Moduli Spaces of String Vacua with Four Supersymmetries

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the research activities of Professor Ronen Plesser of Duke University. String theory is the leading contender for a quantum theory of gravity and a unified description of the fundamental structure of the universe. Research in string theory in the past three decades has led to exciting new insights in physics and mathematics. Considering string propagation in nontrivial backgrounds produces physical interpretations for mathematical structures in spacetime. The interplay between mathematical and physical intuitions and techniques has enriched both fields. A notable example of this is the discovery and the many applications of mirror symmetry, a surprising relation between two distinct spaces that lead to indentical physics when used as string backgrounds. Plesser's research will build on these results and on recent progress in both fields to pursue these studies in new regimes. This work will be done in collaboration with physicists and mathematicians around the world, enhancing interdisciplinary cooperation. As a result, research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in a particularly interdisciplinary direction. Plesser will also train graduate students and involve undergraduate students in the research. Plesser will also collaborate with local public schools to enhance science teaching and generate enthusiasm for science in young people through visits to the classroom to present specific curriculum materials developed in concert with the schools. These curriculum materials are made broadly available for use elsewhere. Moreover, the regular public stargazing events conducted by Plesser for the past decade will be enhanced by including astrophotography capabilities. More technically, Plesser will pursue various approaches to better understand the structure of the moduli space of string vacua with four unbroken supersymmetries. This includes perturbative heterotic vacua and the (0,2) superconformal field theories associated to these, as well as F-theory and M-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau fourfolds. Each of these formulations gives a simple description of a region of the moduli space, and the relation between the two descriptions in regions of overlap is of particular interest.