arXiv subjects

Mirjam Cvetic

Publications and source records attributed to Mirjam Cvetic.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

D-brane Instantons in Type II String Theory

We review recent progress in determining the effects of D-brane instantons in N=1 supersymmetric compactifications of Type II string theory to four dimensions. We describe the abstract D-brane instanton calculus for holomorphic couplings such as the superpotential, the gauge kinetic function and higher fermionic F-terms. This includes a discussion of multi-instanton effects and the implications of background fluxes for the instanton sector. Our presentation also highlights, but is not restricted to the computation of D-brane instanton effects in quiver gauge theories on D-branes at singularities. We then summarize the concrete consequences of stringy D-brane instantons for the construction of semi-realistic models of particle physics or SUSY-breaking in compact and non-compact geometries.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

D-Instanton Generated Dirac Neutrino Masses

We present a stringy mechanism to generate Dirac neutrino masses by D-instantons in an experimentally relevant mass scale without fine-tuning. Within Type IIA string theory with intersecting D6-branes, we spell out specific conditions for the emergence of such couplings and provide a class of supersymmetric local SU(5) Grand Unified models, based on the Z_2 x Z'_2 orientifold compactification, where perturbatively absent Dirac neutrino masses can be generated by D2-brane instantons in the experimentally observed mass regime, while Majorana masses remain absent, thus providing an intriguing mechanism for the origin of small neutrino masses due to non-perturbative stringy effects.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

A string theoretic model of gauge mediated supersymmetry beaking

We propose a robust supergravity model of dynamical supersymmetry breaking and gauge mediation, and a natural embedding in non-perturbative string theory with D-branes. A chiral field (and its mirror) charged under "anomalous" U(1)'s acts as a Polonyi field whose hierarchical Polonyi-term can be generated by string instantons. Further quartic superpotential terms arise naturally as a tree-level decoupling effect of massive string states. A robust supersymmetry breaking minimum allows for gauge mediation with soft masses at the TeV scale, which we realise for a globally consistent SU(5) GUT model of Type I string theory, with a D1-instanton inducing the Polonyi term.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Hierarchies from D-brane instantons in globally defined Calabi-Yau Orientifolds

We construct the first globally consistent semi-realistic Type I string vacua on an elliptically fibered manifold where the zero modes of the Euclidean D1-instanton sector allow for the generation of non-perturbative Majorana masses of an intermediate scale. In another class of global models, a D1-brane instanton can generate a Polonyi-type superpotential breaking supersymmetry at an exponentially suppressed scale.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

(Non-)BPS bound states and D-brane instantons

We study non-perturbative effects in four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric orientifold compactifications due to D-brane instantons which are generically not invariant under the orientifold projection. We show that they can yield superpotential contributions via a multi-instanton process at threshold. Some constituents of this configuration form bound states away from the wall of marginal stability which can decay in other regions of moduli space. A microscopic analysis reveals how contributions to the superpotential are possible when new BPS states compensate for their decay. We study this concretely for D2-brane instantons along decaying special Lagrangians in Type IIA and for D5-branes instantons carrying holomorphic bundles in Type I theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Warped Resolved L^{a,b,c} Cones

We construct supergravity solutions describing a stack of D3-branes localized at a point on a blown-up cycle of a resolved L^{a,b,c} cone. The geometry flows from AdS_5 x L^{a,b,c} to AdS_5 x S^5/Z_k. The corresponding quiver gauge theory undergoes an RG flow between two superconformal fixed points, which leads to semi-infinite chains of flows between the various L^{a,b,c} fixed points. The general system is described by a triplet of Heun equations which can each be solved by an expansion with a three-term recursion relation, though there are closed-form solutions for certain cases. This enables us to read off the operators which acquire non-zero vacuum expectation values as the quiver gauge theory flows away from a fixed point.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Gravity Trapping on a Finite Thickness Domain Wall: An Analytic Study

We construct an explicit model of gravity trapping domain wall potential where for the first time we can study explicitly the graviton wave function fluctuations for any thickness of the domain wall. A concrete form of the potential depends on one parameter 0 <= x <= pi/2, which effectively parameterizes the thickness of the domain wall with specific limits x -> 0 and x -> pi/2 corresponding to the thin and the thick wall, respectively. The analysis of the continuum Kaluza Klein fluctuations yields explicit expressions for both the small and large Kaluza Klein energy. We also derive specific explicit conditions in the regime x > 1, for which the fluctuation modes exhibit a resonance behaviour, and which could sizably affect the modifications of the four-dimensional Newton's law at distances, which typically are by four orders of magnitude larger than those relevant for Newton's law modifications of thin walls.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

D-brane instanton effects in Type II orientifolds: local and global issues

We review how D-brane instantons can generate open string couplings of stringy hierarchy in the superpotential which violate global abelian symmetries and are therefore perturbatively forbidden. We discuss the main ingredients of this mechanism, focussing for concreteness on Euclidean $D2$-branes in Type IIA orientifold compactifications. Special emphasis is put on a careful analysis of instanton zero modes and a classification of situations leading to superpotential or higher fermionic F-terms. This includes the discussion of chiral and non-chiral instanton recombination, viewed as a multi-instanton effect. As phenomenological applications we discuss the generation of perturbatively forbidden Yukawa couplings in SU(5) GUT models and Majorana masses for right-handed neutrinos. Finally we analyse the mirror dual description of $D1$-instantons in Type I compactifications with $D9$-branes and stable holomorphic bundles. We present globally defined semi-realistic string vacua on an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau realising the non-perturbative generation of Majorana masses.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Lifting D-Instanton Zero Modes by Recombination and Background Fluxes

We study the conditions under which D-brane instantons in Type II orientifold compactifications generate a non-perturbative superpotential. If the instanton is non-invariant under the orientifold action, it carries four instead of the two Goldstone fermions required for superpotential contributions. Unless these are lifted, the instanton can at best generate higher fermionic F-terms of Beasley-Witten type. We analyse two strategies to lift the additional zero modes. First we discuss the process of instantonic brane recombination in Type IIA orientifolds. We show that in some cases charge invariance of the measure enforces the presence of further zero modes which, unlike the Goldstinos, cannot be absorbed. In other cases, the instanton exhibits reparameterisation zero modes after recombination and a superpotential is generated if these are lifted by suitable closed or open string couplings. In the second part of the paper we address lifting the extra Goldstinos of D3-brane instantons by supersymmetric three-form background fluxes in Type IIB orientifolds. This requires non-trivial gauge flux on the instanton. Only if the part of the fermionic action linear in the gauge flux survives the orientifold projection can the extra Goldstinos be lifted.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Twisting K3 x T^2 Orbifolds

We construct a class of geometric twists of Calabi-Yau manifolds of Voisin-Borcea type (K3 x T^2)/Z_2 and study the superpotential in a type IIA orientifold based on this geometry. The twists modify the direct product by fibering the K3 over T^2 while preserving the Z_2 involution. As an important application, the Voisin-Borcea class contains T^6/(Z_2 x Z_2), the usual setting for intersecting D6 brane model building. Past work in this context considered only those twists inherited from T^6, but our work extends these twists to a subset of the blow-up modes. Our work naturally generalizes to arbitrary K3 fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds and to nongeometric constructions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Non-perturbative Yukawa Couplings from String Instantons

Non-perturbative D-brane instantons can generate perturbatively absent though phenomenologically relevant couplings for Type II orientifold compactifications with D-branes. We discuss the generation of the perturbatively vanishing SU(5) GUT Yukawa coupling of type 10 10 5_H. Moreover, for a simple globally consistent intersecting D6-brane model, we discuss the generation of mass terms for matter fields. This can serve as a mechanism for decoupling exotic matter.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Computation of D-brane instanton induced superpotential couplings - Majorana masses from string theory

We perform a detailed conformal field theory analysis of D2-brane instanton effects in four-dimensional type IIA string vacua with intersecting D6-branes. In particular, we explicitly compute instanton induced fermion two-point couplings which play the role of perturbatively forbidden Majorana mass terms for right-handed neutrinos or MSSM mu-terms. These results can readily be extended to higher-dimensional operators. In concrete realizations of such non-perturbative effects, the Euclidean D2-brane has to wrap a rigid, supersymmetric cycle with strong constraints on the zero mode structure. Their implications for Type IIA compactifications on the T^6/(Z_2 x Z_2) orientifold with discrete torsion are analyzed. We also construct a local supersymmetric GUT-like model allowing for a class of Euclidean D2-branes whose fermionic zero modes meet all the constraints for generating Majorana masses in the phenomenologically allowed regime. Together with perturbatively realized Dirac masses, these non-perturbative couplings give rise to the see-saw mechanism.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Spacetime Instanton Corrections in 4D String Vacua - The Seesaw Mechanism for D-Brane Models

We systematically investigate instanton corrections from wrapped Euclidean D-branes to the matter field superpotential of various classes of N=1 supersymmetric D-brane models in four dimensions. Both gauge invariance and the counting of fermionic zero modes provide strong constraints on the allowed non-perturbative superpotential couplings. We outline how the complete instanton computation boils down to the computation of open string disc diagrams for boundary changing operators multiplied by a one-loop vacuum diagram. For concreteness we focus on E2-instanton effects in Type IIA vacua with intersecting D6-branes, however the same structure emerges for Type IIB and heterotic vacua. The instantons wrapping rigid cycles can potentially destabilise the vacuum or generate perturbatively absent matter couplings such as proton decay operators, mu-parameter or right-handed neutrino Majorana mass terms. The latter allow the realization of the seesaw mechanism for MSSM-like intersecting D-brane models.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Proton decay via dimension-six operators in intersecting D6-brane models

We analyze the proton decay via dimension six operators in supersymmetric SU(5)-Grand Unified models based on intersecting D6-brane constructions in Type IIA string theory orientifolds. We include in addition to 10* 10 10* 10 interactions also the operators arising from 5-bar* 5-bar 10* 10 interactions. We provide a detailed construction of vertex operators for any massless string excitation arising for arbitrary intersecting D-brane configurations in Type IIA toroidal orientifolds. In particular, we provide explicit string vertex operators for the 10 and 5-bar chiral superfields and calculate explicitly the string theory correlation functions for above operators. In the analysis we chose the most symmetric configurations in order to maximize proton decay rates for the above dimension six operators and we obtain a small enhancement relative to the field theory result. After relating the string proton decay rate to field theory computations the string contribution to the proton lifetime is tau^{ST}_p =(0.5-2.1) x 10^{36} years, which could be up to a factor of three shorter than that predicted in field theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

New Grand Unified Models with Intersecting D6-branes, Neutrino Masses, and Flipped SU(5)

We construct new supersymmetric SU(5) Grand Unified Models based on Z4 x Z2 orientifolds with intersecting D6-branes. Unlike constructions based on Z2 x Z2 orientifolds, the orbifold images of the three-cycles wrapped by D6-branes correspond to new configurations and thus allow for models in which, in addition to the chiral sector in 10 and 5-bar representations of SU(5), only, there can be new sectors with (15 + 15-bar) and (10 + 10-bar) vector-pairs. We construct an example of such a globally consistent, supersymmetric model with four-families, two Standard Model Higgs pair-candidates and the gauge symmetry U(5) x U(1) x Sp(4). In a N = 2 sector, there are 5 x (15 + 15-bar) and 1 x (10 + 10-bar) vector pairs, while another N = 1 sector contains one vector-pair of 15-plets. The N = 2 vector pairs can obtain a large mass dynamically by parallel D6-brane splitting in a particu- lar two-torus. The 15-vector-pairs provide, after symmetry breaking to the Standard Model (via parallel D-brane splitting), triplet pair candidates which can in principle play a role in generating Majorana- type masses for left-handed neutrinos, though the necessary Yukawa couplings are absent in the specific construction. Similarly, the 10- vector-pairs can play the role of Higgs fields of the flipped SU(5), though again there are phenomenological difficulties for the specific construction.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Classification of Supersymmetric Flux Vacua in M Theory

We present a comprehensive classification of supersymmetric vacua of M-theory compactification on seven-dimensional manifolds with general four-form fluxes. We analyze the cases where the resulting four-dimensional vacua have N = 1,2,3,4 supersymmetry and the internal space allows for SU(2), SU(3) or G_2 structures. In particular, we find for N = 2 supersymmetry, that the external space-time is Minkowski and the base manifold of the internal space is conformally Kähler for SU(2) structures, while for SU(3) structures the internal space has to be Einstein-Sasaki and no internal fluxes are allowed. Moreover, we provide a new vacuum with N = 1 supersymmetry and SU(3) structure, where all fluxes are non-zero and the first order differential equations are solved.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Tri-linear Couplings in an Heterotic Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

We calculate, at the classical level, the superpotential tri-linear couplings of the only known globally consistent heterotic minimal supersymmetric Standard Model [ hep-th/0512149 ]. This recently constructed model is based on a compactification of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold with Z_2 fundamental group, coupled with a slope-stable holomorphic SU(5) vector bundle. In the observable sector the massless particle content is that of the three-family supersymmetric Standard Model with n=0,1,2 massless Higgs pairs, depending on the location in the vector bundle moduli space, and no exotic particles. We obtain non-zero Yukawa couplings for the three up-sector quarks, and vanishing R-parity violating terms. In particular, the proton is stable. Another interesting feature is the existence of tri-linear couplings, on the loci with massless Higgs pairs, generating μ-mass parameters for the Higgs pairs and neutrino mass terms, with specific vector bundle moduli playing the role of right-handed neutrinos.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

General Type IIB Fluxes with SU(3) Structures

A supersymmetric vacuum has to obey a set of constraints on fluxes as well as first order differential equations defined by the G-structures of the internal manifold. We solve these equations for type IIB supergravity with SU(3) structures. The 6-dimensional internal manifold has to be complex, the axion/dilaton is in general non-holomorphic and a cosmological constant is only possible if the SU(3) structures are broken to SU(2) structures. The general solution is expressed in terms of one function which is holomorphic in the three complex coordinates and if this holomorphic function is constant, we obtain a flow-type solution and near poles and zeros we find the so-called type-A and type-B vacuum.

hep-th↗