Spontaneous Breaking of N=2 Global Supersymmetry

We study spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in N=2 globally supersymmetric theories describing a system of abelian vector multiplets. We find that the most general form of the action admits, in addition to the usual Fayet-Iliopoulos term, a magnetic Fayet-Iliopoulos term for the auxiliary components of dual vector multiplets. In a generic case, N=2 supersymmetry is broken down spontaneously to N=1. In some cases however, the scalar potential can drive the theory towards a N=2 supersymmetric ground state where massless dyons condense in the vacuum.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe

One-loop Correction and the Dilaton Runaway Problem

We examine the one-loop vacuum structure of an effective theory of gaugino condensation coupled to the dilaton for string models in which the gauge coupling constant does not receive string threshold corrections. The new ingredients in our treatment are that we take into account the one-loop correction to the dilaton K\"ahler potential and we use a formulation which includes a chiral field $H$ corresponding to the gaugino bilinear. We find through explicit calculation that supersymmetry in the Yang-Mills sector is broken by gaugino condensation. The dilaton and $H$ field have masses on the order of the gaugino condensation scale independently of the dilaton VEV. Although the calculation performed here is at best a model of the full gaugino condensation dynamics, the result shows that the one-loop correction to the dilaton K\"ahler potential as well as the detailed dynamics at the gaugino condensation scale may play an important role in solving the dilaton runaway problem.Comment: 19 page

Renormalization of Boundary Fermions and World-Volume Potentials on D-branes

We consider a sigma model formulation of open string theory with boundary fermions carrying Chan-Paton charges at the string ends. This formalism is particularly suitable for studying world-volume potentials on D-branes. We perform explicit two-loop sigma model computations of the potential T-dual to the non-abelian Born-Infeld action. We also discuss the world-volume couplings of NS fluxes which are responsible for Myers' dielectric effect.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Aspects of Type I - Type II - Heterotic Triality in Four Dimensions

We discuss equivalence between Type I, Type II and Heterotic N=2 superstring theories in four dimensions. We study the effective field theory of Type I models obtained by orientifold reductions of Type IIB compactifications on $K_3 case by the one-loop correction to the Planck mass and can be written as an index associated to the Ramond open string sector. It receives contributions only from N=2 BPS states that originate from D=6 massless string modes. We apply this result to the so-called S-T-U model which admits simultaneous Type II and Heterotic description, and show that all three prepotentials agree in the appropriate limits as expected from the superstring triality conjecture.We discuss equivalence between Type I, Type II and Heterotic N=2 superstring theories in four dimensions. We study the effective field theory of Type I models obtained by orientifold reductions of Type IIB compactifications on$K_3 \times T~2$. We compute the one-loop prepotential which is determined in this case by the one-loop correction to the Planck mass and can be written as an index associated to the Ramond open string sector. It receives contributions only from N=2 BPS states that originate from D=6 massless string modes. We apply this result to the so-called S-T-U model which admits simultaneous Type II and Heterotic description, and show that all three prepotentials agree in the appropriate limits as expected from the superstring triality conjecture.We discuss the equivalence between type I, type II and heterotic N = 2 superstring theories in four dimensions. We study the effective field theory of type I models obtained by orientifold reductions of type IIB compactifications on K 3 × T 2 . We show that the perturbative prepotential is determined by the one-loop corrections to the Planck mass and is associated to an index. As is the case for threshold corrections to gauge couplings, this renormalization is entirely due to N = 2 BPS states that originate from D = 6 massless string modes. We apply our result to the so-called S - T - U model which admits simultaneous type II and heterotic descriptions, and show that all three prepotentials agree in the appropriate limits as expected from the superstring triality conjecture

Fermion Masses in Superstring Theory

We give a model-independent discussion of fermion masses in four-dimensional heterotic superstring theories. We discuss the tree level contributions and quantum corrections, including one-loop threshold effects and masses generated as a result of non-perturbative supersymmetry breaking. We also point out that superstring models give rise to a generic $\mu$-term in the effective low energy Lagrangian.Comment: 13 pages, latex. Based on talks presented at the Spring Workshop on String Theory, ICTP, Trieste, 11-22 April 1994, and at the Joint U.S.-Polish Workshop on Physics from Planck Scale to Electroweak Scale, Warsaw, Poland, 21-24 September 199

Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking and the Linear Multiplet

We analyze gaugino condensation in the presence of a dilaton and an antisymmetric tensor field, with couplings reminiscent of string theories. The degrees of freedom relevant to a supersymmetric description of the effective theory below the scale of condensation are discussed in this context.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, no figures -- 1 reference correcte

Axion Couplings and Effective Cut-Offs in Superstring Compactifications

We use the linear supermultiplet formalism of supergravity to study axion couplings and chiral anomalies in the context of field-theoretical Lagrangians describing orbifold compactifications beyond the classical approximation. By matching amplitudes computed in the effective low energy theory with the results of string loop calculations we determine the appropriate counterterm in this effective theory that assures modular invariance to all loop order. We use supersymmetry consistency constraints to identify the correct ultra-violet cut-offs for the effective low energy theory. Our results have a simple interpretation in terms of two-loop unification of gauge coupling constants at the string scale.Comment: 25 page

Duality in Superstring Compactifications with Magnetic Field Backgrounds

Motivated by the work of Polchinski and Strominger on type IIA theory, where the effect of non-trivial field strengths for p-form potentials on a Calabi-Yau space was discussed, we study four-dimensional heterotic string theory in the presence of magnetic field on a 2-cycle in the internal manifold, for both N=4 and N=2 cases. We show that at special points in the moduli space, certain perturbative charged states become tachyonic and stabilize the vacuum by acquiring vacuum expectation values, thereby restoring supersymmetry. We discuss both the cases where the tachyons appear with a tower of Landau levels, which become light in the limit of large volume of the 2-cycle, and the case where such Landau levels are not present. In the latter case it is sufficient to restrict the analysis to the quartic potential for the tachyon. On the other hand, in the former case it is necessary to include the Landau levels in the analysis of the potential; for toroidal and orbifold examples, we give an explicit CFT description of the new supersymmetric vacuum. The resulting new vacuum turns out to be in the same class as the original supersymmetric one. Finally, using duality, we discuss the role of the Landau levels on the type IIA side.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure; Nucl. Phys. B version with typos corrected and references adde

N=2 Type II- Heterotic duality and Higher derivative F-terms

We test the recently conjectured duality between $N=2$ supersymmetric type II and heterotic string models by analysing a class of higher dimensional interactions in the respective low-energy Lagrangians. These are $F$-terms of the form $F_g W^{2g}$ where $W$ is the gravitational superfield. On the type II side these terms are generated at the $g$-loop level and in fact are given by topological partition functions of the twisted Calabi-Yau sigma model. We show that on the heterotic side these terms arise at the one-loop level. We study in detail a rank 3 example and show that the corresponding couplings $F_g$ satisfy the same holomorphic anomaly equations as in the type II case. Moreover we study the leading singularities of $F_g$'s on the heterotic side, near the enhanced symmetry point and show that they are universal poles of order $2g{-}2$ with coefficients that are given by the Euler number of the moduli space of genus-$g$ Riemann surfaces. This confirms a recent conjecture that the physics near conifold singularity is governed by $c{=}1$ string theory at the self-dual point.Comment: 33 pages, latex, no figure