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8 - Recent trends in superstring phenomenology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2012

By
Massimo Bianchi
Edited by
Jeff Murugan ,
Amanda Weltman  and
George F. R. Ellis
Massimo Bianchi
Affiliation:
Universitá di Roma “Tor Vergata”
Jeff Murugan
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
Amanda Weltman
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
George F. R. Ellis
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
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Summary

We briefly review basic aspects of string theory and broadly discuss possible phenomenological scenario. We then focus on vacuum configurations with intersecting and/or magnetized unoriented D-branes. We show how a TeV-scale string tension may be compatible with the existence of large extra dimensions and how anomalous U(1)s can give rise to interesting signatures at LHC or in cosmic rays. Finally, we discuss unoriented D-brane instantons as a source of non-perturbative effects that can contribute to moduli stabilization and SUSY breaking in combination with fluxes. We conclude with an outlook on holography and directions for future work.

Foreword

More than 40 years after its original proposal, there is no experimental evidence for string theory or, else, a satisfactory – possibly holographic – description of the QCD string is not yet available.

Still, the Veneziano model predicts a massless vector boson in the open string spectrum and the Shapiro-Virasoro model a massless tensor boson in the closed string spectrum. These two particles can naturally be associated with the two best known forces in Nature: gravity and electromagnetism. After GSO projection, supersymmetry then guarantees the presence of massless fermions.

Moreover, string theory makes a definite – albeit incorrect – prediction for the number of space-time dimensions: 26 for bosonic strings, 10 for superstrings. This basic fact led to many so-far unsuccessful attempts to get rid of the undesired extra dimensions. Calabi-Yau and orbifold compactifications, non-geometric Gepner models are the most famous examples.

Type
Chapter
Information
Foundations of Space and Time
Reflections on Quantum Gravity
 , pp. 140 - 163
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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