Search

The strongly coupled heterotic M-theory vacuum for both the observable and hidden sectors of the $B-L$ MSSM theory is reviewed, including a discussion of the "bundle" constraints that both the observable sector $SU(4)$ vector bundle and the a hidden sector bundle induced from a line bundle must satisfy. Gaugino condensation is then introduced within this context, and the hidden sector bundles that exhibit gaugino condensation are presented. The condensation scale is computed, singling out one line bundle whose associated condensation scale is low enough to be compatible with the energy scales available at the LHC. The corresponding region of K\"ahler moduli space where all bundle constraints are satisfied is presented. The generic form of the moduli dependent $F$-terms due to a gaugino superpotential - which spontaneously break $N=1$ supersymmetry in this sector - is presented and then given explicitly for the unique line bundle associated with the low condensation scale. The moduli dependent coefficients for each of the gaugino and scalar field soft supersymmetry breaking terms are computed leading to a low-energy effective Lagrangian for the observable sector matter fields. We then show that at a large number of points in K\"ahler moduli space that satisfy all "bundle" constraints, these coefficients are initial conditions for the renormalization group equations which, at low energy, lead to completely realistic physics satisfying all phenomenological constraints. Finally, we show that a substantial number of these initial points also satisfy a final constraint arising from the quadratic Higgs-Higgs conjugate soft supersymmetry breaking term., Comment: v2: typos corrected; 58 pages, 7 figures

We present a detailed analysis of the eclectic flavor structure of the two-dimensional ℤ2 orbifold with its two unconstrained moduli T and U as well as SL(2, ℤ)T× SL(2, ℤ)U modular symmetry. This provides a thorough understanding of mirror symmetry as well as the R-symmetries that appear as a consequence of the automorphy factors of modular transformations. It leads to a complete picture of local flavor unification in the (T, U) modulus landscape. In view of applications towards the flavor structure of particle physics models, we are led to top-down constructions with high predictive power. The first reason is the very limited availability of flavor representations of twisted matter fields as well as their (fixed) modular weights. This is followed by severe restrictions from traditional and (finite) modular flavor symmetries, mirror symmetry, $$ \mathcal{CP} $$ CP and R-symmetries on the superpotential and Kähler potential of the theory.

We consider three-dimensional sQED with 2 flavors and minimal supersymmetry. We discuss various models which are dual to Gross-Neveu-Yukawa theories. The U(2) ultraviolet global symmetry is often enhanced in the infrared, for instance to O(4) or SU(3). This is analogous to the conjectured behaviour of non-supersymmetric QED with 2 flavors. A perturbative analysis of the Gross-Neveu-Yukawa models in the D = 4 − ε expansion shows that the U(2) preserving superpotential deformations of the sQED (mod- ulo tuning mass terms to zero) are irrelevant, therefore the fixed points with enhanced symmetry are stable. We also construct an example of $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 2 sQED with 4 flavors that exhibits enhanced SO(6) symmetry.

Self-gravitating kink solutions of a two-dimensional dilaton gravity are revisited in this work. Analytical kink solutions are derived from a concise superpotential formalism of the dynamical equations. A general analysis on the linear stability is conducted for an arbitrary static solution of the model. After gauge fixing, a Schr\"odinger-like equation with factorizable Hamiltonian operator is obtained, which ensures the linear stability of the solution., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures

We establish an explicit correspondence of Einstein gravity on the squashed spheres that are the $U(1)$ bundles over $\mathbb{CP}^m$ to the Kaluza-Klein AdS gravity on the tori. This allows us to map the Ricci-flat Kerr metrics in odd dimensions with all equal angular momenta to charged Kaluza-Klein AdS black holes that can be lifted to become singly rotating M-branes and D3-branes. Furthermore, we find maps between Ricci-flat gravitational instantons to the AdS domain walls. In particular the supersymmetric bolt instantons correspond to domain walls that can be interpreted as distributed M-branes and D3-branes, whilst the non-supersymmetric Taub-NUT solutions yield new domain walls that can be lifted to become solutions in M-theory or type IIB supergravity. The correspondence also inspires us to obtain a new superpotential in the Kaluza-Klein AdS gravity in four dimensions., Latex 21 pages, typos corrected, version to appear in JHEP

Modular flavor symmetry can be used to explain the quark and lepton flavor structures. The SUSY partners of quarks and leptons, which share the same superpotential with the quarks and leptons, will also be constrained by the modular flavor structure and show a different flavor(mixing) pattern at the GUT scale. So, in realistic modular flavor models with SUSY completion, constraints from the collider and DM constraints can also be used to constrain the possible values of the modulus parameter. In the first part of this work, we discuss the possibility that the $S_3$ modular symmetry can be preserved by the fixed points of $T^2/Z_N$ orbifold, especially from $T^2/Z_2$. To illustrate the additional constraints from collider etc on modular flavor symmetry models, we take the simplest UV SUSY-completion $S_3$ modular invariance SU(5) GUT model as an example with generalized gravity mediation SUSY breaking mechanism. We find that such constraints can indeed be useful to rule out a large portion of the modulus parameters. Our numerical results show that the UV-completed model can account for both the SM (plus neutrino) flavor structure and the collider, DM constraints. Such discussions can also be applied straightforwardly to other modular flavor symmetry models, such as $A_4$ or $S_4$ models., 16 pages,3 figures

We present a family of exact planar hairy neutral black hole solutions in extended supergravity with Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) terms. We consider a model where the magnetic part of FI sector vanishes and obtain the superpotential at finite temperature in analytic form. Then, we discuss the thermodynamics and some holographic properties of these solutions. We regularize the action by two different methods, one with gravitational and scalar counterterms and the other using the thermal superpotential as a counterterm, and compute the holographic stress tensor. We also construct the $c$-function of the corresponding RG flow and obtain an exact holographic $\beta$-function for this model., Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures

We study dualities for 3d $\mathcal{N} = 2$ $SU(N_c)$ SQCD at Chern-Simons level $k$ in presence of an adjoint with polynomial superpotential. The dualities are dubbed chiral because there is a different amount of fundamentals $N_f$ and antifundamentals $N_a$. We build a complete classification of such dualities in terms of $ |N_f - N_a| $ and $k$. The classification is obtained by studying the flow from the non-chiral case, and we corroborate our proposals by matching the three-sphere partition functions. Finally, we revisit the case of $SU(N_c)$ SQCD without the adjoint, comparing our results with previous literature., Comment: 49 pages, 4 appendices, 4 figures; v2: typos fixed; v3: minor comments added, references added, figures fixed, version published in JHEP

We study the supersymmetric standard model with multiple Higgs doublets with gauged $\mathrm{U}(1)_X$ flavor symmetry. When the flavor symmetry is broken by the vacuum expectation value of flavon, the $\mathbb{Z}_3$ symmetry $M_3$ called matter triality remains and it prohibits the baryon number violation up to dimension-5 operators. We study the contribution of the extra-Higgs fields to the anomaly cancellation of flavor symmetry and analyze the mass spectra including the multiple generations of Higgs fields as well as quarks and leptons. We show a series of $\mathrm{U}(1)_X$ charge assignments, which reproduce the observed masses and mixing angles of quark and lepton. We also find that, with such realistic charge assignments, the extra-Higgs fields obtain masses around the intermediate scale and decouple from the electroweak physics because of the holomorphy of superpotential., Comment: 23 pages

We formulate Witten index problems for theories with two supercharges in a Majorana doublet, as in $d=3$ $\mathcal N=1$ theories and dimensional reduction thereof. Regardless of spacetime dimensions, the wall-crossing occurs generically, in the parameter space of the real superpotential $W$. With scalar multiplets only, the path integral reduces to a Gaussian one in terms of $dW$, with a winding number interpretation, and allows an in-depth study of the wall-crossing. After discussing the connection to well-known mathematical approaches such as the Morse theory, we move on to Abelian gauge theories. Even though the index theorem for the latter is a little more involved, we again reduce it to winding number countings of the neutral part of $dW$. The holonomy saddle plays key roles for both dimensions and also in relating indices across dimensions., Comment: 92 pages, 2 figures; v2: introduction elaborated and references added

We consider non-perturbative superpotentials from world-sheet instantons wrapped on holomorphic genus zero curves in heterotic string theory. These superpotential contributions feature prominently in moduli stabilization and large field axion inflation, which makes their presence or absence, as well as their functional dependence on moduli, an important issue. We develop geometric methods to compute the instanton superpotentials for heterotic string theory with monad and extension bundles. Using our methods, we find a variety of examples with a non-vanishing superpotential. In view of standard vanishing theorems, we speculate that these results are likely to be attributed to the non-compactness of the instanton moduli space. We test this proposal, for the case of monad bundles, by considering gauged linear sigma models where compactness of the instanton moduli space can be explicitly checked. In all such cases, we find that the geometric results are consistent with the vanishing theorems. Surprisingly, linearly dependent Pfaffians even arise for cases with a non-compact instanton moduli space. This suggests some gauged linear sigma models with a non-compact instanton moduli space may still have a vanishing instanton superpotential., Comment: 39 pages

Measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) favour models of inflation with a small tensor-to-scalar ratio r, as predicted by the Starobinsky R + R^2 model. It has been shown previously that various models based on no-scale supergravity with different forms of superpotential make predictions similar to those of the Starobinsky model. In this paper we present a unified and general treatment of Starobinsky avatars of no-scale supergravity, using the underlying non-compact SU(2,1)/SU(2) x U(1) symmetry to demonstrate equivalences between different models, exhibiting 6 specific equivalence classes., 21 pages, 6 figures; details on stabilization added, version published in JHEP

We consider minimally supersymmetric QCD in 2+1 dimensions, with Chern-Simons and superpotential interactions. We propose an infrared $SU(N) \leftrightarrow U(k)$ duality involving gauge-singlet fields on one of the two sides. It shares qualitative features both with 3d bosonization and with 4d Seiberg duality. We provide a few consistency checks of the proposal, mapping the structure of vacua and performing perturbative computations in the $\varepsilon$-expansion., Comment: 32 pages

We compute the full classical 4d scalar potential of type IIA Calabi-Yau orientifolds in the presence of fluxes and D6-branes. We show that it can be written as a bilinear form $V = Z^{AB} \rho_A\rho_B$, where the $\rho_A$ are in one-to-one correspondence with the 4-form fluxes of the 4d effective theory. The $\rho_A$ only depend on the internal fluxes, the axions and the topological data of the compactification, and are fully determined by the Freed-Witten anomalies of branes that appear as 4d string defects. The quadratic form $Z^{AB}$ only depends on the saxionic partners of these axions. In general, the $\rho_A$ can be seen as the basic invariants under the discrete shift symmetries of the 4d effective theory, and therefore the building blocks of any flux-dependent quantity. All these polynomials may be obtained by derivation from one of them, associated to a universal 4-form. The standard N=1 supergravity flux superpotential is uniquely determined from this {\it master polynomial}, and vice versa., Comment: 75 pages, one figure; v2 minor corrections

We investigate de Sitter solutions of $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity with an F-term scalar potential near a no-scale Minkowski point, as they may in particular arise from flux compactifications in string theory. We show that a large class of such solutions has a universal tachyon with $\eta \le -\frac{4}{3}$ at positive vacuum energies, thus forbidding meta-stable de Sitter vacua and slow-roll inflation. The tachyon aligns with the sgoldstino in the Minkowski limit, whereas the sgoldstino itself is generically stable in the de Sitter vacuum due to mass mixing effects. We specify necessary conditions for the superpotential and the K\"{a}hler potential to avoid the instability. Our result may also help to explain why the program of classical de Sitter hunting has remained unsuccessful, while constructions involving instantons or non-geometric fluxes have led to various examples of meta-stable de Sitter vacua., Comment: 37 pages. v2: minor modifications, references added, improved presentation of appendix B

We consider four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity models of a kind appearing in string flux compactifications. It has been recently shown that, by using double three-form multiplets instead of ordinary chiral multiplets, one can promote to dynamical variables (part of) the quantized numbers appearing in the flux-induced superpotential. We show that double three-form multiplets naturally transform under symplectic dualities associated with the special K\"ahler structure that characterizes their scalar sector. Furthermore, we discuss how to couple membranes which carry arbitrary `electric-magnetic' charges. The complete action is supersymmetric, kappa-symmetric and duality covariant. As an application, we derive the flow equations for BPS domain walls sourced by membranes and give simple analytic examples of their solution., Comment: 53 pages, 8 figures, v2: minor corrections, references added

Four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ Argyres-Douglas theories have been recently conjectured to be described by $\mathcal{N}=1$ Lagrangian theories. Such models, once reduced to 3d, should be mirror dual to Lagrangian $\mathcal{N}=4$ theories. This has been numerically checked through the matching of the partition functions on the three sphere. In this article, we provide an analytic derivation for this result in the $A_n$ case via hyperbolic hypergeometric integrals. We study the $D_4$ case as well, commenting on some open questions and possible resolutions. In the second part of the paper we discuss other integral identities leading to the matching of the partition functions in 3d dual pairs involving higher monopole superpotentials., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, typos corrected, references added and improved discussion

Predictions for the scale of SUSY breaking from the string landscape go back at least a decade to the work of Denef and Douglas on the statistics of flux vacua. The assumption that an assortment of SUSY breaking F and D terms are present in the hidden sector, and their values are uniformly distributed in the landscape of D = 4, N = 1 effective supergravity models, leads to the expectation that the landscape pulls towards large values of soft terms favored by a power law behavior P(m soft) ∼ m soft n . On the other hand, similar to Weinberg’s prediction of the cosmological constant, one can assume an anthropic selection of weak scales not too far from the measured value characterized by m W,Z,h ∼ 100 GeV. Working within a fertile patch of gravity-mediated low energy effective theories where the superpotential μ term is ≪ m 3/2, as occurs in models such as radiative breaking of Peccei-Quinn symmetry, this biases statistical distributions on the landscape by a cutoff on the parameter ΔEW, which measures fine-tuning in the m Z -μ mass relation. The combined effect of statistical and anthropic pulls turns out to favor low energy phenomenology that is more or less agnostic to UV physics. While a uniform selection n = 0 of soft terms produces too low a value for m h , taking n = 1 and 2 produce most probabilistically m h ∼ 125 GeV for negative trilinear terms. For n ≥ 1, there is a pull towards split generations with $$ {m}_{\tilde{q},\tilde{\ell}}\left(1,2\right)\sim 10-30 $$ m q ˜ , ℓ ˜ 1 2 ∼ 10 − 30 TeV whilst $$ {m}_{{\tilde{t}}_1}\sim 1-2\ \mathrm{T}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V} $$ m t ˜ 1 ∼ 1 − 2 T e V . The most probable gluino mass comes in at ∼ 3 − 4 TeV — apparently beyond the reach of HL-LHC (although the required quasi-degenerate higgsinos should still be within reach). We comment on consequences for SUSY collider and dark matter searches.

We study half-BPS surface operators in supersymmetric gauge theories in four and five dimensions following two different approaches. In the first approach we analyze the chiral ring equations for certain quiver theories in two and three dimensions, coupled respectively to four- and five-dimensional gauge theories. The chiral ring equations, which arise from extremizing a twisted chiral superpotential, are solved as power series in the infrared scales of the quiver theories. In the second approach we use equivariant localization and obtain the twisted chiral superpotential as a function of the Coulomb moduli of the four- and five-dimensional gauge theories, and find a perfect match with the results obtained from the chiral ring equations. In the five-dimensional case this match is achieved after solving a number of subtleties in the localization formulas which amounts to choosing a particular residue prescription in the integrals that yield the Nekrasov-like partition functions for ramified instantons. We also comment on the necessity of including Chern-Simons terms in order to match the superpotentials obtained from dual quiver descriptions of a given surface operator.

We consider the operator spectrum of a three-dimensional ${\cal N} = 2$ superconformal field theory with moduli spaces of one complex dimension, such as the fixed point theory with three chiral superfields $X,Y,Z$ and a superpotential $W = XYZ$. By using the existence of an effective theory on each branch of moduli space, we calculate the anomalous dimensions of certain low-lying operators carrying large $R$-charge $J$. While the lowest primary operator is a BPS scalar primary, the second-lowest scalar primary is in a semi-short representation, with dimension exactly $J+1$, a fact that cannot be seen directly from the $XYZ$ Lagrangian. The third-lowest scalar primary lies in a long multiplet with dimension $J+2 - c_{-3} \, J^{-3} + O(J^{-4})$, where $c_{-3}$ is an unknown positive coefficient. The coefficient $c_{-3}$ is proportional to the leading superconformal interaction term in the effective theory on moduli space. The positivity of $c_{-3}$ does not follow from supersymmetry, but rather from unitarity of moduli scattering and the absence of superluminal signal propagation in the effective dynamics of the complex modulus. We also prove a general lemma, that scalar semi-short representations form a module over the chiral ring in a natural way, by ordinary multiplication of local operators. Combined with the existence of scalar semi-short states at large $J$, this proves the existence of scalar semi-short states at all values of $J$. Thus the combination of ${\cal N}=2$ superconformal symmetry with the large-$J$ expansion is more powerful than the sum of its parts., 48 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX, typos corrected

We study the superpotentials, quantum parameter space and phase transitions that arise in the study of large N dualities between $\mathcal{N}=1$ SUSY U(N) gauge theories and string models on local Calabi-Yau manifolds. The main tool of our analysis is a notion of spectral curve characterized by a set of complex partial 't Hooft parameters and cuts given by projections on the spectral curve of minimal supersymmetric cycles of the underlying Calabi-Yau manifold. In particular we show how prepotentials and superpotentials can be associated to spectral curves without relying on any holomorphic matrix model. As an application, we use a combination of analytical and numerical methods to study the cubic model, determine the analytic condition satisfied by critical one-cut spectral curves, and characterize the transition curves between the one-cut and two-cut phases both in the space of spectral curves and in the quantum parameter space., This paper supersedes arXiv:1204.5054

We derive a sufficient condition for realizing meta-stable de Sitter vacua with small positive cosmological constant within type IIB string theory flux compactifications with spontaneously broken supersymmetry. There are a number of `lamp post' constructions of de Sitter vacua in type IIB string theory and supergravity. We show that one of them -- the method of `K\"ahler uplifting' by F-terms from an interplay between non-perturbative effects and the leading $\alpha'$-correction -- allows for a more general parametric understanding of the existence of de Sitter vacua. The result is a condition on the values of the flux induced superpotential and the topological data of the Calabi-Yau compactification, which guarantees the existence of a meta-stable de Sitter vacuum if met. Our analysis explicitly includes the stabilization of all moduli, i.e. the K\"ahler, dilaton and complex structure moduli, by the interplay of the leading perturbative and non-perturbative effects at parametrically large volume., Comment: 53 pages, latex, 5 figures, accepted to JHEP

We introduce a correspondence between dimer models (and hence superconformal quivers) and the quantum Teichmuller space of the Riemann surfaces associated to them by mirror symmetry. Via the untwisting map, every brane tiling gives rise to a tiling of the Riemann surface with faces surrounding punctures. We explain how to obtain an ideal triangulation by dualizing this tiling. In order to do so, tiling nodes of valence greater than 3 (equivalently superpotential terms of order greater than 3 in the corresponding quiver gauge theories) must be decomposed by the introduction of 2-valent nodes. From a quiver gauge theory perspective, this operation corresponds to integrating-in massive fields. Fock coordinates in Teichmuller space are in one-to-one correspondence with chiral fields in the quiver. We present multiple explicit examples, including infinite families of theories, illustrating how the right number of Fock coordinates is generated by this procedure. Finally, we explain how Chekhov and Fock commutation relations between coordinates give rise to the commutators associated to dimer models by Goncharov and Kenyon in the context of quantum integrable systems. For generic dimer models (i.e. those containing nodes that are not 3-valent), this matching requires the introduction of a natural generalization of Chekhov and Fock rules. We also explain how urban renewal in the original brane tiling (Seiberg duality for the quivers) is mapped to flips of the ideal triangulation., 35 pages. v3: minor corrections

We study the problem of moduli stabilisation in explicit heterotic orbifold compactifications, whose spectra contain the MSSM plus some vector-like exotics that can be decoupled. Considering all the bulk moduli, we obtain the 4D low energy effective action for the compactification, which has contributions from various, computable, perturbative and non-perturbative effects. Hidden sector gaugino condensation and string worldsheet instantons result in a combination of racetrack, KKLT and cusp-form contributions to the superpotential, which lift all the bulk moduli directions. We point out the properties observed in our concrete models, which tend to be missed when only "generic" features of a model are assumed. We search for interesting vacua and find several de Sitter solutions, but -- so far -- they all turn out to be unstable., Comment: 55 pages, 2 figures, v2: added link to mathematica files, other minor revisions, matches JHEP version

We review the description of static, spherically symmetric, asymptotically- flat black holes in four dimensional supergravity in terms of an autonomous Hamiltonian system. A special role in this analysis is played by the so called fake superpotentialW, which is identified with a particular solution to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. This function defines a first order, gradient-flow, description of the radial flow of the scalar fields, coupled to the solution, and of the red-shift factor. Identifying W with the Liapunov’s function, we can make the general statement that critical points of W are asymptotically stable equilibrium points of the corresponding first order dynamical system (in the sense of Liapunov). Such equilibrium points way only exist for extremal regular solutions and define their near horizon behavior. Thus the fake superpotential provides an alternative characterization of the attractor phenomenon. We focus on extremal black holes and deduce very general properties of the fake superpotential from its duality invariance. In particular we shall show that W has, along the entire radial flow, the same flat directions which exist at the attractor point. This allows to study properties of the ADM mass also for small black holes where in fact W has no critical points at finite distance in moduli space. In particular the W function for small non-BPS black holes can always be computed analytically, unlike for the large black hole case.

We study the phenomenology of a supersymmetric left-right model, assuming minimal supergravity boundary conditions. Both left-right and (B-L) symmetries are broken at an energy scale close to, but significantly below the GUT scale. Neutrino data is explained via a seesaw mechanism. We calculate the RGEs for superpotential and soft parameters complete at 2-loop order. At low energies lepton flavour violation (LFV) and small, but potentially measurable mass splittings in the charged scalar lepton sector appear, due to the RGE running. Different from the supersymmetric “pure seesaw” models, both, LFV and slepton mass splittings, occur not only in the left-but also in the right slepton sector. Especially, ratios of LFV slepton decays, such as Br((tau) over bar (R) -> μchi(0)(1))/Br((tau) over bar (L) -> μchi(0)(1)) are sensitive to the ratio of (B-L) and left-right symmetry breaking scales. Also the model predicts a polarization asymmetry of the outgoing positrons in the decay mu(+) -> e(+)gamma, A similar to [0, 1], which differs from the pure seesaw “prediction” A = 1. Observation of any of these signals allows to distinguish this model from any of the three standard, pure (mSugra) seesaw setups., W.P. thanks IFIC/C.S.I.C. for hospitality. This work was supported by the Spanish MICINN under grants FPA2008-00319/FPA, by the MULTIDARK Consolider CSD2009-00064, by Prometeo/2009/091, by the EU grant UNILHC PITN-GA-2009-237920 and FPA2008-04002-E/PORTU. A.V. thanks the Generalitat Valenciana for financial support and the people at CFTP in Lisbon for hospitality. The work of J. N. E. has been supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through the fellowship SFRH/BD/29642/2006. J. N. E. and J. C. R. also acknowledge the financial support from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia grants CFTP-FCT UNIT 777 and CERN/FP/109305/2009. W.P. is partially supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under contract 05HT6WWA and by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. F. S. has been supported by the DFG research training group GRK1147.

Several dimensionful parameters needed for model building can be engineered in a certain class of SU(5) F-theory GUTs by adding extra singlet fields which are localized along pairwise intersections of D7-branes. The values of these parameters, however, depend on dynamics external to the GUT which causes the singlets to acquire suitable masses or expectation values. In this note, we demonstrate that D3-instantons which wrap the same 4-cycle as one of the intersecting D7's can provide precisely the needed dynamics to generate several important scales, including the supersymmetry-breaking scale and the right-handed neutrino mass. Furthermore, these instantons seem unable to directly generate the \mu term suggesting that, at least in this class of models, it should perhaps be tied to one of the other scales in the problem. More specifically, we study the simple system consisting of a pair of D7-branes wrapping del Pezzo surfaces which intersect along a curve $\Sigma$ of genus 0 or 1 and classify all instanton configurations which can potentially contribute to the superpotential. This allows one to formulate topological conditions which must be imposed on \Sigma for various model-building applications. Along the way, we also observe that the construction of arXiv:0808.1286 which engineers a linear superpotential in fact realizes an O'Raifeartaigh model at the KK scale whose 1-loop Coleman-Weinberg potential generically leads to a metastable, long-lived SUSY-breaking vacuum., Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures; v2: updated to reflect corrections in v2 of 0808.1286

We calculate the one-loop Yukawa couplings and threshold corrections for supersymmetric local models of branes at singularities in type IIB string theory. We compute the corrections coming both from wavefunction and vertex renormalisation. The former comes in the IR from conventional field theory running and in the UV from threshold corrections that cause it to run from the winding scale associated to the full Calabi-Yau volume. The vertex correction is naively absent as it appears to correspond to superpotential renormalisation. However, we find that while the Wilsonian superpotential is not renormalised there is a physical vertex correction in the 1PI action associated to light particle loops., Comment: 37 pages, 3 figures

We consider the fist order, gradient-flow, description of the scalar fields coupled to spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat black holes in extended supergravities. Using the identification of the fake superpotential with Hamilton's characteristic function we clarify some of its general properties, showing in particular (besides reviewing the issue of its duality invariance) that W has the properties of a Liapunov's function, which implies that its extrema (associated with the horizon of extremal black holes) are asymptotically stable equilibrium points of the corresponding first order dynamical system (in the sense of Liapunov). Moreover, we show that the fake superpotential W has, along the entire radial flow, the same flat directions which exist at the attractor point. This allows to study properties of the ADM mass also for small black holes where in fact W has no critical points at finite distance in moduli space. In particular the W function for small non-BPS black holes can always be computed analytically, unlike for the large black-hole case., 30 pages, LaTeX source. Discussion on the radial evolution of the scalar fields, in relation to the symmetries of the W-function, extended. Table 1 added. Typos corrected

We geometrically engineer N=2 theories perturbed by a superpotential by adding 3-form flux with support at infinity to local Calabi-Yau geometries in type IIB. This allows us to apply the formalism of Ooguri, Ookouchi, and Park [arXiv:0704.3613] to demonstrate that, by tuning the flux at infinity, we can stabilize the dynamical complex structure moduli in a metastable, supersymmetry-breaking configuration. Moreover, we argue that this setup can arise naturally as a limit of a larger Calabi-Yau which separates into two weakly interacting regions; the flux in one region leaks into the other, where it appears to be supported at infinity and induces the desired superpotential. In our endeavor to confirm this picture in cases with many 3-cycles, we also compute the CIV-DV prepotential for arbitrary number of cuts up to fifth order in the glueball fields., Comment: 70 pages (47 pages + 4 appendices), 10 figures

We explore contributions to the 4D effective superpotential which arise from Euclidean D3 branes (``instantons'') that intersect space-filling D-branes. These effects can perturb the effective field theory on the space-filling branes by nontrivial operators composed of charged matter fields, changing the vacuum structure in a qualitative way in some examples. Our considerations are exemplified throughout by a careful study of a fractional brane configuration on a del Pezzo surface., Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures; v2: reference added; v3: confusing minor error in axion charges fixed (thanks to D. Green for pointing it out)

We consider non perturbative effects in M-theory compactifications on a seven-manifold of G_2 holonomy arising from membranes wrapped on supersymmetric three-cycles. When membranes are wrapped on associative submanifolds they induce a superpotential that can be calculated using calibrated geometry. This superpotential is also derived from compactification on a seven-manifold, to four dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetime, of eleven dimensional supergravity with non vanishing expectation value of the four-form field strength., Latex file. 17 pages. A different decomposition for gamma matrices used. Journal version

We study the geometry of the scalar manifolds emerging in the no-scale sector of Kahler moduli and matter fields in generic Calabi-Yau string compactifications, and describe its implications on scalar masses. We consider both heterotic and orientifold models and compare their characteristics. We start from a general formula for the Kahler potential as a function of the topological compactification data and study the structure of the curvature tensor. We then determine the conditions for the space to be symmetric and show that whenever this is the case the heterotic and the orientifold models give the same scalar manifold. We finally study the structure of scalar masses in this type of geometries, assuming that a generic superpotential triggers spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. We show in particular that their behavior crucially depends on the parameters controlling the departure of the geometry from the coset situation. We first investigate the average sGoldstino mass in the hidden sector and its sign, and study the implications on vacuum metastability and the mass of the lightest scalar. We next examine the soft scalar masses in the visible sector and their flavor structure, and study the possibility of realizing a mild form of sequestering relying on a global symmetry., Comment: 36 pages, no figures