TASI Lectures on de Sitter Vacua

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive, accessible overview of flux compactifications in type IIB string theory, culminating in a detailed discussion of recent de Sitter vacua constructions, aimed at graduate students.

Contribution

It offers a self-contained, detailed introduction to flux compactifications and presents recent developments in constructing de Sitter vacua within this framework.

Findings

Detailed exposition of flux compactifications in type IIB string theory.

Analysis of classical and quantum corrections in flux vacua.

Presentation of recent candidate de Sitter vacua solutions.

Abstract

These lectures provide a self-contained introduction to flux compactifications of type IIB string theory on Calabi-Yau orientifolds. The first lecture begins with geometric foundations, then presents vacuum solutions in Calabi-Yau compactifications, as well as the geometry and physics of the moduli problem. The second lecture develops the classical theory of type IIB flux compactifications, both in ten dimensions and in the four-dimensional effective theory. The third lecture turns to the quantum theory of flux compactifications, including perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. With this foundation, in the fourth lecture we give a detailed treatment of the candidate de Sitter vacua recently constructed in arXiv:2406.13751. These notes are intended to be accessible to graduate students working in adjacent fields, and so extensive background material is included throughout.