Observations on the Space of Four Dimensional String and $M$ theory Vacua

Abstract

The space of four dimensional string and $M$ theory vacua with non-Abelian gauge symmetry, chiral fermions and unbroken supersymmetry beyond the electroweak scale appears to be a disconnected space whose different components represent distinct universality classes of vacua. Calculating statistical distributions of physical observables a la Douglas therefore requires that the distinct components are carefully accounted for. We highlight some classes of vacua which deserve further study and suggest an argument which may serve to rule out vacua which are small perturbations of supersymmetric $Ad{S}_4$.

arXiv commentSummary of a talk presented at Strings, Gauge Fields and Duality, to mark the retirement of David Olive, University of Wales, Swansea, March 2004

References in corpus (9)

• de Sitter Vacua in String Theory
• Hierarchies from Fluxes in String Compactifications
• M Theory, Orientifolds and G-Flux
• The statistics of string/M theory vacua
• Chiral Fermions from Manifolds of $G_2$ Holonomy
• On Realising N=1 Super Yang-Mills in M theory
• Heterotic Moduli Stabilization with Fractional Chern-Simons Invariants
• Raising Anti de Sitter Vacua to de Sitter Vacua in Heterotic M-Theory
• Non-Spherical Horizons, I

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Statistics of M theory Vacua
• Inflation, Large Branes, and the Shape of Space
• Phenomenology from the Landscape of String Vacua