International Theoretical Physics
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A Space-Time Orbifold: a Toy Model for a Cosmological Singularity
hep-th/0202187 UPR-981-T, HIP-2002-07/TH A Space-Time Orbifold: A Toy Model for a Cosmological Singularity Vijay Balasubramanian,1 ∗ S. F. Hassan,2† Esko Keski-Vakkuri,2‡ and Asad Naqvi1§ 1David Rittenhouse Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104, U.S.A. 2Helsinki Institute of Physics, P.O.Box 64, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland Abstract We explore bosonic strings and Type II superstrings in the simplest time dependent backgrounds, namely orbifolds of Minkowski space by time reversal and some spatial reflections. We show that there are no negative norm physi- cal excitations. However, the contributions of negative norm virtual states to quantum loops do not cancel, showing that a ghost-free gauge cannot be chosen. The spectrum includes a twisted sector, with strings confined to a “conical” sin- gularity which is localized in time. Since these localized strings are not visible to asymptotic observers, interesting issues arise regarding unitarity of the S- matrix for scattering of propagating states. The partition function of our model is modular invariant, and for the superstring, the zero momentum dilaton tad- pole vanishes. Many of the issues we study will be generic to time-dependent arXiv:hep-th/0202187v2 19 Apr 2002 cosmological backgrounds with singularities localized in time, and we derive some general lessons about quantizing strings on such spaces. 1 Introduction Time-dependent space-times are difficult to study, both classically and quantum me- chanically. For example, non-static solutions are harder to find in General Relativity, while the notion of a particle is difficult to define clearly in field theory on time- dependent backgrounds. -
Deformations of G2-Structures, String Dualities and Flat Higgs Bundles Rodrigo De Menezes Barbosa University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 Deformations Of G2-Structures, String Dualities And Flat Higgs Bundles Rodrigo De Menezes Barbosa University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Mathematics Commons, and the Quantum Physics Commons Recommended Citation Barbosa, Rodrigo De Menezes, "Deformations Of G2-Structures, String Dualities And Flat Higgs Bundles" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3279. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3279 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3279 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Deformations Of G2-Structures, String Dualities And Flat Higgs Bundles Abstract We study M-theory compactifications on G2-orbifolds and their resolutions given by total spaces of coassociative ALE-fibrations over a compact flat Riemannian 3-manifold Q. The afl tness condition allows an explicit description of the deformation space of closed G2-structures, and hence also the moduli space of supersymmetric vacua: it is modeled by flat sections of a bundle of Brieskorn-Grothendieck resolutions over Q. Moreover, when instanton corrections are neglected, we obtain an explicit description of the moduli space for the dual type IIA string compactification. The two moduli spaces are shown to be isomorphic for an important example involving A1-singularities, and the result is conjectured to hold in generality. We also discuss an interpretation of the IIA moduli space in terms of "flat Higgs bundles" on Q and explain how it suggests a new approach to SYZ mirror symmetry, while also providing a description of G2-structures in terms of B-branes. -
Jhep05(2019)105
Published for SISSA by Springer Received: March 21, 2019 Accepted: May 7, 2019 Published: May 20, 2019 Modular symmetries and the swampland conjectures JHEP05(2019)105 E. Gonzalo,a;b L.E. Ib´a~neza;b and A.M. Urangaa aInstituto de F´ısica Te´orica IFT-UAM/CSIC, C/ Nicol´as Cabrera 13-15, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain bDepartamento de F´ısica Te´orica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Aut´onomade Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract: Recent string theory tests of swampland ideas like the distance or the dS conjectures have been performed at weak coupling. Testing these ideas beyond the weak coupling regime remains challenging. We propose to exploit the modular symmetries of the moduli effective action to check swampland constraints beyond perturbation theory. As an example we study the case of heterotic 4d N = 1 compactifications, whose non-perturbative effective action is known to be invariant under modular symmetries acting on the K¨ahler and complex structure moduli, in particular SL(2; Z) T-dualities (or subgroups thereof) for 4d heterotic or orbifold compactifications. Remarkably, in models with non-perturbative superpotentials, the corresponding duality invariant potentials diverge at points at infinite distance in moduli space. The divergence relates to towers of states becoming light, in agreement with the distance conjecture. We discuss specific examples of this behavior based on gaugino condensation in heterotic orbifolds. We show that these examples are dual to compactifications of type I' or Horava-Witten theory, in which the SL(2; Z) acts on the complex structure of an underlying 2-torus, and the tower of light states correspond to D0-branes or M-theory KK modes. -
TRIESTE Feet on the Ground
The 1992 workshop on Recent Developments in the Phenomenology of Particle Physics, held in October at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, and locally organized by Faheem Hussain (left) and by Nello Paver (right, of Trieste University), covered all aspects of modern quantitative research. TRIESTE Feet on the ground Established in 1964 by Abdus Salam, the International Centre for Theoreti cal Physics (ICTP), in Trieste, Italy, has naturally become one of the world's leading centres of particle physics theory. Attracting distin guished senior visitors from all over the world and with a full programme of regular symposia and workshops, it provides a valuable stepping stone to frontier research for young re searchers, particularly those from the developing countries, who would otherwise find it tough to make headway in this competitive field. Initial ICTP research interests concentrated on particle physics and plasma physics, but as interest, support and infrastructure steadily expanded, these interests widened to give a truly interdisciplinary centre with active groups in fundamental fundamental physics, be it the gen cated analyses, there is ample physics, condensed matter physics, esis of the Standard Model in the room for phenomenologists to get mathematics, plasma physics, 1960s, or supersymmetry in the 70s, aboard. superconductivity, aeronomy, micro to the more esoteric recent develop To underline and encourage this processors, climatology, and in laser, ments. In the 1980s, when shift in emphasis, in 1991 ICTP atomic and molecular physics. superstrings and other ambitious launched a workshop on phenom Originally set up under the auspices schemes for a grand picture of enology, the idea being to bring of UNESCO and the International fundamental interactions were in together the results and implications Atomic Energy Agency, ICTP has vogue, it was natural and welcome of modern precision measurements in recent years been funded mainly for ICTP to concentrate its efforts in and encourage participation in this by Italy. -
Arxiv:Hep-Th/9404101V3 21 Nov 1995
hep-th/9404101 April 1994 Chern-Simons Gauge Theory on Orbifolds: Open Strings from Three Dimensions ⋆ Petr Horavaˇ ∗ Enrico Fermi Institute University of Chicago 5640 South Ellis Avenue Chicago IL 60637, USA ABSTRACT Chern-Simons gauge theory is formulated on three dimensional Z2 orbifolds. The locus of singular points on a given orbifold is equivalent to a link of Wilson lines. This allows one to reduce any correlation function on orbifolds to a sum of more complicated correlation functions in the simpler theory on manifolds. Chern-Simons theory on manifolds is known arXiv:hep-th/9404101v3 21 Nov 1995 to be related to 2D CFT on closed string surfaces; here I show that the theory on orbifolds is related to 2D CFT of unoriented closed and open string models, i.e. to worldsheet orb- ifold models. In particular, the boundary components of the worldsheet correspond to the components of the singular locus in the 3D orbifold. This correspondence leads to a simple identification of the open string spectra, including their Chan-Paton degeneration, in terms of fusing Wilson lines in the corresponding Chern-Simons theory. The correspondence is studied in detail, and some exactly solvable examples are presented. Some of these examples indicate that it is natural to think of the orbifold group Z2 as a part of the gauge group of the Chern-Simons theory, thus generalizing the standard definition of gauge theories. E-mail address: [email protected] ⋆∗ Address after September 1, 1994: Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544. 1. Introduction Since the first appearance of the notion of “orbifolds” in Thurston’s 1977 lectures on three dimensional topology [1], orbifolds have become very appealing objects for physicists. -
Faheem Hussain
Faheem Hussain Faheem Hussain Clinical Assistant Professor School for the Future of Innovation in Society College of Global Futures Arizona State University CAREER STATEMENT: Experienced interdisciplinary researcher of Public Policy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and International Development with 16 years of interdisciplinary research, academic leadership, and community engagement experience across 38 countries of five continents, with 30 universities, and 25 different regional and international organizations. Internationally known for leadership in Diversity, Sustainable Development, Refugee Research, and Women’s Empowerment. Ability to design innovative academic curricula and content, create capacity development programs, and advocate for inclusive digital justice. QUALIFICATIONS AND EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION 2008 Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering & Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University MacArthur Foundation Scholarship Thesis: Effectiveness of Technological Interventions for Education and Information Services in Rural South Asia 2006 Master of Science in Engineering & Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University 2005 Master of Science in Telecommunication Management Oklahoma State University Thesis: An Analysis of the Telecom Industry and ICT Education in Morocco, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh 2003 Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh 1 of 26 ACADEMIC POSITIONS Jan. 2019 – Present Clinical Assistant Professor School for the Future of Innovation in Society Senior Sustainability -
An Introduction to Orbifolds
An introduction to orbifolds Joan Porti UAB Subdivide and Tile: Triangulating spaces for understanding the world Lorentz Center November 2009 An introduction to orbifolds – p.1/20 Motivation • Γ < Isom(Rn) or Hn discrete and acts properly discontinuously (e.g. a group of symmetries of a tessellation). • If Γ has no fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is a manifold. • If Γ has fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is an orbifold. An introduction to orbifolds – p.2/20 Motivation • Γ < Isom(Rn) or Hn discrete and acts properly discontinuously (e.g. a group of symmetries of a tessellation). • If Γ has no fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is a manifold. • If Γ has fixed points ⇒ Γ\Rn is an orbifold. ··· (there are other notions of orbifold in algebraic geometry, string theory or using grupoids) An introduction to orbifolds – p.2/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Γ= h(x, y) → (x + 1, y), (x, y) → (x, y + 1)i =∼ Z2 Γ\R2 =∼ T 2 = S1 × S1 An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Rotations of angle π around red points (order 2) An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Rotations of angle π around red points (order 2) 2 2 An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Examples: tessellations of Euclidean plane Rotations of angle π around red points (order 2) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 An introduction to orbifolds – p.3/20 Example: tessellations of hyperbolic plane Rotations of angle π, π/2 and π/3 around vertices (order 2, 4, and 6) An introduction to orbifolds – p.4/20 Example: tessellations of hyperbolic plane Rotations of angle π, π/2 and π/3 around vertices (order 2, 4, and 6) 2 4 2 6 An introduction to orbifolds – p.4/20 Definition Informal Definition • An orbifold O is a metrizable topological space equipped with an atlas modelled on Rn/Γ, Γ < O(n) finite, with some compatibility condition. -
Ads Orbifolds and Penrose Limits
IPM/P-2002/061 UCB-PTH-02/54 LBL-51767 hep-th/yymmnnn AdS orbifolds and Penrose limits Mohsen Alishahihaa, Mohammad M. Sheikh-Jabbarib and Radu Tatarc a Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM) P.O.Box 19395-5531, Tehran, Iran e-mail: [email protected] b Department of Physics, Stanford University 382 via Pueblo Mall, Stanford CA 94305-4060, USA e-mail: [email protected] c Department of Physics, 366 Le Conte Hall University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720 email:[email protected] Abstract In this paper we study the Penrose limit of AdS5 orbifolds. The orbifold can be either in the pure spatial directions or space and time directions. For the AdS =¡ S5 spatial orbifold we observe that after the Penrose limit we 5 £ obtain the same result as the Penrose limit of AdS S5=¡. We identify the 5 £ corresponding BMN operators in terms of operators of the gauge theory on R £ S3=¡. The semi-classical description of rotating strings in these backgrounds have also been studied. For the spatial AdS orbifold we show that in the quadratic order the obtained action for the fluctuations is the same as that in S5 orbifold, however, the higher loop correction can distinguish between two cases. 1 Introduction In the past ¯ve years important results have been obtained relating closed and open string theories, in particular the AdS/CFT correspondence [1] had important impact into the understanding between these two sectors. The main problem in testing the conjecture beyond the supergravity level is the fact that we do not know how to quantize string theory in the presence of RR-fluxes. -
K3 Surfaces and String Duality
RU-96-98 hep-th/9611137 November 1996 K3 Surfaces and String Duality Paul S. Aspinwall Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08855 ABSTRACT The primary purpose of these lecture notes is to explore the moduli space of type IIA, type IIB, and heterotic string compactified on a K3 surface. The main tool which is invoked is that of string duality. K3 surfaces provide a fascinating arena for string compactification as they are not trivial spaces but are sufficiently simple for one to be able to analyze most of their properties in detail. They also make an almost ubiquitous appearance in the common statements concerning string duality. We arXiv:hep-th/9611137v5 7 Sep 1999 review the necessary facts concerning the classical geometry of K3 surfaces that will be needed and then we review “old string theory” on K3 surfaces in terms of conformal field theory. The type IIA string, the type IIB string, the E E heterotic string, 8 × 8 and Spin(32)/Z2 heterotic string on a K3 surface are then each analyzed in turn. The discussion is biased in favour of purely geometric notions concerning the K3 surface itself. Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 Classical Geometry 4 2.1 Definition ..................................... 4 2.2 Holonomy ..................................... 7 2.3 Moduli space of complex structures . ..... 9 2.4 Einsteinmetrics................................. 12 2.5 AlgebraicK3Surfaces ............................. 15 2.6 Orbifoldsandblow-ups. .. 17 3 The World-Sheet Perspective 25 3.1 TheNonlinearSigmaModel . 25 3.2 TheTeichm¨ullerspace . .. 27 3.3 Thegeometricsymmetries . .. 29 3.4 Mirrorsymmetry ................................. 31 3.5 Conformalfieldtheoryonatorus . ... 33 4 Type II String Theory 37 4.1 Target space supergravity and compactification . -
Faheem Hussain – As I Knew Him by Pervez Hoodbhoy
Faheem Hussain – As I Knew Him by Pervez Hoodbhoy It was mid-October 1973 when, after a grueling 26-hour train ride from Karachi, I reached the physics department of Islamabad University (or Quaid-e-Azam University, as it is now known). As I dumped my luggage and “hold-all” in front of the chairman’s office, a tall, handsome man with twinkling eyes looked at me curiously. He was wearing a bright orange Che Guevara t-shirt and shocking green pants. His long beard, though shorter than mine, was just as unruly and unkempt. We struck up a conversation. At 23, I had just graduated from MIT and was to be a lecturer in the department; he had already been teaching as associate professor for five years. The conversation turned out to be the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Together with Abdul Hameed Nayyar – also bearded at the time – we became known as the Sufis of Physics. Thirty six years later, when Faheem Hussain lost his battle against prostate cancer, our sadness was beyond measure. Revolutionary, humanist, and scientist, Faheem Hussain embodied the political and social ferment of the late 1960’s. With a Ph.D that he received in 1966 from Imperial College London, he had been well-placed for a solid career anywhere in the world. In a profession where names matter, he had worked under the famous P.T. Mathews in the group headed by the even better known Abdus Salam. After his degree, Faheem spent two years at the University of Chicago. This gave him a chance to work with some of the world’s best physicists, but also brought him into contact with the American anti-Vietnam war movement and a powerful wave of revolutionary Marxist thinking. -
NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION in SOUTH ASIA Faheem Hussain
NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION IN SOUTH ASIA Faheem Hussain The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste Abstract It is exactly three years ago that first India and then Pakistan came out of the closet and tested their nuclear weapons. What is the situation now? Is India more secure now? Is Pakistan more secure now? Does the possession of nuclear weapons enhance the security of a state? These are the kinds of questions I would like to confront in this talk. THE BOMB AND INDIAN SECURITY Three years ago, on the 11th of May 1998, when India tested its nuclear weapons at Pokhran the excuse it gave was that this would enhance its security vis-a-vis China and Pakistan, which it perceived to be its enemies in the region. The argument was that the possession of nuclear weapons was necessary on the one hand to provide an answer to China's nuclear weapons and on the other hand to deter Pakistan from conventional warfare in Kashmir and elsewhere. Also India felt that it had to have nuclear weapons to be a major player on the world stage. The bomb was sold to the Indian public as providing more security. As subsequent events have shown all these hopes have proved to be myths. India's claims to nuclear power status have been dismissed by the other nuclear powers. It still lacks effective deterrent capability against China. All that has happened is that the subcontinent itself has become a more dangerous and nasty place to live in. The deterrence theory lies in shreds. -
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE for THEORETICAL PHYSICS Anomaly of Fg Is Related to Non-Localities of the Effective Action Due to the Propagation of Massless States
IC/93/202 f ^ —p NUB-3071 I "•-: ! ^ "- CPTH-A258.0793 INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR f. /£?/ \ THEORETICAL PHYSICS TOPOLOGICAL AMPLITUDES IN STRING THEORY I. Antoniadis E. Gava INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY K.S. Narain AGENCY and UNITED NATIONS T.R. Taylor EDUCATIONAL. SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION MIRAMARE-TR1ESTE IC/93/202 ABSTRACT NUB-3071 CPTH-A258.0793 We show that certain type II string amplitudes at genus g are given by the topo- International Atomic Energy Agency logical partition F, discussed recently by Bershadsky, Cecotti, Ooguri and Vafa. These am- and plitudes give rise to a terra in the four-dimensional effective action of the form £ F W2}, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization where W is the chiral superfield of N = 2 supergravitational raultiplet. The holomorphic INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR THEORETICAL PHYSICS anomaly of Fg is related to non-localities of the effective action due to the propagation of massless states. This result generalizes the holomorphic anomaly of the one loop case TOPOLOGICAL AMPLITUDES IN STRING THEORY ' which is known to lead to non-harmonic gravitational couplings. I. Aiitunindis Centre dc Physique Theoiique, Ecole Polytechnique, F 0112S Palaiticsm, France, (Labonitoirc Prnpre dn CNRS UPR A.0014) E. Gava International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, Italy, K.S. Narain International Centre fur Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy and T.R. Taylor Deparment of Physios, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. MIRAMARE TRIESTE Julv 1093 Work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grants PHY-91-U7809 and PHY 93-06906, in part by the EEC contracts SC1-915053 and SC1-CT92-0792 and in part by CNRS-NSF grant INT-92-16140.