Triples, Fluxes, and Strings

Abstract

We study string compactifications with sixteen supersymmetries. The moduli space for these compactifications becomes quite intricate in lower dimensions, partly because there are many different irreducible components. We focus primarily, but not exclusively, on compactifications to seven or more dimensions. These vacua can be realized in a number ways: the perturbative constructions we study include toroidal compactifications of the heterotic/type I strings, asymmetric orbifolds, and orientifolds. In addition, we describe less conventional M and F theory compactifications on smooth spaces. The last class of vacua considered are compactifications on singular spaces with non-trivial discrete fluxes. We find a number of new components in the string moduli space. Contained in some of these components are M theory compactifications with novel kinds of ``frozen'' singularities. We are naturally led to conjecture the existence of new dualities relating spaces with different singular geometries and fluxes. As our study of these vacua unfolds, we also learn about additional topics including: F theory on spaces without section, automorphisms of del Pezzo surfaces, and novel physics (and puzzles) from equivariant K-theory. Lastly, we comment on how the data we gain about the M theory three-form might be interpreted.

150 pages, LaTeX; minor corrections; references added

Cited by in corpus (16)

• Duality Twists, Orbifolds, and Fluxes
• Supergravity Microstates for BPS Black Holes and Black Rings
• Compactification with Flux on K3 and Tori
• Ghost D-branes
• Branches of the Landscape
• Mirror Symmetry and a $G_2$ Flop
• The Moduli Space and M(atrix) Theory of 9d N=1 Backgrounds of M/String Theory
• Heterotic SO(32) model building in four dimensions
• Comments on Orientifolds without Vector Structure
• Catastrophic Decays of Compactified Space-Times
• Supersymmetry Changing Bubbles in String Theory
• Low-energy spectrum of N = 4 super-Yang-Mills on T^3: flat connections, bound states at threshold, and S-duality
• The Elliptic curves in gauge theory, string theory, and cohomology
• Domain Walls, Triples and Acceleration
• Comments on M Theory Dynamics on G2 Holonomy Manifolds
• IIA moduli stabilization with badly broken supersymmetry