We study the effect of inflation on gaugino condensation in supergravity. Unless the Hubble scale H is significantly below the gaugino condensation scale, the gaugino condensate is a dynamical variable which cannot be integrated out. For a sufficiently high H, the gaugino condensate evolves to zero which in turn leads to dilaton/moduli destabilization. In practice, this often occurs at the Hubble rate about an order of magnitude below the gaugino condensation scale. This effect is independent of the specifics of moduli stabilization and thus places model independent constraints on inflationary scenarios. It also applies more generally to any periods of fast expansion in the early Universe.
We investigate the stability of the hidden sector gaugino condensate in a SL(2,Z)-invariant supergravity model inspired by the E8*E8 heterotic string, using the chiral superfield formalism. We calculate the Planck-suppressed corrections to the ``truncated approximation'' for the condensate value and the scalar potential. A transition to a phase with zero condensate occurs near special points in moduli space and at large compactification radius. We discuss the implications for the T-modulus dependence of supersymmetry-breaking.
Supersymmetry breaking may be linked to the formation of gaugino condensates in a hidden sector. In this work, the process of formation of the condensate is examined in a cosmological context, using an effective field theory of the gaugino bilinear which provides a reasonable interpolation between the high- and low-temperature phases. The implementation of anomaly requirements generates a large potential barrier between the zero-condensate configuration and that of the true (SUSY-breaking) vacuum. As a consequence, the transition to bubbles of true vacuum may be subject to an enormous exponent…
We study dynamical moduli stabilization driven by gaugino condensation in supergravity. In the presence of background radiation, there exists a region of initial conditions leading to successful stabilization. We point out that most of the allowed region corresponds to initial Hubble rate H close to the scale of condensation Λ, which is the natural cutoff of the effective theory. We first show that including the condensate dynamics sets a strong bound on the initial conditions. We then find that (complete) decoupling of the condensate happens at H about two orders of magnitude below Λ. This bo…
We calculate gaugino and meson condensates in N=1 SQCD theory with SU(N_c) gauge group and N_f < 2N_c matter flavours, by deforming the pure N=2 Super-Yang-Mills plus fundamental matter action with a mass term for the adjoint scalar superfield. This follows similar recent work by Konishi and Ricco hep-th/0306128 for the case without fundamental matter.
In the framework of orbifold compactifications of heterotic and type II orientifolds, we study effective N = 1 supergravity potentials arising from fluxes and gaugino condensates. These string solutions display a broad phenomenology which we analyze using the method of N = 4 supergravity gaugings. We give examples in type II and heterotic compactifications of combined fluxes and condensates leading to vacua with naturally small supersymmetry breaking scale controlled by the condensate, cases where the supersymmetry breaking scale is specified by the fluxes even in the presence of a condensate …
We discuss compactifications of heterotic string theory to four dimensions in the presence of H-fluxes, which deform the geometry of the internal manifold, and a gaugino condensate which breaks supersymmetry. We focus on the compensation of the two effects in order to obtain vacua with zero cosmological constant and we comment on the effective superpotential describing these vacua.
Based on the correspondence between the N = 1 superstring compactifications with fluxes and the N = 4 gauged supergravities, we study effective N = 1 four-dimensional supergravity potentials arising from fluxes and gaugino condensates in the framework of orbifold limits of (generalized) Calabi-Yau compactifications. We give examples in heterotic and type II orientifolds in which combined fluxes and condensates lead to vacua with small supersymmetry breaking scale. We clarify the respective roles of fluxes and condensates in supersymmetry breaking, and analyze the scaling properties of the grav…
We study gaugino condensation in the context of superstring effective theories using the linear multiplet formulation for the dilaton superfield. Including nonperturbative corrections to the Kähler potential for the dilaton may naturally achieve dilaton stabilization, with supersymmetry breaking and gaugino condensation; these three issues are interrelated in a very simple way. In a toy model with a single static condensate, a dilaton $vev$ is found within a phenomenologically interesting range. The effective theory differs significantly from condensate models studied previously in the chiral …
We show how to formulate the phenomenon of gaugino condensation in a super-Yang-Mills theory with a field-dependent gauge coupling described with a linear multiplet. We prove the duality equivalence of this approach with the more familiar formulation using a chiral superfield. In so doing, we resolve a longstanding puzzle as to how a linear-multiplet formulation can be consistent with the dynamical breaking of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry which is thought to occur once the gauginos condense. In our approach, the composite gauge degrees of freedom are described by a real vector superfield, $V$, ra…
We study the sypersymmetric pure Yang-Mills theory with semisimple Lie groups. We show that the general form of the gluino condensate is determined solely by the symmetries of the theory and it is in disagreement with the recently proposed existence of a conformal phase in SYM theory. We discuss the peculiarities of the Veneziano-Yankielowicz effective Lagrangian approach and explain how it is related to the calculation of the gluino condensate
I consider N=1 U(N) gauge theory with matter in the adjoint, fundamental and anti-fundamental representations. Focusing on the equations defining the Riemann surface that describes the quantum theory, the gaugino condensates (and related superpotentials) are calculated in the limit of SU(N) gauge group, both in the pure theory and in the presence of matter. In the case without fundamental matter it is investigated the structure of the space of vacua. In particular it is discussed how different vacua can be related, in a way which finally helps to count them.
The principle of S-duality is used to incorporate gaugino condensates into effective supergravity (superstring) Lagrangians. We discuss two implementations of S-duality which differ in the way the coupling constant is transformed. Both solve the problem of the runaway dilaton and lead to satisfactory supersymmetry breaking in models with a {\em single} gaugino condensate. The breakdown of supersymmetry is intimately related to a nontrivial transformation of the condensate under T-duality.
The values of the $T$ and $U$ moduli are studied for those ${\bf Z}_N $ Coxeter orbifolds with the property that some of the twisted sectors have fixed planes for which the six-torus ${\bf T}^6 $ can not be decomposed into a direct sum ${\bf T}^2\bigoplus {\bf T}^4 $ with the fixed plane lying in ${\bf T}^2 $. Such moduli in general transform under a subgroup of the modular group $SL(2,Z).$ The moduli are determined by minimizing the effective potential derived from a duality invariant gaugino condensate.
The status of the gaugino condensation as the source of supersymmetry breaking is reexamined. It is argued that one cannot have stable minima with broken supersymmetry in models where the dilaton is coupled only linearly to the gaugino condensate. We show that the problems of the gaugino condensate mechanism can be solved by considering nonstandard gauge kinetic functions, created by nonperturbative effects. As an example we use the principle of S-duality to modify the coupling of the gaugino condensate to effective supergravity (superstring) Lagrangians. We show that such an approach can solv…
We review the mechanism of gaugino condensation in the framework of the $d=10$ heterotic string and its $d=11$ extension of Horava and Witten. In particular we emphasize the relation between the gaugino condensate and the flux of the antisymmetric tensor fields of higher dimensional supergravity. Its potential role for supersymmetry breakdown and moduli stabilization is investigated.
We calculate the gaugino condensate in $SU(2)$ super Yang-Mills theory on an asymmetric four-torus $\mathbb T^4$ with 't Hooft's twisted boundary conditions. The $\mathbb T^4$ asymmetry is controlled by a dimensionless detuning parameter $Δ$, proportional to $L_3 L_4 - L_1 L_2$, with $L_i$ denoting the $\mathbb T^4$ periods. We perform our calculations via a path integral on a $\mathbb T^4$. Its size is taken much smaller than the inverse strong scale $Λ$ and the theory is well inside the semi-classical weak-coupling regime. The instanton background, constructed for $Δ\ll 1$ in arXiv:hep-th/00…
Supersymmetry breakdown via gaugino condensation in heterotic string theory can lead to models with a doubly suppressed gravitino mass. A TeV scale gravitino can emerge from a condensate as large as the grand unified scale. We analyze the properties of these models and discuss applications for particle physics and cosmology.
We analyze the structure of gaugino interactions on D7-branes from a 10d perspective. This is essential if one wants to lift the standard 4d approach to type IIB moduli stabilization to 10d. In particular, a 10d picture has recently been used to raise concerns about the KKLT proposal for constructing de Sitter vacua, and to lend support to swampland conjectures against de Sitter. However, the analyses of brane gaugino condensation so far are plagued by UV divergences and do not include local 4-fermion terms. They also fail to reproduce the 4-fermion terms required by supergravity when compacti…
We investigate the formation of dynamical gaugino condensates and supersymmetry breaking in the compactifications of Horava-Witten theory with perturbative nonstandard embeddings. Specific models are considered where the underlying massless charged states of the condensing sector are determined by the spectra of $Z_2 \times Z_2 $ and $Z_4 $ orbifolds with nonstandard embeddings. We find among them viable examples where gaugino condensation is triggered on the wall with the weakest gauge coupling at $M_{GUT} $. In all these cases the magnitude of the condensate formed is below the energy scales…
We investigate, at the microscopic level, the compatibility between D-term potentials from world-volume fluxes on D7-branes and non-perturbative superpotentials arising from gaugino condensation on a different stack of D7-branes. This is motivated by attempts to construct metastable de Sitter vacua in type IIB string theory via D-term uplifts. We find a condition under which the Kaehler modulus, T, of a Calabi-Yau 4-cycle gets charged under the anomalous U(1) on the branes with flux. If in addition this 4-cycle is wrapped by a stack of D7-branes on which gaugino condensation takes place, the q…
We study dynamical gaugino condensation in superstring effective theories using the linear multiplet representation for the dilaton superfield. An interesting necessary condition for the dilaton to be stabilized, which was first derived in generic models of static gaugino condensation, is shown to hold for generic models of dynamical gaugino condensation. We also point out that it is stringy non-perturbative effects that stabilize the dilaton and allow dynamical supersymmetry breaking via the field-theoretical non-perturbative effect of gaugino condensation. As a typical example, a toy S-dual …
Gaugino condensation is discussed in the context of a consistent new version of low energy heterotic M-theory. The four dimensional reduction of the theory is described, based on simple boson and fermion backgrounds. This is generalised to include gaugino condenstates and various background fluxes, some with non-trivial topology. It is found that condensate and quantised flux contributions to the four-dimensional superpotential contain no corrections due to the warping of the higher dimensional metric.
It is shown that racetrack inflation can be implemented in a moduli stabilisation scenario with a supersymmetric uplifting D-term. The resulting model is completely described by an effective supergravity theory, in contrast to the original racetrack models. We study the inflationary dynamics and show that the gaugino condensates vary during inflation. The resulting spectral index is n_s = 0.95 as in the original racetrack inflation model. Hence extra fields do not appear to alter the predictions of the model. An equivalent, simplified model with just a single field is presented.
String effective theories with N=1 supersymmetry in four dimensions are subject of the discussion. Gaugino condensation in the chiral representation of the dilaton is reviewed in the truncated formalism in the $U_{K}(1)$-superspace. Using the supersymmetric duality of the dilaton the same investigation is made in the linear representation of the dilaton. We show that for the simple case of one gaugino condensate the results concerning supersymmtry breaking are independent of the representation of the dilaton.
We find the complete chiral ring relations of the supersymmetric U(N) gauge theories with matter in adjoint representation. We demonstrate exact correspondence between the solutions of the chiral ring and the supersymmetric vacua of the gauge theory. The chiral ring determines the expectation values of chiral operators and the low energy gauge group. All the vacua have nonzero gaugino condensation. We study the chiral ring relations obeyed by the gaugino condensate. These relations are generalizations of the formula $S^N=Λ^{3N}$ of the pure ${\cal N} =1$ gauge theory.
Using the linear multiplet formulation for the dilaton superfield, we construct an effective lagrangian for hidden-sector gaugino condensation in string effective field theories with arbitrary gauge groups and matter. Nonperturbative string corrections to the Kähler potential are invoked to stabilize the dilaton at a supersymmetry breaking minimum of the potential. When the cosmological constant is tuned to zero the moduli are stabilized at their self-dual points, and the vev's of their F-component superpartners vanish. Numerical analyses of one- and two-condensate examples with massless chira…
We study heterotic backgrounds with non-trivial $H$-flux and non-vanishing expectation values of fermionic bilinears, often referred to as gaugino condensates. The gaugini appear in the low energy action via the gauge-invariant three-form bilinear $Σ_{MNP}={\rm tr}\:\barχΓ_{MNP}χ$. For Calabi-Yau compactifications to four dimensions, the gaugino condensate corresponds to an internal three-form $Σ_{mnp}$ that must be a singlet of the holonomy group. This condition does not hold anymore when an internal $H$-flux is turned on and ${\cal O}(α')$ effects are included. In this paper we study flux co…
We study how non-perturbative dynamics on D-branes affects the ten-dimensional geometry. We show that a gaugino condensate changes the complex and the symplectic structures of the original manifold by deforming the supersymmetry conditions. The cases of D5, D6 and D7-branes are discussed in detail. In the latter case we find the explicit form of the resulting back-reacted background at linear order in the gaugino condensate.
We present a mechanism able to generate the perturbatively absent up/down $<{\bf 10} \cdot {\bf 10} \cdot {\bf 5}^H>$ quark Yukawa couplings of SU(5)/flipped SU(5) GUTS in Type II orientifold compactifications with D-branes. The mechanism works when there are Sp(N) gauge groups involved. The ${\bf {\bar 5}}$'s get charged under the Sp(N) gauge groups and the generation of quark masses proceeds via the generation of the fermionic Sp(N) singlet condensate $<{\bf {\bar 5} \cdot {\bar 5} \cdot {\bar 5} \cdot {\bar 5}}>$ in the term $(1/{M_s^5}) {\bf 10} \cdot {\bf 10} \cdot < {\bf {\bar 5} \cdot {…
We derive the explicit form, and discuss some properties of the moduli dependent effective potential arising from M-theory compactified on $M_4 \times X\times S^1 / Z_2 $, when one of the boundaries supports a strongly interacting gauge sector and induces gaugino condensation. We discuss the relation between the explicit gaugino condensate and effective superpotential formulations and find interesting differences with respect to the situation known from the weakly coupled heterotic string case. The moduli dependence of the effective potential turns out to be more complicated than expected, and…
We construct a natural inflation model in supergravity where the inflaton is identified with a modulus field possessing a shift symmetry. The superpotential for the inflaton is generated by meson condensation due to strong dynamics with deformed moduli constraints. In contrast to models based on gaugino condensation, the inflaton potential is generated without $R$-symmetry breaking and hence does not depend on the gravitino mass. Thus, our model is compatible with low scale supersymmetry.
We present an additional test of the recent proposal for describing supersymmetry breaking due to gaugino condensation in the strong coupling regime, by a Scherk-Schwarz mechanism on the eleventh dimension of M-theory. An analysis of supersymmetric transformations in the infinite-radius limit reveals the presence of a discontinuity in the spinorial parameter, which coincides with the result found in the presence of gaugino condensation. The condensate is then identified with the quantized parameter entering the modification of the Scherk-Schwarz boundary conditions. This mechanism provides an …
In this Note we study supersymmetry breaking via gaugino condensation in string gas cosmology. We show that the same gaugino condensate which is introduced to stabilize the dilaton breaks supersymmetry. We study the constraints on the scale of supersymmetry breaking which this mechanism leads to.
We extend the linearised solution of Polchinski and Strassler describing the supergravity dual of the N=1* gauge theory. By analysing the equations of motion of type IIB supergravity at cubic order in the mass perturbation parameter, we demonstrate the emergence of a 3-form flux of type (3,0) with respect to the natural complex structure. The generation of this flux can be associated to the dynamical formation of a gaugino condensate in the confining phase of the N=1* gauge theory. We also check that the supersymmetry conditions are satisfied, and we discuss how this (3,0)-form flux is tied to…
We revisit the small field Coleman-Weinberg (CW) inflation, which has the following two problems. First, the smallness of the slow roll parameter $ε$ requires the inflation scale to be very low. Second, the spectral index $n_s \approx1+2 η$ tends to become smaller compared to the observed value. In this letter, we consider two possible effects on the dynamics of inflation: radiatively generated non-minimal coupling to gravity $ξϕ^2 {\cal R}$ and condensation of fermions coupled to the inflaton as $ϕ\barψψ$. We show that the fermion condenate can solve the above problems.
Gaugino condensation on D-branes wrapping internal cycles gives a mechanism to stabilize the associated moduli. According to the effective field theory, this gives rise, when combined with fluxes, to supersymmetric AdS$_4$ solutions. In this paper we provide a ten-dimensional description of these vacua. We first find the supersymmetry equations for type II AdS$_4$ vacua with gaugino condensates on D-branes, in the framework of generalized complex geometry. We then solve them for type IIB compactifications with gaugino condensates on smeared D7-branes. We show that supersymmetry requires a (con…
Light vector fields during inflation obtain a superhorizon perturbation spectrum when their conformal invariance is appropriately broken. Such perturbations, by means of some suitable mechanism (e.g. the vector curvaton mechanism), can contribute to the curvature perturbation in the Universe and produce characteristic signals, such as statistical anisotropy, on the microwave sky, most recently surveyed by the Planck satellite mission. The magnitude of such characteristic features crucially depends on the magnitude of the vector condensate generated during inflation. However, the expectation va…
We show that supersymmetry can be broken mainly by hidden matter condensates in the observable matter direction in generic superstring models. This happens only when the fields whose VEVs give masses to hidden matter do not decouple at the condensation scale. We find how the parameters of the string model and the vacuum determine whether supersymmetry is broken mainly by hidden matter or gaugino condensates and in the matter or moduli directions.
We review work on the formation of gravitino condensates via the super-Higgs effect in the early Universe. This is a scenario for both inflating the early universe and breaking local supersymmetry (supergravity), entirely independent of any coupling to external matter. The goldstino mode associated with the breaking of (global) supersymmetry is "eaten" by the gravitino field, which becomes massive (via its own vacuum condensation) and breaks the local supersymmetry (supergravity) dynamically. The most natural association of gravitino condensates with inflation proceeds in an indirect way, via …
We investigate the development of spectator (light test) field condensates due to their quantum fluctuations in a de Sitter inflationary background, making use of the stochastic formalism to describe the system. In this context, a condensate refers to the typical field value found after coarse-graining using the Hubble scale $H$, which can be essential to seed the initial conditions required by various post-inflationary processes. We study models with multiple coupled spectators and for the first time we demonstrate that new forms of stationary solution exist (distinct from the standard expone…
Supersymmetric compactification with moderately large radius (${\rm Re}< T > \sim {\cal O}(10)$ or more) not only accommodates supersymmetric unification, but also provides candidates for an inflaton in the form of geometric moduli; the value of ${\rm Re}< T > > 1$ may be used as a parameter that brings corrections to the inflaton potential under control. Motivated by a bottom-up idea "right-handed sneutrino inflation" scenario, we study whether complex structure moduli can play some role during the slow-roll inflation and/or reheating process in this moderately large radius regime. Even when …
In simple inflationary cosmological scenarios the near-exponential growth can be followed by a long period in which the Universe is dominated by the oscillating inflaton condensate. The condensate is initially almost homogeneous, but perturbations grow gravitationally, eventually fragmenting the condensate if it is not disrupted more quickly by resonance or prompt reheating. We show that the gravitational fragmentation of the condensate is well-described by the Schrödinger-Poisson equations and use numerical solutions to show that large overdensities form quickly after the onset of nonlinearit…
We consider the space-condensate inflation model to study the primordial gravitational waves generated in the early Universe. We calculate the energy spectrum of gravitational waves induced by the space-condensate inflation model for full frequency range with assumption that the phase transition between two consecutive regimes to be abrupt during evolution of the Universe. The suppression of energy spectrum is found in our model for the decreasing frequency of gravitational waves depending on the model parameter. To realize the suppression of energy spectrum of the primordial gravitational wav…
In cosmological context, classical scalar fields are important ingredients for inflation models, many candidate models of dark energy, symmetry breaking and phase transition epochs, and their consequences such as baryo and lepto-genesis. We investigate the formation of these fields by studying the production of a light quantum scalar field during the decay of a heavy particle. For simplicity it is assumed to be a scalar too. We discuss the effects of the decay mode, the thermodynamical state of the decaying field, boundary conditions, and related physical parameters on the production and evolu…
Cosmological solutions of the beta function equations for the background fields of the closed bosonic string are investigated at the one-loop level. Following recent work of Kostelecky and Perry, it is assumed that the spatial sections of the space-time are conformally flat. Working in the sigma-model frame, the non-trivial tachyon potential is utilized to determine solutions with sufficient inflation to solve the smoothness and flatness problems. The graceful exit and density perturbation constraints can also be successfully implemented.
We review moduli stabilization in type IIB string theory compactification with fluxes. We focus on the KKLT and Large Volume Scenario (LVS). We show that the predicted soft SUSY breaking terms in KKLT model are not phenomenological viable. In LVS, the following result for scalar mass, gaugino mass, and trilinear term is obtained: $m_0 =m_{1/2}= - A_0=m_{3/2}$, which may account for Higgs mass limit if $m_{3/2} \sim {\cal O}(1.5)$ TeV. However, in this case the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino can not be consistent with the measured limits. We also study the cosmological consequences …
We study moduli stabilization in combination with inflation in heterotic orbifold compactifications in the light of a large Hubble scale and the favored tensor-to-scalar ratio $r \approx 0.05$. To account for a trans-Planckian field range we implement aligned natural inflation. Although there is only one universal axion in heterotic constructions, further axions from the geometric moduli can be used for alignment and inflation. We argue that such an alignment is rather generic on orbifolds, since all non-perturbative terms are determined by modular weights of the involved fields and the Dedeki…
We address the important issue of stabilizing the dilaton in the context of superstring cosmology. Scalar potentials which arise out of gaugino condensates in string models are generally exponential in nature. In a cosmological setting this allows for the existence of quasi scaling solutions, in which the energy density of the scalar field can, for a period, become a fixed fraction of the background density, due to the friction of the background expansion. Eventually the field can be trapped in the minimum of its potential as it leaves the scaling regime. We investigate this possibility in var…
We investigate the possibility of $D$-term inflation within the framework of type I string-inspired models. Although $D$-term inflation model has the excellent property that it is free from the so-called $η$- problem, two serious problems appear when we embed $D$-term inflation in string theory, the magnitude of FI term and the rolling motion of the dilation. In the present paper, we analyze the potential of $D$-term inflation in type I inspired models and study the behavior of dilaton and twisted moduli fields. Adopting the non-perturbative superpotential induced by gaugino condensation, the …
In the low energy limit of for M-theory on S^1/Z_2, we calculate the gaugino condensate potential in four dimensions using the background solutions due to Horava. We show that this potential is free of delta-function singularities and has the same form as the potential in the weakly coupled heterotic string. A general flux quantization rule for the three-form field of M-theory on S^1/Z_2 is given and checked in certain limiting cases. This rule is used to fix the free parameter in the potential originating from a zero mode of the form field. Finally, we calculate soft supersymmetry breaking te…
Combining the effects of fluxes and gaugino condensation in heterotic supergravity, we use a ten-dimensional approach to find a new class of four-dimensional supersymmetric AdS compactifications on almost-Hermitian manifolds of SU(3) structure. Computation of the torsion allows a classification of the internal geometry, which for a particular combination of fluxes and condensate, is nearly Kahler. We argue that all moduli are fixed, and we show that the Kahler potential and superpotential proposed in the literature yield the correct AdS radius. In the nearly Kahler case, we are able to solve t…
We study the stability of an inflaton condensate in the presence of attractive inflaton self-interactions, in order to determine analytical conditions on the self-interaction couplings under which the condensate undergoes fragmentation. As an application of our results, we consider the stability of the inflaton condensate in $α$-attractor inflation. We show that the stability of the condensate depends upon the value of $α$. For the T-model with $n = 1$, we find that it is unstable for $α\lesssim 10^{-4}$. In this case it is expected that inflation will be followed by an oscillon-dominated era.
The inclusion of Dirac fermions in Einstein-Cartan gravity leads to a four-fermion interaction mediated by non-propagating torsion, which can allow for the formation of a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer condensate. By considering a simplified model in 2+1 spacetime dimensions, we show that even without an excess of fermions over antifermions, the nonthermal distribution arising from preheating after inflation can give rise to a fermion condensate generated by torsion. We derive the effective Lagrangian for the spacetime-dependent pair field describing the condensate in the extreme cases of nonrelati…
We discuss string corrections to the effective potential in various models of brane inflation. These corrections contribute to the mass of the inflaton candidate and may improve its slow-roll properties. In particular, in orientifold string compactifications with dynamical D3- and D7-branes, the corrections induce inflaton dependence in the part of the superpotential that arises from gaugino condensation or other nonperturbative effects. The additional terms are in part required by supersymmetry. We explicitly discuss D3/D7-inflation, where flat directions of the potential can be lifted, and t…
