Aether, Dark Energy, and String Compactifications

TL;DR

This paper reviews how string theory's D-branes and anti-D-branes can model dark energy and support supersymmetric fields, focusing on time-dependent compactifications leading to accelerated cosmic expansion.

Contribution

It provides a review of recent developments in modeling dark energy through string compactifications involving D-branes and anti-D-branes, emphasizing time dependence.

Findings

Dark energy can originate from supersymmetry-breaking anti-D-branes.

Time-dependent compactifications can produce late-time accelerated expansion.

D-branes support supersymmetric particle physics fields in string theory.

Abstract

The 19th century Aether died with Special Relativity but was resurrected by General Relativity in the form of dark energy; a tensile material with tension equal to its energy density. Such a material is provided by the D-branes of string-theory; these can support the fields of supersymmetric particle-physics, although their energy density is cancelled by orientifold singularities upon compactification. Dark energy can still arise from supersymmetry-breaking anti-D-branes but it is probably time-dependent. Recent results on time-dependent compactifications to an FLRW universe with late-time accelerated expansion are reviewed.