounds and are typically called twisted tori. We look for vacua directly in ten dimensions, using the a reformulation of the supersymmetry condition in the framework of generalized complex geometry. Certain algebraic criteria to establish compactness of the manifolds involved are also needed. Although the conditions for preserved N=1 supersymmetry fit nicely in the framework of generalized complex geometry, they are notoriously hard to solve when coupled to the Bianchi identities. We find solutions in a large-volume, constant-dilaton limit. Among these, we identify those that are T-dual to backgrounds of IIB on a conformal T^6 with self-dual three-form flux, and hence conceptually not new. For all backgrounds of this type fully localized solutions can be obtained. The other new solutions need multiple intersecting sources (either orientifold planes or combinations of O-planes and D-branes) to satisfy the Bianchi identities; the full list of such new solution is given. These are so far only smeared solutions, and their localization is yet unknown. Although valid in a large-volume limit, they are the first examples of Minkowski vacua in supergravity which are not connected by any duality to a Calabi-Yau. Finally, we discuss a class of flat solvmanifolds that may lead to AdS_4 vacua of type IIA strings
Matrix String Theory and its Moduli Space
The correspondence between Matrix String Theory in the strong coupling limit
and IIA superstring theory can be shown by means of the instanton solutions of
the former. We construct the general instanton solutions of Matrix String
Theory which interpolate between given initial and final string configurations.
Each instanton is characterized by a Riemann surface of genus h with n
punctures, which is realized as a plane curve. We study the moduli space of
such plane curves and find out that, at finite N, it is a discretized version
of the moduli space of Riemann surfaces: instead of 3h-3+n its complex
dimensions are 2h-3+n, the remaining h dimensions being discrete. It turns out
that as tends to infinity, these discrete dimensions become continuous, and
one recovers the full moduli space of string interaction theory.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, JHEP.cls class file, minor correction
Generalized structures of N=1 vacua
We characterize N=1 vacua of type II theories in terms of generalized complex
structure on the internal manifold M. The structure group of T(M) + T*(M) being
SU(3) x SU(3) implies the existence of two pure spinors Phi_1 and Phi_2. The
conditions for preserving N=1 supersymmetry turn out to be simple
generalizations of equations that have appeared in the context of N=2 and
topological strings. They are (d + H wedge) Phi_1=0 and (d + H wedge) Phi_2 =
F_RR. The equation for the first pure spinor implies that the internal space is
a twisted generalized Calabi-Yau manifold of a hybrid complex-symplectic type,
while the RR-fields serve as an integrability defect for the second.Comment: 21 pages. v2, v3: minor changes and correction
Effective actions and N=1 vacuum conditions from SU(3) x SU(3) compactifications
We consider compactifications of type II string theory on general SU(3) x
SU(3) structure backgrounds allowing for a very large set of fluxes, possibly
nongeometric ones. We study the effective 4d low energy theory which is a
gauged N=2 supergravity, and discuss how its data are obtained from the
formalism of the generalized geometry on T+T*. In particular we relate
Hitchin's special Kaehler metrics on the spaces of even and odd pure spinors to
the metric on the supergravity moduli space of internal metric and B-field
fluctuations. We derive the N=1 vacuum conditions from this N=2 effective
action, as well as from its N=1 truncation. We prove a direct correspondence
between these conditions and an integrated version of the pure spinor equations
characterizing the N=1 backgrounds at the ten dimensional level.Comment: 54 pages. v2, v3: minor change
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