Andres Collinucci

D-brane Deconstructions in IIB Orientifolds

With model building applications in mind, we collect and develop basic techniques to analyze the landscape of D7-branes in type IIB compact Calabi-Yau orientifolds, in three different pictures: F-theory, the D7 worldvolume theory and D9-anti-D9 tachyon condensation. A significant complication is that consistent D7-branes in the presence of O7− planes are generically singular, with singularities locally modeled by the Whitney Umbrella. This invalidates the standard formulae for charges, moduli space and flux lattice dimensions. We infer the correct formulae by comparison to F-theory and derive them independently and more generally from the tachyon picture, and relate these numbers to the closed string massless spectrum of the orientifold compactification in an interesting way. We furthermore give concrete recipes to explicitly and systematically construct nontrivial D-brane worldvolume flux vacua in arbitrary Calabi-Yau orientifolds, illustrate how to read off D-brane flux content, enhanced gauge groups and charged matter spectra from tachyon matrices, and demonstrate how brane recombination in general leads to flux creation, as required by charge conservation and by equivalence of geometric and gauge theory moduli spaces.

G-flux in F-theory and algebraic cycles

Abstract We construct explicit G 4 fluxes in F-theory compactifications. Our method relies on identifying algebraic cycles in the Weierstrass equation of elliptic Calabi–Yau fourfolds. We show how to compute the D 3-brane tadpole and the induced chirality indices directly in F-theory. Whenever a weak coupling limit is available, we compare and successfully match our findings to the corresponding results in type IIB string theory. Finally, we present some generalizations of our results which hint at a unified description of the elliptic Calabi–Yau fourfold together with the four-form flux G 4 as a coherent sheaf. In this description the close link between G 4 fluxes and algebraic cycles is manifest.

New F-theory lifts. II. Permutation orientifolds and enhanced singularities

In this paper, a procedure is developed to construct compact F-theory fourfolds corresponding to perturbative IIB O7/O3 models on CICY threefolds with permutation involutions. The method is explained in generality, and then applied to specific examples where the involution permutes two Del Pezzo surfaces. The fourfold construction is successfully tested by comparing the D3 charges predicted by F-theory and IIB string theory.The constructed fourfolds are then taken to the locus in moduli space where they have enhanced SU(5) singularities. A general, intuitive method is developed for engineering the desired singularities in Weierstrass models for complicated D7-brane setups.

On flux quantization in F-theory

A bstractWe study the problem of four-form flux quantization in F-theory compactifications. We prove that for smooth, elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds with a Weierstrass representation, the flux is always integrally quantized. This implies that any possible half- integral quantization effects must come from 7-branes, i.e. from singularities of the fourfold.We subsequently analyze the quantization rule on explicit fourfolds with Sp(N) singularities, and connect our findings via Sen’s limit to IIB string theory. Via direct computations we find that the four-form is half-integrally quantized whenever the corresponding 7-brane stacks wrap non-spin complex surfaces, in accordance with the perturbative Freed-Witten anomaly. Our calculations on the fourfolds are done via toric techniques, whereas in IIB we rely on Sen’s tachyon condensation picture to treat bound states of branes. Finally, we give general formulae for the curvature- and flux-induced D3 tadpoles for general fourfolds with Sp(N) singularities.

New F-theory lifts

In this note, a procedure is developed to explicitly construct non-trivial F-theory lifts of perturbative IIB orientifold models on Calabi-Yau complete intersections in toric varieties. This procedure works on Calabi-Yau orientifolds where the involution coordinate can have arbitrary projective weight, as opposed to the well-known hypersurface cases where it has half the weight of the equation defining the CY threefold. This opens up the possibility of lifting more general setups, such as models that have O3-planes.

Magnetized E3-brane instantons in F-theory

A bstractWe discuss E3-brane instantons in N = 1 F-theory compactifications to four dimensions and clarify the structure of E3-E3 zero modes for general world-volume fluxes. We consistently incorporate SL(2, ℤ monodromies and highlight the relation between F- theory and perturbative IIB results. We explicitly show that world-volume fluxes can lift certain fermionic zero-modes, whose presence would prevent the generation of non- perturbative superpotential terms, and we discuss in detail the geometric interpretation of the zero-mode lifting mechanism. We provide a IIB derivation of the index for generation of superpotential terms and of its modification to include world-volume fluxes, which re-produces and generalizes available results. We apply our general analysis to the explicit, though very simple, example of compactification on ℙ3 and its orientifold weak-coupling limit. In particular, we provide an example in which a non-rigid divisor with fluxes contributes to the superpotential.

On instanton effects in F-theory

We revisit the issue of M5-brane instanton corrections to the superpotential in F-theory compactifications on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds. Elaborating on concrete geometries, we compare the instanton zero modes for non-perturbative F-theory models with the zero modes in their perturbative Sen limit. The fermionic matter zero modes localized on the intersection of the instanton with the space-time filling D7-branes show up in a geometric way in F-theory. Methods for their computation are developed and, not surprisingly, exceptional gauge group structures do appear. Finally, quite intriguing geometrical aspects of the one-loop determinant are discussed.

F-theory on singular spaces

A bstractWe propose a framework for treating F-theory directly, without resolving or deforming its singularities. This allows us to explore new sectors of gauge theories, including exotic bound states such as T-branes, in a global context. We use the mathematical framework known as Eisenbud’s matrix factorizations for hypersurface singularities. We display the usefulness of this technique by way of examples, including affine singularities of both conifold and orbifold type, as well as a class of full-fledged compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds.

On flux quantization in F-theory II: unitary and symplectic gauge groups

A bstractWe study the quantization of the M-theory G-flux on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds with singularities giving rise to unitary and symplectic gauge groups. We seek and find its relation to the Freed-Witten quantization of worldvolume fluxes on 7-branes in type IIB orientifold compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds. By explicitly constructing the appropriate four-cycles on which to calculate the periods of the second Chern class of the fourfolds, we find that there is a half-integral shift in the quantization of G-flux whenever the corresponding dual 7-brane is wrapped on a non-spin submanifold. This correspondence of quantizations holds for all unitary and symplectic gauge groups, except for SU(3), which behaves mysteriously. We also perform our analysis in the case where, in addition to the aforementioned gauge groups, there is also a ‘flavor’ U(1)-gauge group.

The fate of U(1)'s at strong coupling in F-theory

A bstractU(1) gauge symmetries in F-theory are expected to manifest themselves as codimension three singularities of Calabi-Yau fourfolds. However, some of these are known to become massive at strong coupling via the Stückelberg mechanism. In this note, we propose a geometric picture for detecting all U(1)’s, and determining which ones are massive and which ones are massless. We find that massive gauge symmetries show up as codimension three singularities that only admit small, non-Kähler, resolutions. Our proposal passes several highly non-trivial tests, including a case with a non-diagonal mass matrix.