M-Theory on a Calabi-Yau Manifold

TL;DR

This paper explores compactifying M-theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds to five dimensions, identifying resulting BPS states with heterotic string theory and discussing quantum properties of the effective theory.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of M-theory compactification on Calabi-Yau manifolds and establishes a correspondence with heterotic string theory states.

Findings

Identification of BPS states with heterotic string theory

Analysis of quantum aspects of the five-dimensional theory

Mapping of solitons in M-theory to string theory counterparts

Abstract

We compactify $M$-theory on a Calabi-Yau manifold to five dimensions by wrapping the membrane and fivebrane solitons of the eleven-dimensional supergravity limit around Calabi-Yau two-cycles and four-cycles respectively. We identify the perturbative and non-perturbative BPS states thus obtained with those of heterotic string theory compactified on $K3\times S^1$. Quantum aspects of the five-dimensional theory are discussed.