Supersymmetry Changing Bubbles in String Theory

TL;DR

This paper constructs string theory models with spherical domain walls connecting different supersymmetric vacua, demonstrating tunable tension and providing a stringy description via brane configurations, thus linking various supersymmetric states.

Contribution

It introduces explicit string compactifications with domain walls connecting vacua of different supersymmetries, with a detailed brane-based stringy description.

Findings

Domain walls connect vacua with N=4,3,2,1 supersymmetry

Tension of domain walls is tunably below the Planck scale

Stringy description involves wrapped Dirichlet and NS branes

Abstract

We give examples of string compactifications to 4d Minkowski space with different amounts of supersymmetry that can be connected by spherical domain walls. The tension of these domain walls is tunably lower than the 4d Planck scale. The ``stringy'' description of these walls is known in terms of certain configurations of wrapped Dirichlet and NS branes. This construction allows us to connect a variety of vacua with 4d N=4,3,2,1 supersymmetry.