On Potentials from Fluxes

TL;DR

This paper explores how flux compactifications in type IIB supergravity can generate moduli potentials, addressing conflicts with no-go theorems and discussing conditions for volume modulus stabilization.

Contribution

It demonstrates that positive potentials for certain moduli are achievable even without volume modulus stabilization and clarifies the limitations of the derivation method.

Findings

Positive potentials are possible without volume modulus critical points.

The derivation is valid only for trivial warp factors.

Stabilization of the volume modulus remains challenging.

Abstract

We discuss the compactification of type IIB supergravity with fluxes to generate a potential for the moduli. In particular we resolve an apparent conflict with the no-go theorem for de Sitter space. It is shown that a positive potential for certain moduli is possible in situations where the volume modulus has no critical point. We also point out that the derivation of the potential is strictly valid only for a trivial warp factor. To go beyond that seems to require the inclusion of all the Kaluza-Klein excitations. We end with a discussion of the stabilization of the volume modulus.