Aspects of N=1 Type I-Heterotic Duality in Four Dimensions

TL;DR

This paper explores N=1 type I-heterotic string duality in four dimensions, matching spectra and moduli spaces perturbatively, and discusses implications for quantum and non-perturbative effects.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of a specific dual pair, matching spectra and moduli spaces, and proposes a dictionary relating type I and heterotic descriptions.

Findings

Matching of perturbative spectra via scalar vevs

Role of superpotential in spectrum matching

Perturbative correspondence of moduli spaces

Abstract

In this paper we discuss some aspects of N=1 type I-heterotic string duality in four dimensions. We consider a particular example of a (weak-weak) dual pair where on the type I side there are only D9-branes corresponding to perturbative heterotic description in a certain region of the moduli space. We match the perturbative type I and heterotic tree-level massless spectra via giving certain scalars appropriate vevs, and point out the crucial role of the perturbative superpotential (on the heterotic side) for this matching. We also discuss the role of anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry present in both type I and heterotic models. In the perturbative regime we match the (tree-level) moduli spaces of these models. Since both type I and heterotic models can be treated perturbatively, we are able to discuss a dictionary that in generic models maps type I description onto heterotic one, and vice-versa. Finally, we discuss possible directions to study perturbative quantum corrections to the moduli space, as well as outline ways to learn about the non-perturbative effects in both descriptions.