Heterotic MSSM on a Resolved Orbifold

TL;DR

This paper constructs a realistic MSSM model from heterotic string theory on a resolved orbifold, revealing that different resolutions can lead to varying spectra due to flop transitions.

Contribution

It demonstrates a method to obtain the MSSM from heterotic strings on smooth manifolds using Abelian fluxes and explores how different resolutions affect the particle spectrum.

Findings

The spectrum on a resolution can be larger than on the orbifold.

Resolution procedures are not unique and are connected by flop transitions.

Extra states arise from the resolution process.

Abstract

We construct an MSSM with three generations from the heterotic string compactified on a smooth 6D internal manifold using Abelian gauge fluxes only. The compactification space is obtained as a resolution of the T6/Z2xZ2xZ2-free orbifold. The Z2-free involution of such a resolution breaks the SU(5) GUT group down to the SM gauge group using a suitably chosen (freely acting) Wilson line. Surprisingly, the spectrum on a given resolution is larger than the one on the corresponding orbifold taking into account the branching and Higgsing due to the blow-up modes. The existence of extra resolution states is closely related to the fact that the resolution procedure is not unique. Rather, the various resolutions are connected to each other by flop transitions.