String Moduli Stabilization at the Conifold

TL;DR

This paper explores moduli stabilization near conifold points in type IIB string theory, revealing exponential hierarchies and proposing a combined stabilization with large volume scenarios, leading to a string-inspired inflation model.

Contribution

It introduces a novel stabilization mechanism near conifold singularities that produces exponential hierarchies and integrates with large volume scenarios for comprehensive moduli stabilization.

Findings

Exponential mass hierarchies can occur near conifold points.

Effective potentials contain non-perturbative-like exponential terms.

A string-inspired aligned inflation model with controlled mass hierarchies is constructed.

Abstract

We study moduli stabilization for type IIB orientifolds compactified on Calabi-Yau threefolds in the region close to conifold singularities in the complex structure moduli space. The form of the periods implies new phenomena like exponential mass hierarchies even in the regime of negligible warping. Integrating out the heavy conic complex structure modulus leads to an effective flux induced potential for the axio-dilaton and the remaining complex structure moduli containing exponentially suppressed terms that imitate non-perturbative effects. It is shown that this scenario can be naturally combined with the large volume scenario so that all moduli are dynamically stabilized in the dilute flux regime. As an application of this moduli stabilization scheme, a string inspired model of aligned inflation is designed that features a parametrically controlled hierarchy of mass scales.