Heterotic Ouroboros

TL;DR

This paper revisits the construction of heterotic string theories from M-theory on a specific orbifold, using gauge enhancement mechanisms to reproduce spectra and gauge groups.

Contribution

It introduces a consistent set of rules for deriving heterotic theories from M-theory, including global structure details, via a novel approach involving type I' string theory.

Findings

Reproduces ten-dimensional heterotic theories and their gauge groups.

Provides evidence for junctions among heterotic theories.

Uses gauge enhancement in a curled type I' interval setting.

Abstract

M-theory on ${\mathbf{S}}^1\vee{\mathbf{S}}^1$ has recently been proposed to yield, via quotients, ten-dimensional non-supersymmetric string theories. We revisit the construction that leads to the heterotic theories, finding a consistent set of rules that reproduces the light spectra and gauge groups, including indications of their global structure. Our approach uses the gauge enhancement mechanism of type I' string theory, applied to a setting in which the type I' interval is curled onto itself, with its two boundaries separated by a branch cut. Using these tools, we reproduce the ten-dimensional heterotic theories and provide some evidence for junctions among them.