The Effective action of type II Calabi-Yau orientifolds

Grimm, Thomas W.

Dissertation / PhD Thesis

PUBDB-2016-02040

The Effective action of type II Calabi-Yau orientifolds

Grimm, T. W. (Corresponding author)

2005

132 pp. (2005) [10.3204/PUBDB-2016-02040] = Dissertation, Universität Hamburg, 2005

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.3204/PUBDB-2016-02040

Report No.: DESY-THESIS-2005-020; ZMP-HH-05-14; hep-th/0507153

Abstract: This article first reviews the calculation of the N = 1 effective action for generic type IIA and type IIB Calabi-Yau orientifolds in the presence of background fluxes by using a Kaluza-Klein reduction. The Kahler potential, the gauge kinetic functions and the flux-induced superpotential are determined in terms of geometrical data of the Calabi-Yau orientifold and the background fluxes. As a new result, it is shown that the chiral description directly relates to Hitchin's generalized geometry encoded by special odd and even forms on a threefold, whereas a dual formulation with several linear multiplets makes contact to the underlying N = 2 special geometry. In type IIB setups, the flux-potentials can be expressed in terms of superpotentials, D-terms and, generically, a massive linear multiplet. The type IIA superpotential depends on all geometric moduli of the theory. It is reviewed, how type IIA orientifolds arise as a special limit of M-theory compactified on specific G_2 manifolds by matching the effective actions. In a similar spirit type IIB orientifolds are shown to descend from F-theory on a specific class of Calabi-Yau fourfolds. In addition, mirror symmetry for Calabi-Yau orientifolds is briefly discussed and it is shown that the N = 1 chiral coordinates linearize the appropriate instanton actions.

Keyword(s): thesis ; string model ; supersymmetry ; effective action ; orientifold: Calabi-Yau ; moduli space ; membrane model ; particle: multiplet ; supergravity ; membrane model: D-brane ; instanton ; geometry: algebra ; bibliography