New Supersymmetric String Compactifications

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new class of supersymmetric string compactifications involving non-Calabi-Yau geometries with fluxes, expanding the landscape of solutions for 4D Minkowski space in string theory.

Contribution

It presents novel supersymmetric solutions on non-Calabi-Yau spaces, including cosets and twisted tori, with a derived superpotential formula influenced by fluxes and geometric twists.

Findings

New supersymmetric compactifications on non-Calabi-Yau spaces.

Derived superpotential formula incorporating fluxes and twists.

Evidence of smooth transitions to Calabi-Yau and G2 compactifications.

Abstract

We describe a new class of supersymmetric string compactifications to 4d Minkowski space. These solutions involve type II strings propagating on (orientifolds of) non Calabi-Yau spaces in the presence of background NS and RR fluxes. The simplest examples have descriptions as cosets, generalizing the three-dimensional nilmanifold. They can also be thought of as twisted tori. We derive a formula for the (super)potential governing the light fields, which is generated by the fluxes and certain ``twists'' in the geometry. Detailed consideration of an example also gives strong evidence that in some cases, these exotic geometries are related by smooth transitions to standard Calabi-Yau or G2 compactifications of M-theory.