Geometric Transitions, Flops and Non-Kahler Manifolds: I

TL;DR

This paper develops a supergravity-based duality cycle to describe geometric transitions in string theory, including new insights into torsional and non-Kahler manifolds, connecting different supergravity descriptions before and after transitions.

Contribution

It introduces a duality cycle providing a complete supergravity description of geometric transitions, including new torsional and non-Kahler manifolds, extending previous understanding.

Findings

Supergravity description of geometric transitions in type II theories.

Construction of new torsional manifolds with fluxes and branes.

Description of G_2 manifolds as circle fibrations over non-Kahler bases.

Abstract

We construct a duality cycle which provides a complete supergravity description of geometric transitions in type II theories via a flop in M-theory. This cycle connects the different supergravity descriptions before and after the geometric transitions. Our construction reproduces many of the known phenomena studied earlier in the literature and allows us to describe some new and interesting aspects in a simple and elegant fashion. A precise supergravity description of new torsional manifolds that appear on the type IIA side with branes and fluxes and the corresponding geometric transition are obtained. A local description of new G_2 manifolds that are circle fibrations over non-Kahler manifolds is presented.