We perform a systematic analysis of generic string flux compactifications, making use of Exceptional Generalized Geometry (EGG) as an organizing principle. In particular, we establish the precise map between fluxes, gaugings of maximal 4d supergravity and EGG, identifying the complete set of gaugings that admit an uplift to 10d heterotic or type IIB supegravity backgrounds. Our results reveal a rich structure, involving new deformations of 10d supergravity backgrounds, such as the RR counterparts of the $β$-deformation. These new deformations are expected to provide the natural extension of the $β$-deformation to full-fledged F-theory backgrounds. Our analysis also provides some clues on the 10d origin of some of the particularly less understood gaugings of 4d supergravity. Finally, we derive the explicit expression for the effective superpotential in arbitrary N = 1 heterotic or type IIB orientifold compactifications, for all the allowed fluxes.
In this paper we study the heterotic type IIA duality when fluxes are turned on. We show that many of the known fluxes are dual to each other and claim that certain fluxes on the heterotic side require that the type IIA picture is lifted to M or even F-theory compactifications with geometric fluxes.
In this paper we study a possible non-perturbative dual of the heterotic string compactified on K3 x T^2 in the presence of background fluxes. We show that type IIA string theory compactified on manifolds with SU(3) structure can account for a subset of the possible heterotic fluxes. This extends our previous analysis to a case of a non-perturbative duality with fluxes.
We describe a duality relation between configurations of M5-branes in M-theory and type IIB theory on Taub-NUT geometries with NSNS and RR 3-form field strength fluxes. The flux parameters are controlled by the angles between the M5-brane and the (T)duality directions. For one M5-brane, the duality leads to a family of supersymmetric flux configurations which interpolates between imaginary self-dual fluxes and fluxes similar to the Polchinski-Strassler kind. For multiple M5-branes, the IIB configurations are related to fluxes for twisted sector fields in orbifolds. The dual M5-brane picture al…
We investigate compactifications with duality twists and their relation to orbifolds and compactifications with fluxes. Inequivalent compactifications are classified by conjugacy classes of the U-duality group and result in gauged supergravities in lower dimensions with nontrivial Scherk-Schwarz potentials on the moduli space. For certain twists, this mechanism is equivalent to introducing internal fluxes but is more general and can be used to stabilize some of the moduli. We show that the potential has stable minima with zero energy precisely at the fixed points of the twist group. In string …
M-theory on K3xK3 with non-supersymmetry-breaking G-flux is dual to M-theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold times a 2-torus without flux. This allows for a thorough analysis of the effects of flux without relying on supergravity approximations. We discuss several dual pairs showing that the usual rules of G-flux compactifications work well in detail. We discuss how a transition can convert M2-branes into G-flux. We see how new effects can arise at short distances allowing fluxes to obstruct more moduli than one expects from the supergravity analysis.
We generalize the recent proposal that invariance under T-duality leads to additional non-geometric fluxes required so that superpotentials in type IIA and type IIB orientifolds match. We show that invariance under type IIB S-duality requires the introduction of a new set of fluxes leading to further superpotential terms. We find new classes of N=1 supersymmetric Minkowski vacua based on type IIB toroidal orientifolds in which not only dilaton and complex moduli but also Kahler moduli are fixed. The chains of dualities relating type II orientifolds to heterotic and M-theory compactifications s…
We discuss the relation between generalised fluxes and mixed-symmetry potentials. We first consider the NS fluxes, and point out that the `non-geometric' $R$ flux is dual to a mixed-symmetry potential with a set of nine antisymmetric indices. We then consider the T-duality family of fluxes whose prototype is the Scherk-Schwarz reduction of the S-dual of the RR scalar of IIB supergravity. Using the relation with mixed-symmetry potentials, we are able to give a complete classification of these fluxes, including the ones that are non-geometric. The non-geometric fluxes again turn out to be dual t…
String compactifications with non-abelian gauge fields localized on D-branes, with background NSNS and RR 3-form fluxes, and with non-trivial warp factors, can naturally exist within T-dual versions of type I string theory. We develop a systematic procedure to construct the effective bosonic Lagrangian of type I T-dualized along a six-torus, including the coupling to gauge multiplets on D3-branes and the modifications due to 3-form fluxes. Looking for solutions to the ten-dimensional equations of motion, we find warped products of Minkowski space and Ricci-flat internal manifolds. Once the war…
We examine the flux structures defined by NS-NS superpotentials of Type IIA and Type IIB string theories compactified on a particular class of internal spaces which include non-geometric flux contributions due to T duality or mirror symmetry. This is then extended to the Type IIB R-R sector through the use of S duality and then finally to its mirror dual Type IIA R-R sector, with note of how this sector breaks S duality invariance in Type IIA. The nilpotency and tadpole constraints associated with the fluxes induced by both dualities are derived, explicitly demonstrated to be mirror invariant …
We provide a proof of the equivalence of N=1 dynamics obtained by deforming N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories by addition of certain superpotential terms, with that of type IIB superstring on Calabi-Yau threefold geometries with fluxes. In particular we show that minimization of the superpotential involving gaugino fields is equivalent to finding loci where Seiberg-Witten curve has certain factorization property. Moreover, by considering the limit of turning off of the superpotential we obtain the full low energy dynamics of N=2 gauge systems from Calabi-Yau geometries with fluxes.
Compactifications in duality covariant constructions such as generalised geometry and double field theory have proven to be suitable frameworks to reproduce gauged supergravities containing non-geometric fluxes. However, it is a priori unclear whether these approaches only provide a reformulation of old results, or also contain new physics. To address this question, we classify the T- and U-duality orbits of gaugings of (half-)maximal supergravities in dimensions seven and higher. It turns out that all orbits have a geometric supergravity origin in the maximal case, while there are non-geometr…
In previous works we showed that a Courant algebroid in a particular frame and the differential geometry of the sum bundle $TM \oplus T^*M$ provide a very natural geometric setting for a sector of the low energy effective limit of type II superstring theories (Supergravity theory). Given our geometric and algebraic considerations, we reproduced the NS-NS sector of the closed bosonic effective type II sting action, and an action for the inverse metric $G^{-1}$ and the bivector $Π$, related to the tensors for closed strings as $(g+B)^{-1} = (G^{-1} +Π)$. The action depended on the stringy T-dual…
We show how to implement T-duality along non-abelian isometries in backgrounds with non-vanishing Ramond fields. When the dimension of the isometry group is odd (even) the duality swaps (preserves) the chirality of the theory. In certain cases a non-abelian duality can result in a massive type-IIA background. We provide two examples by dualising SU(2) isometry subgroups in $AdS_5\times S^5$ and $AdS_3\times S^3\times T^4$. The resultant dual geometries inherit the original AdS factors but have transverse spaces with reduced isometry and preserve only half of the original supersymmetry. The non…
In these proceedings, we discuss non-commutativity in closed string theory. In analogy to the open-string sector, for closed strings we first motivate a cyclic double commutator to be evaluated for backgrounds with geometric or non-geometric fluxes. A non-trivial result for such an expression indicates a non-associative structure. Second, we define a conformal field theory at linear order in background fluxes and compute correlation functions therein. From these we motivate a tri-product which captures non-commutative and non-associative effects.
We examine the quantization of fluxes for the warped Stiefel cone and Stenzel geometries and their orbifolds, and distinguish the roles of three related notions of charge: Page, Maxwell, and brane. The orbifolds admit discrete torsion, and we describe the associated quantum numbers which are consistent with the geometry in its large radius and small radius limits from both the type IIA and the M-theory perspectives. The discrete torsion, measured by a Page charge, is related to the number of fractional branes. We relate the shifts in the Page charges under large gauge transformations to the Ha…
In this paper we construct a special geometry over the moduli space of type II string vacua with both NS and RR fluxes turning on. Depending on what fluxes are turning on we divide into three cases of moduli space of generalized structures. They are respectively generalized Calabi-Yau structures, generalized Calabi-Yau metric structures and ${\cal N} =1$ generalized string vacua. It is found that the $d d^{\cal J}$ lemma can be established for all three cases. With the help of the $d d^{\cal J}$ lemma we identify the moduli space locally as a subspace of $d_{H}$ cohomologies. This leads natura…
The standard notion of NS-NS 3-form flux is lifted to Hitchin's generalized geometry. This generalized flux is given in terms of an integral of a modified Nijenhuis operator over a generalized 3-cycle. Explicitly evaluating the generalized flux in a number of familiar examples, we show that it can compute three-form flux, geometric flux and non-geometric Q-flux. Finally, a generalized connection that acts on generalized vectors is described and we show how the flux arises from it.
Using F-theory/heterotic duality, we describe a framework for analyzing non-geometric T2-fibered heterotic compactifications to six- and four-dimensions. Our results suggest that among T2-fibered heterotic string vacua, the non-geometric compactifications are just as typical as the geometric ones. We also construct four-dimensional solutions which have novel type IIB and M-theory dual descriptions. These duals are non-geometric with three- and four-form fluxes not of (2,1) or (2,2) Hodge type, respectively, and yet preserve at least N=1 supersymmetry.
We discuss fluxes of RR and NSNS background fields in type II string compactifications on non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds together with their dual brane description which involves bound states of branes. Simultaneously turning on RR and NSNS 2-form fluxes in an 1/2 supersymmetric way can be geometrically described in M-theory by a SL(2,Z) family of metrics of G(2) holonomy. On the other hand, if the flux configuration only preserves 1/4 of supersymmetries, we postulate the existence of a new eight-dimensional manifold with spin(7) holonomy, which does not seem to fit into the classes of know…
We extend the search for supergravity solution duals of non-relativistic $d=3$ CFTs to $d=11$ supergravity. We consider the internal space to be an $S^2$ bundle over a product base: $S^2 \times S^2$ and $S^2 \times T^2$. For purely M-theoretic $S^2 \times S^2$, we find only magnetic fluxes preserving two supersymmetries. $S^2 \times T^2$ is far richer admitting in addition to magnetic fluxes, various non-trivial electric fluxes which break all supersymmetry.
We investigate the orbifold limits of string theory compactifications with geometric and non-geometric fluxes. Exploiting the connection between internal fluxes and structure constants of the gaugings in the reduced supergravity theory, we can identify the types of fluxes arising in certain classes of freely-acting symmetric and asymmetric orbifolds. We give a general procedure for deriving the gauge algebra of the effective gauged supergravity using the exact CFT description at the orbifold point. We find that the asymmetry is, in general, related to the presence of non-geometric Q- and R- fl…
In this paper we study T-duality for principal torus bundles with H-flux. We identify a subset of fluxes which are T-dualizable, and compute both the dual torus bundle as well as the dual H-flux. We briefly discuss the generalized Gysin sequence behind this construction and provide examples both of non T-dualizable and of T-dualizable H-fluxes.
We briefly review the description of the internal sector of supergravity theories in the language of generalised geometry and how this gives rise to a description of supersymmetric backgrounds as integrable geometric structures. We then review recent work, featuring holomorphic Courant algebroids, on the description of $\mathcal N=1$ heterotic flux vacua. This work studied the finite deformation problem of the Hull-Strominger system, guided by consideration of the superpotential functional on the relevant space of geometries. It rewrote the system in terms of the Maurer-Cartan set of a particu…
This paper analyses type II string theories in backgrounds which admit an SU(3) x SU(3) structure. Such backgrounds are designed to linearly realize eight out of the original 32 supercharges and as a consequence the low-energy effective action can be written in terms of couplings which are closely related to the couplings of four-dimensional N=2 theories. This generalizes the previously studied case of SU(3) backgrounds in that the left- and right-moving sector each have a different globally defined spinor. Given a truncation to a finite number of modes, these backgrounds lead to a conventiona…
Stable vacua obtained from isotropic tori compactification might not be fully stable provided the existence of runaway directions in the Kaehler directions of anisotropy. By implementing a genetic algorithm we report the existence of explicit flux configurations leading to stable de Sitter and Anti- de Sitter vacua, consisting on Type IIB compactifications on a 6-dimensional anisotropic torus threaded with standard and S-dual invariant non-geometric fluxes in the presence of orientifold 3-planes. In all dS vacua the masses of the complex structure moduli are heavier than the Hubble scale sugge…
Branes in non-trivial backgrounds are expected to exhibit interesting dynamical properties. We use the boundary conformal field theory approach to study branes in a curved background with non-vanishing Neveu-Schwarz 3-form field strength. For branes on an $S^3$, the low-energy effective action is computed to leading order in the string tension. It turns out to be a field theory on a non-commutative `fuzzy 2-sphere' which consists of a Yang-Mills and a Chern-Simons term. We find a certain set of classical solutions that have no analogue for flat branes in Euclidean space. These solutions show, …
We propose type IIA supergravity solutions dual to the 1/2 BPS vacua of the BMN matrix model. These dual solutions are analyzed using the Polchinski-Strassler method and have brane configurations of concentric shells of D2 branes (or NS5 branes) with various radii and D0 charge. These branes can be viewed as polarized from $N$ D0 branes by a transverse R-R magnetic 6-form flux and an NS-NS 3-form flux. In the region far from branes, the solutions reduce to perturbation around the near horizon geometry of $N$ D0 branes, by turning on these R-R and NS-NS fluxes, which are dual to the deformation…
We consider N=1 compactifications of the type-IIA theory on the T6/(Z2xZ2) orbifold and O6 orientifold, in the presence of D6-branes and general NSNS, RR and Scherk-Schwarz geometrical fluxes. Introducing a suitable dual formulation of the theory, we derive and solve the Bianchi identities, and show how certain combinations of fluxes can relax the constraints on D6-brane configurations coming from the cancellation of RR tadpoles. We then compute, via generalized dimensional reduction, the N=1, D=4 effective potential for the seven main moduli, and comment on the relation with truncated N=4 gau…
We explore the origins of non-geometric fluxes within the context of M theory described as a matrix model. Building upon compactifications of Matrix theory on non-commutative tori and twisted tori, we formulate the conditions which describe compactifications with non-geometric fluxes. These turn out to be related to certain deformations of tori with non-commutative and non-associative structures on their phase space. Quantization of flux appears as a natural consequence of the framework and leads to the resolution of non-associativity at the level of the unitary operators. The quantum-mechanic…
We study the $T$-dual completion of the four-dimensional ${\cal N}=1$ type II effective potentials in the presence of (non-)geometric fluxes. First, we invoke a cohomology version of the $T$-dual transformations among the various moduli, axions and the fluxes appearing in the type IIA and type IIB effective supergravities. This leads to some useful observations about a significant mixing of the standard NS-NS fluxes with the (non-)geometric fluxes on the mirror side. Further, using our $T$-duality rules, we establish an explicit mapping among the $F$-terms, $D$-terms, tadpole conditions as wel…
We consider classes of T_6 orientifolds, where the orientifold projection contains an inversion I_{9-p} on 9-p coordinates, transverse to a Dp-brane. In absence of fluxes, the massless sector of these models corresponds to diverse forms of N=4 supergravity, with six bulk vector multiplets coupled to N=4 Yang--Mills theory on the branes. They all differ in the choice of the duality symmetry corresponding to different embeddings of SU(1,1)\times SO(6,6+n) in Sp(24+2n,R), the latter being the full group of duality rotations. Hence, these Lagrangians are not related by local field redefinitions. W…
We propose a description of G-fluxes that induce chirality in 4-dimensional F-theory GUT spectra that is intrinsic to F-theory and does not rely on Heterotic/F-theory duality. Using this, we describe how to globally extend fluxes that have been constructed in a semi-local setting and obtain an F-theoretic formula for computing the chiral spectrum that they induce. Chirality computations agree with those from the semi-local Higgs bundle analysis for matter fields that are charged under the GUT-group, and hence with the standard Heterotic formulae where applicable. Finally, the relation of G-flu…
The (heterotic) double field theories and the exceptional field theories are recently developed for manifestly duality covariant formulation of various supergravity theories, describing low-energy limit of various (heterotic) superstring and M-theory compactifications. These field theories are known to be reduced to the standard descriptions by introducing appropriately parameterized generalized metric and by applying suitably chosen section conditions. We generalize this development to non-geometric backgrounds by utilizing dual fields pertinent to non-geometric fluxes. We introduce different…
In this paper we consider heterotic compactifications on K3 x T2 as well as type II compactifications on K3-fibred Calabi-Yau spaces with certain fluxes for the gauge and RR field strengths F and H turned on. By providing an identification of corresponding fluxes we show that the well-known N=2 heterotic/type II string-string duality still holds for a subset of all possible fluxes, namely those which arise from six-dimensional gauge fields with internal magnetic flux on the common two-sphere P1, which is the base space of the type II K3-fibration. On the other hand, F- and H-fluxes without P1-…
We obtain the bosonic D-brane description of toroidally compactified non-trivial M2-branes with the unique property of having a purely discrete supersymmetric regularized spectrum with finite multiplicity. As a byproduct, we generalize the previous Hamiltonian formulation to describe a M2-brane on a completely general constant quantized background $C_3$ denoted by us as CM2-brane. We show that under this condition, the theory is equivalent to a more restricted one, denoted as an M2-brane with $C_\pm$ fluxes, which has been shown to have good quantum behavior. As a result, the spectral properti…
We use a geometric approach to construct a flux formulation for the SL(5) U-duality manifest exceptional field theory. The resulting formalism is well-suited for studying gauged supergravities with geometric and non-geometric fluxes. Here we describe all such fluxes for both M-theory and IIB supergravity including the Ramond-Ramond fields for compactifications to seven dimensions. We define the locally non-geometric "R-flux" and globally non-geometric "Q-flux" for M-theory and find a new locally non-geometric R-flux for the IIB theory. We show how these non-geometric fluxes can be understood g…
D7-brane moduli are stabilized by worldvolume fluxes, which contribute to the D3-brane tadpole. We calculate this contribution in the Type IIB limit of F-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau four-folds with a weak Fano base, and are able to prove a no-go theorem for vast swathes of the landscape of compactifications. When the genus of the curve dual to the D7 worldvolume fluxes is fixed and the number of moduli grows, we find that the D3 charge sourced by the fluxes grows faster than 7/16 of the number of moduli, which supports the Tadpole Conjecture of Ref.~\cite{Bena:2020xrh}. Our lower bo…
We compute the four-dimensional gaugino mass for a Dp-brane extended in spacetime and wrapping a cycle on the internal geometry in a warped compactification with fluxes. Motivated by the backreaction of gaugino bilinear VEVs, we use Generalized Complex Geometry to characterize the internal geometry as well as the cycle wrapped by the brane. We find that the RR fluxes and the non-closure of the generalized complex structures combine in the gaugino mass terms in the same form as they do in the bulk superpotential, while for the NSNS fluxes there is a crucial minus sign in the component normal to…
We investigate a simple class of type II string compactifications which incorporate nongeometric "fluxes" in addition to "geometric flux" and the usual H-field and R-R fluxes. These compactifications are nongeometric analogues of the twisted torus. We develop T-duality rules for NS-NS geometric and nongeometric fluxes, which we use to construct a superpotential for the dimensionally reduced four-dimensional theory. The resulting structure is invariant under T-duality, so that the distribution of vacua in the IIA and IIB theories is identical when nongeometric fluxes are included. This gives a …
We study the gravity dual of several wrapped D-brane configurations in presence of 4-form RR fluxes partially piercing the unwrapped directions. We present a systematic approach to obtain these solutions from those without fluxes. We use D=8 gauged supergravity as a starting point to build up these solutions. The configurations include (smeared) M2-branes at the tip of a G_2 cone on S^3 x S^3, D2-D6 branes with the latter wrapping a special Lagrangian 3-cycle of the complex deformed conifold and an holomorphic sphere in its cotangent bundle T^*S^2, D3-branes at the tip of the generalized resol…
We consider a family of pp-wave solutions of IIB supergravity. This family has a non-trivial, constant 5-form flux, and non-trivial, (light-cone) time-dependent RR and NS-NS 3-form fluxes. The solutions have either 16 or 20 supersymmetries depending upon the time dependence. One member of this family of solutions is the Penrose limit of the solution obtained by Pilch and Warner as the dual of a Leigh-Strassler fixed point. The family of solutions also provides indirect evidence in support of a recent conjecture concerning a large N duality group that acts on RG flows of N=2 supersymmetric, qui…
The four dimensional gauged supergravities descending from non-geometric string compactifications involve a wide class of flux objects which are needed to make the theory invariant under duality transformations at the effective level. Additionally, complex algebraic conditions involving these fluxes arise from Bianchi identities and tadpole cancellations in the effective theory. In this work we study a simple T and S-duality invariant gauged supergravity, that of a type IIB string compactified on a $T^6/(Z_2 x Z_2)$ orientifold with O3/O7-planes. We build upon the results of recent works and d…
We show that the formal alpha' expansion for heterotic flux vacua is only sensible when flux quantization and the appearance of string scale cycles in the geometry are carefully taken into account. We summarize a number of properties of solutions with N=1 and N=2 space-time supersymmetry.
We shall review a novel formulation of four dimensional gauged supergravity which is manifestly covariant with respect to the non-perturbative electric-magnetic duality symmetry transformations of the ungauged theory, at the level of the equations of motion and Bianchi identities. We shall also discuss the application of this formalism to the description of M-theory compactified on a twisted torus in the presence of fluxes and to the interpretation from a M/Type IIA theory perspective of the D=5 --> D=4 generalized Scherk-Schwarz reduction. This latter analysis will bring up the issue of non-g…
We report on the gauged supergravity interpretation of certain compactifications of superstring theories with p-form fluxes turned on. We discuss in particular the interplay of duality symmetries in type IIB orientifolds and gauged isometries in the corresponding supergravity models. Turning on fluxes is generally described by the gauging of some nilpotent Lie group whose generators correspond to axion symmetries of R-R and N-S scalars.
Using the nonabelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action with the Wess-Zumino term that is constructed in consistent with T duality we examine the Myers dielectric effect for multiple D0-branes in the near-horizon geometry of D4-branes. The effect in the curved spacetime is also confirmed by the dual formulation based on the abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action of a D2-brane. Putting a system of muliple D-strings in the external electric RR five-form flux, we construct a noncommutative non-BPS solution where the D-strings expand into a spherical D3-brane. We discuss the external field dependence of the funne…
We extend the four-dimensional gauged supergravity analysis of type IIB vacua on $K3\times T^2/Z_2$ to the case where also D3 and D7 moduli, belonging to N=2 vector multiplets, are turned on. In this case, the overall special geometry does not correspond to a symmetric space, unless D3 or D7 moduli are switched off. In the presence of non--vanishing fluxes, we discuss supersymmetric critical points which correspond to Minkowski vacua, finding agreement with previous analysis. Finally, we point out that care is needed in the choice of the symplectic holomorphic sections of special geometry whic…
The $AdS_3\times S^3$ string sigma model supported both by NS-NS and R-R fluxes has become a well known integrable model, however a putative dual field theory description remains incomplete. We study the anomalous dimensions of twist operators in this theory via semiclassical string methods. We describe the construction of a multi-cusp closed string in conformal gauge moving in $AdS_3$ with fluxes, which supposedly is dual to a general higher twist operator. After analyzing the string profiles and conserved charges for the string, we find the exact dispersion relation between the charges in th…
We study novel type IIB compactifications on the T^6/Z_2 orientifold. This geometry arises in the T-dual description of Type I theory on T^6, and one normally introduces 16 space-filling D3-branes to cancel the RR tadpoles. Here, we cancel the RR tadpoles either partially or fully by turning on three-form flux in the compact geometry. The resulting (super)potential for moduli is calculable. We demonstrate that one can find many examples of N=1 supersymmetric vacua with greatly reduced numbers of moduli in this system. A few examples with N>1 supersymmetry or complete supersymmetry breaking are…
We use noncommutative topology to study T-duality for principal torus bundles with H-flux. We characterize precisely when there is a "classical" T-dual, i.e., a dual bundle with dual H-flux, and when the T-dual must be "non-classical," that is, a continuous field of noncommutative tori. The duality comes with an isomorphism of twisted $K$-theories, required for matching of D-brane charges, just as in the classical case. The isomorphism of twisted cohomology which one gets in the classical case is replaced in the non-classical case by an isomorphism of twisted cyclic homology. An important part…
The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a collection of results which can be found in the mathematical literature and to apply them to hyperbolic spaces that may have a role in physical theories. Specifically we apply K-theory methods for the calculation of brane charges and RR-fields on hyperbolic spaces (and orbifolds thereof). It is known that by tensoring K-groups with the rationals, K-theory can be mapped to rational cohomology by means of the Chern character isomorphisms. The Chern character allows one to relate the analytic Dirac index with a topological index, which can…
Orientifolds of type II string theory admit a certain set of generalized NS-NS fluxes, including not only the three-form field strength H, but also metric and non-geometric fluxes, which are related to H by T-duality. We describe in general how these fluxes appear as parameters of an effective N=1 supergravity theory in four dimensions, and in particular how certain generalized NS-NS fluxes can act as charges for R-R axions, leading to D-term contributions to the effective scalar potential. We illustrate these phenomena in type IIB with the example of a certain orientifold of T^6/Z_4.
Based on the construction of Poisson-Lie T-dual $σ$-models from a common parent action we study a candidate for the non-abelian respectively Poisson-Lie T-duality group. This group generalises the well-known abelian T-duality group O(d,d) and we explore some of its subgroups, namely factorised dualities, B- and $β$-shifts. The corresponding duality transformed $σ$-models are constructed and interpreted as generalised (non-geometric) flux backgrounds. We also comment on generalisations of results and techniques known from abelian T-duality. This includes the Lie algebra cohomology interpretatio…
Turning on a NS-NS three-form flux in a compact space drives some D-branes to be either Freed-Witten anomalous or unstable to decay into fluxes by the appearance of instantonic branes. By applying T-duality on a toroidal compactification, the NS-flux is transformed into metric fluxes. We propose a T-dual version of the Atiyah-Hirzebruch Spectral Sequence upon which we describe the Freed-Witten anomaly and the brane-flux transition driven by NS and metric fluxes in a twisted torus. The required conditions to cancel the anomaly and the appearance of new instantonic branes are also described. In …
We propose a universal geometric formulation of gauged supergravity in terms of a twisted doubled torus. We focus on string theory (M-theory) reductions with generalized Scherk-Schwarz twists residing in the O(n,n) (E_{7(7)}) duality group. The set of doubled geometric fluxes, associated with the duality twists and identified naturally with the embedding tensor of gauged supergravity, captures all known fluxes, i.e. physical form fluxes, ordinary geometric fluxes, as well as their non-geometric counterparts. Furthermore, we propose a prescription for obtaining the effective geometry embedded i…
We present the supersymmetric completion of the M-theory free differential algebra resulting from a compactification to four dimensions on a twisted seven-torus with 4-form and 7-form fluxes turned on. The super--curvatures are given and the local supersymmetry transformations derived. Dual formulations of the theory are discussed in connection with classes of gaugings corresponding to diverse choices of vacua. This also includes seven dimensional compactifications on more general spaces not described by group manifolds.
