Natural F-theory constructions of Standard Model structure from $E_7$ flux breaking

Abstract

We describe a broad class of 4D F-theory models in which an $E_7$ gauge group is broken through fluxes to the Standard Model gauge group. These models are ubiquitous in the 4D F-theory landscape and can arise from flux breaking of most models with $E_7$ factors. While in many cases the $E_7$ breaking leads to exotic matter, there are large families of models in which the Standard Model gauge group and chiral matter representations are obtained through an intermediate $\mathrm{SU}(5)$ group. The number of generations of matter appearing in these models can easily be small. We demonstrate the possibility of getting three generations of chiral matter as the preferred matter content.

6 pages, 1 figure; v4: Published version in PRD; v2: Incorporated intermediate SU(5) and remainder hypercharge breaking to fix issues with flux breaking pattern in the initial version