Chaotic Coupling Constants

TL;DR

This paper explores the implications of the structure of string theory moduli spaces, revealing finite volume and chaotic dynamics that could impact supersymmetry breaking and vacuum selection.

Contribution

It introduces the novel idea that the moduli space of string vacua has finite volume and exhibits chaotic motion, with detailed analysis of the dilaton-axion S-duality example.

Findings

Finite volume of moduli space.

Chaotic motion of moduli in early universe.

Potential implications for supersymmetry breaking.

Abstract

We examine some novel physical consequences of the general structure of moduli spaces of string vacua. These include (1) finiteness of the volume of the moduli space and (2) chaotic motion of the moduli in the early universe. To fix ideas we examine in detail the example of the (conjectural) dilaton-axion ``$S$-duality'' of four-dimensional string compactifications. The facts (1) and (2) together might help to solve some problems with the standard scenarios for supersymmetry breaking and vacuum selection in string theory.