TY - JOUR
T1 - Constraints on low-dimensional string compactifications
AU - Sethi, S.
AU - Vafa, C.
AU - Witten, E.
N1 - Funding Information:
String theory compactifications below four dimensions have not been explored very thoroughly. This is partly because compactifications below four dimensions do not at first sight appear relevant to the observed four-dimensional universe. However, the picture has changed with recent developments \[1 \] that show that certain four-dimensional compactifications of F-theory are related to Type HA and M-theory compactifications below four dimensions. Compactifications below four dimensions may also be relevant I Supported in part by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. 2 E-mail: sethi@string.harvard.edu. 3 Supported in part by NSF Grant PHY95-13835.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank A. Klemm for valuabled iscussionsT.h e researcho f S.S. and C.V. was supportedin part by NSF grant PHY-92-18167.T he researcho f E.W. was supportedin part by NSF grant PHY-9513835.
PY - 1996/11/25
Y1 - 1996/11/25
N2 - We study the restrictions imposed by cancellation of the tadpoles for two-, three-, and four-form gauge fields in string theory, M-theory and F-theory compactified to two, three and four dimensions, respectively. For a large class of supersymmetric vacua, turning on a sufficient number of strings, membranes and three-branes, respectively, can cancel the tadpoles, and preserve supersymmetry. However, there are cases where the tadpole cannot be removed in this way, either because the tadpole is fractional, or because of its sign. For M-theory and F-theory compactifications, we also explore the relation of the membranes and three-branes to the non-perturbative space-time superpotential.
AB - We study the restrictions imposed by cancellation of the tadpoles for two-, three-, and four-form gauge fields in string theory, M-theory and F-theory compactified to two, three and four dimensions, respectively. For a large class of supersymmetric vacua, turning on a sufficient number of strings, membranes and three-branes, respectively, can cancel the tadpoles, and preserve supersymmetry. However, there are cases where the tadpole cannot be removed in this way, either because the tadpole is fractional, or because of its sign. For M-theory and F-theory compactifications, we also explore the relation of the membranes and three-branes to the non-perturbative space-time superpotential.
KW - F-theory
KW - M-theory
KW - Strings
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U2 - 10.1016/s0550-3213(96)00483-x
DO - 10.1016/s0550-3213(96)00483-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0030602102
SN - 0550-3213
VL - 480
SP - 213
EP - 224
JO - Nuclear Physics B
JF - Nuclear Physics B
IS - 1-2
ER -