Orbifolds versus smooth heterotic compactifications

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between orbifold and smooth heterotic compactifications, demonstrating how blow-up procedures relate orbifold models with U(1) gauge backgrounds and analyzing anomaly polynomials.

Contribution

It establishes a correspondence between orbifold compactifications and smooth heterotic models with U(1) backgrounds using anomaly polynomial comparisons.

Findings

Orbifold compactifications correspond to smooth models with U(1) backgrounds.

Anomaly polynomial comparison is a key tool for analysis.

Focus on heterotic SO(32) in six dimensions, including five-branes.

Abstract

Following the recent exploration of smooth heterotic compactifications with unitary bundles, orbifold compactifications in six dimensions can be shown to correspond in the blow-up to compactifications with U(1) gauge backgrounds. A powerful tool is the comparison of anomaly polynomials. The presentation here focuses on heterotic SO(32) compactifications in six dimensions including five-branes. Four dimensional and E8 x E8 models are briefly commented on.