Spacetime aspects of non-supersymmetric strings

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Raucci, Salvatore
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Raucci, Salvatore
author_facet Raucci, Salvatore
contents The consistency of string theory as a theory of gravity does not rely on the presence of spacetime supersymmetry; however, its absence leads to the emergence of tadpole diagrams in the on-shell worldsheet formulation, thus undermining our control over the physics. Two-dimensional conformal invariance, a pillar of string theory, requires tadpole subtraction through the Fischler-Susskind mechanism, whose spacetime consequence is the emergence of scalar tadpole potentials. In this thesis, I explore several implications of the absence of supersymmetry in string-derived scenarios. I focus on the three ten-dimensional tachyon-free string theories in which spacetime supersymmetry is absent or broken, studying the gravitational consequences of tadpole potentials. First, I address vacuum solutions in terms of singular codimension-one vacua, explore their generalizations, and discuss the properties of their singular boundaries. I present an alternative perspective on these vacua based on the formalism of fake supersymmetry, in which the second-order equations of motion are replaced by supersymmetry-like first-order equations. I then turn to the topic of engineering vacua in the non-supersymmetric string models by constructing solutions that are supported by electric and magnetic fluxes and by providing evidence for their instability. Finally, I investigate brane-like solutions in the presence of tadpole potentials that yield both flux vacua with the isometries of supersymmetric branes and gravitational profiles that capture the backreaction of localized sources.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spacetime aspects of non-supersymmetric strings
Raucci, Salvatore
High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
The consistency of string theory as a theory of gravity does not rely on the presence of spacetime supersymmetry; however, its absence leads to the emergence of tadpole diagrams in the on-shell worldsheet formulation, thus undermining our control over the physics. Two-dimensional conformal invariance, a pillar of string theory, requires tadpole subtraction through the Fischler-Susskind mechanism, whose spacetime consequence is the emergence of scalar tadpole potentials. In this thesis, I explore several implications of the absence of supersymmetry in string-derived scenarios. I focus on the three ten-dimensional tachyon-free string theories in which spacetime supersymmetry is absent or broken, studying the gravitational consequences of tadpole potentials. First, I address vacuum solutions in terms of singular codimension-one vacua, explore their generalizations, and discuss the properties of their singular boundaries. I present an alternative perspective on these vacua based on the formalism of fake supersymmetry, in which the second-order equations of motion are replaced by supersymmetry-like first-order equations. I then turn to the topic of engineering vacua in the non-supersymmetric string models by constructing solutions that are supported by electric and magnetic fluxes and by providing evidence for their instability. Finally, I investigate brane-like solutions in the presence of tadpole potentials that yield both flux vacua with the isometries of supersymmetric branes and gravitational profiles that capture the backreaction of localized sources.
title Spacetime aspects of non-supersymmetric strings
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.19395