Type IIA string theory compactified on SU(3)-structure manifolds with
orientifolds allows for classical de Sitter solutions in four dimensions. In
this paper we investigate these solutions from a ten-dimensional point of view.
In particular, we demonstrate that there exists an attractive class of de
Sitter solutions, whose geometry, fluxes and source terms can be entirely
written in terms of the universal forms that are defined on all SU(3)-structure
manifolds. These are the forms J and Omega, defining the SU(3)-structure
itself, and the torsion classes. The existence of such universal de Sitter
solutions is governed by easy-to-verify conditions on the SU(3)-structure,
rendering the problem of finding dS solutions purely geometrical. We point out
that the known (unstable) solution coming from the compactification on SU(2)x
SU(2) is of this kind.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, v2: added reference