Higher-derivative corrections to cosmological effective actions in string theory are largely constrained by T-duality, but have been computed hitherto only to the first few orders in the string scale $α'$. The functional renormalization group, in conjunction with the strong constraints imposed by T-duality, allows to derive cosmological effective actions to all orders in $α'$ while avoiding "truncations" of the theory space. We show that the resulting higher-derivative $α'$-corrections forbid the existence of de Sitter vacua, at least in regimes where string-loop corrections can be neglected. Our findings thus support the implications of the no-de Sitter swampland conjecture in the presence of all-order effects in $α'$.
The higher-derivative $α'$ corrections consistent with $O(d,d)$ duality invariance can be completely classified for cosmological, purely time-dependent backgrounds. This result is used to show that there are duality invariant theories featuring string-frame de Sitter vacua as solutions that are non-perturbative in $α'$, thus suggesting that classical string theory may realize de Sitter solutions in an unexpected fashion.
The Fubini's idea to introduce a fundamental scale of hadron phenomena by means of dilatation non-invariant vacuum state in the frame work of a scale invariant Lagrangian field theory is recalled. The Fubini vacua is invariant under the de Sitter subgroup of the full conformal group. We obtain a finite entropy for the quantum state corresponding to the classical Fubini vacua in Euclidean space-time resembeling the entropy of the de Sitter vacua. In Minkowski space-time it is shown that the Fubini vacua is mainly a bath of radiation with Rayleigh-Jeans distribution for the low energy radiation.…
Maximally extended, explicit and regular coverings of the Schwarzschild - de Sitter family of vacua are given, first in spacetime (generalizing a result due to Israel) and then for all dimensions $D$ (assuming a $D-2$ sphere). It is shown that these coordinates offer important advantages over the well known Kruskal - Szekeres procedure.
Decay of a de Sitter vacuum may proceed through a "static" instanton, representing pair creation of critical bubbles separated by a distance comparable to the Hubble radius -- a process somewhat analogous to thermal activation in flat space. We compare this with related processes recently discussed in the literature.
We investigate the combined effect of fluxes and higher-order curvature corrections, in the form of the Gauss-Bonnet term, on the existence of de Sitter vacua in a heterotic string inspired framework, compactified on spheres and tori. We first gain some intuition on the effects of these corrections by studying a perturbative expansion in the small Gauss-Bonnet coupling. Then, for choices of potential closer to the string theory predictions, we show that the inclusion of quadratic curvature corrections actually reduces the parametric likelihood of de Sitter solutions.
Stable non-supersymmetric Anti-de Sitter (AdS) vacua of string theory are widely believed not to exist. In this letter, we analytically compute the full bosonic Kaluza-Klein spectrum around the ${\rm G_2}$-invariant non-supersymmetric $\textrm{AdS}_4$ solution of massive IIA supergravity, and show that it is perturbatively stable. We also provide evidence that six other non-supersymmetric $\textrm{AdS}_4$ solutions of massive IIA supergravity are perturbatively stable. Since previous studies have indicated that these AdS vacua may also be non-perturbatively stable, our findings pose a challeng…
We consider the entanglement entropy of a free massive scalar field in the one parameter family of $α$-vacua in de Sitter space by using a method developed by Maldacena and Pimentel. An $α$-vacuum can be thought of as a state filled with particles from the point of view of the Bunch-Davies vacuum. Of all the $α$-vacua we find that the entanglement entropy takes the minimal value in the Bunch-Davies solution. We also calculate the asymptotic value of the Rényi entropy and find that it increases as $α$ increases. We argue these feature stem from pair condensation within the non-trivial $α$-vacua…
We consider classical type II supergravity with arbitrary fluxes, Dirichlet branes and orientifold planes and prove that a four-dimensional compactification of this theory can never correspond to a metastable de Sitter state.
We explore the possibility of obtaining de Sitter vacua in strongly coupled heterotic models by adding various corrections to the supergravity potential energy. We show that, in a generic compactification scenario, Fayet-Iliopoulos terms can generate a de Sitter vacuum. The cosmological constant in this vacuum can be fine tuned to be consistent with observation. We also study moduli potentials in non-supersymmetric compactifications of $E_8 \times E_8$ theory with anti five-branes and $E_8 \times \bar E_8$ theory. We argue that they can be used to create a de Sitter vacuum only if some of the …
In this letter we discuss de Sitter vacua in maximal gauged supergravity in 4 dimensions. We show that, using the newly deformed theories introduced in arxiv:1209.0760, we can obtain de Sitter vacua with arbitrarily flat tachyonic directions in the SO(4,4)c models.
We give an extensive study of the tunnelling between arbitrary (anti-)de Sitter spacetimes separated by an infinitesimally thin relativistic shell in arbitrary spacetime dimensions. In particular, we find analytically an exact expression for the tunnelling amplitude. The detailed spacetime structures that can arise are discussed, together with an effective "regularization scheme" for "before tunnelling" configurations.
We discuss interacting quantum field theory in de Sitter space and argue that the Mottola-Allen vacuum ambiguity is an artifact of free field theory. The nature of the nonthermality of the MA-vacua is also clarified. We propose analyticity of correlation functions as a fundamental requirement of quantum field theory in curved spacetimes. In de Sitter space, this principle determines the vacuum unambiguously and facilitates the systematic development of perturbation theory.
We generalize the analysis of arXiv:1210.7244 to de Sitter space α-vacua and compute the entanglement entropy of a free scalar for the half-sphere at late time.
We find 5D gauged supergravity theories exhibiting stable de Sitter vacua. These are the first examples of stable de Sitter vacua in higher-dimensional (D>4) supergravity. Non-compact gaugings with tensor multiplets and R-symmetry gauging seem to be the essential ingredients in these models. They are however not sufficient to guarantee stable de Sitter vacua, as we show by investigating several other models. The qualitative behaviour of the potential also seems to depend crucially on the geometry of the scalar manifold.
It is shown that the so-called $α$-vacua which have been proposed as candidates for states of free quantum fields on de Sitter space have infinitely strong fluctuations for typical observables as averaged renormalized energy momentum tensor.
We obtain all the stationary vacua of de Sitter space by classifying the inequivalent timelike isometries of the de Sitter group. Besides the static vacuum, de Sitter space also admits a family of rotating vacua, which we use to obtain Kerr-de Sitter solutions in various dimensions. By writing the metric in a coordinate system adapted to the rotating Hamiltonian, we show that empty de Sitter space admits not only an observer-dependent horizon but also an observer-dependent ergosphere.
No-scale supergravity is the appropriate general framework for low-energy effective field theories derived from string theory. The simplest no-scale Kähler potential with a single chiral field corresponds to a compactification to flat Minkowski space with a single volume modulus, but generalizations to single-field no-scale models with de Sitter vacua are also known. In this paper we generalize these de Sitter constructions to two- and multi-field models of the types occurring in string compactifications with more than one relevant modulus. We discuss the conditions for stability of the de Sit…
We construct purely non-perturbative anti-de Sitter vacua in string theory which, on uplifting to a de Sitter (dS) one, have a decay time many orders of magnitude smaller than those of standard constructions, such as the KKLT and LVS scenarios. By virtue of being constructed purely from non-perturbative terms, these vacua avoids certain obstructions plaguing other constructions of dS in string theory. This results in a new class of phenomenological dS vacua in string theory with novel distinctive characteristics such as having two maxima. After examining whether these uplifted dS vacua obey th…
In this paper the consistency of the de Sitter invariant $α$-vacua, which have been introduced as simple tools to study the effects of transplanckian physics, is investigated. In particular possible non renormalization problems are discussed, as well as non standard properties of Greens functions. We also discuss the non thermal properties of the $α$-vacua and the necessity of $α$ to change. The conclusion is that non of these problems necessarily exclude an application of the $α$-vacua to inflation.
In this work we analyze the role of $α'$-corrections to type IIB orientifold compactifications in Kähler moduli stabilization and inflation. In particular, we propose a model independent scenario to achieve non-supersymmetric Minkowski and de Sitter vacua for geometric backgrounds with positive Euler-characteristic and generic number of Kähler moduli. The vacua are obtained by a tuning of the flux superpotential. Moreover, in the one-modulus case we argue for a mechanisms to achieve model independent slow-roll.
We show that the DBI action for the singlet sector of the tachyon in two-dimensional string theory has a SL(2,R) symmetry, a real-time counterpart of the ground ring. The action can be rewritten as that of point particles moving in a de Sitter space, whose coordinates are given by the value of the eigenvalue and time. The symmetry then manifests as the isometry group of de Sitter space in two dimensions. We use this fact to write the collective field theory for a large number of branes, which has a natural interpretation as a fermion field in this de Sitter space. After spending some time buil…
We describe how 4d de Sitter vacua might emerge from 11d heterotic M-theory. Non-perturbative effects and $G$-fluxes play a crucial role leading to vacua with F-term supersymmetry breaking and a positive energy density. Charged scalar matter fields are no longer massless in these vacua thus solving one of the problems of the heterotic string. Moreover, interesting dark matter candidates appear in a natural way.
We revisit the issue of uplifting the potential to de Sitter (dS) vacua in type IIB flux compactifications of Kachru, Kallosh, Linde and Trivedi (KKLT). We shed light on some tension between two constraints on dS vacua in type IIB string theory. One is the well-known and much-discussed constraint which leads to the no-go theorem that can in principle be evaded. The other follows from 4-dimensional Einstein's equations, which has, however, been much less discussed in connection with the former constraint. In addition to the challenges previously posed, it is suggested that the uplifting scenari…
We find extrema of the potential of matter couplings to N=2 supergravity that define de Sitter vacua and no tachyonic modes. There are three essential ingredients in our construction: namely non-abelian non-compact gaugings, de Roo-Wagemans rotation angles, and Fayet-Iliopoulos terms.
We present a simple procedure to obtain all de Sitter solutions in the ghost-free massive gravity theory by using the Gordon ansatz. For these solutions the physical metric can be conveniently viewed as describing a hyperboloid in 5D Minkowski space, while the flat reference metric depends on the Stuckelberg field $T(t,r)$ that satisfies the equation $(\partial_t{T})^2-(\partial_r T)^2=1$. This equation has infinitely many solutions, hence there are infinitely many de Sitter vacua with different physical properties. Only the simplest solution with $T=t$ has been previously studied since it is …
We revisit the classical theory of ten-dimensional two-derivative gravity coupled to fluxes, scalar fields, D-branes, anti D-branes and Orientifold-planes. We show that such set-ups do not give rise to a four-dimensional positive curvature spacetime with the isometries of de Sitter spacetime. We further argue that a de Sitter solution in type IIB theory may still be achieved if the higher-order curvature corrections are carefully controlled. Our analysis relies on the derivation of the de Sitter condition from an explicit background solution by going beyond the supergravity limit of type IIB t…
We consider flux compactification of type IIB string theory as the orientifold limit of an F-theory on a Calabi-Yau fourfold. We show that when supersymmetry is dominantly broken by the axion-dilaton and the contributions of the F-terms associated with complex structure moduli are small, the Hessian of the flux potential always has tachyonic modes for de Sitter vacua. This implies that there exist no meta-stable de Sitter vacua in this limit. Moreover, we find that the stability requirement imposes a relation between the values of cosmological constant and the scale of supersymmetry breaking f…
We study the power - and bi -spectrum of vacuum fluctuations in a hyperbolic section of de Sitter space, comparing two states of physical interest: the Bunch-Davies and hyperbolic vacuum. We introduce a one -parameter family of de Sitter hyperbolic sections and their natural vacua, and identify a limit in which it reduces to the planar section and the corresponding Bunch -Davies vacuum state. Selecting the Bunch -Davies vacuum for a massless scalar field implies a mixed reduced density matrix in a hyperbolic section of de Sitter space. We stress that in the Bunch -Davies state the hyperbolic d…
We propose the unified models of cosmological inflation, spontaneous SUSY breaking, and the dark energy (de Sitter vacuum) in $N=1$ supergravity with the dilaton-axion chiral superfield $T$ in the presence of an $N=1$ vector multiplet with the alternative Fayet-Iliopoulos term. By using the Kähler potential as $K=-α\log(T+\bar{T})$ and the superpotential as a sum of a constant and a linear term, we find that viable inflation is possible for $3\leqα\leqα_{\rm max}$ where $α_{\rm max}\approx 7.235$. Observations of the amplitude of primordial scalar perturbations fix the SUSY breaking scale in o…
We study the arguments given in [1] which suggest that the uplifting procedure in the KKLT construction is not valid. First we show that the modification of the SUSY breaking sector of the nilpotent superfield, as proposed in [1], is not consistent with non-linearly realized local supersymmetry of de Sitter supergravity. Keeping this issue aside, we also show that the corresponding bosonic potential does actually describe de Sitter uplifting.
We set up a consistent renormalizable perturbation theory of a scalar field in a nontrivial alpha vacuum in de Sitter space. Although one representation of the effective action involves non-local interactions between anti-podal points, we show the theory leads to causal physics, and we prove a spectral theorem for the interacting two-point function. We construct the renormalized stress energy tensor and show this develops no imaginary part at leading order in the interactions, consistent with stability.
We present details of a geometric method to associate a Lie superalgebra with a large class of bosonic supergravity vacua of the type AdS x X, corresponding to elementary branes in M-theory and type II string theory.
The possible existence of (meta-) stable de Sitter vacua in string theory is of fundamental importance. So far, there are no fully stable solutions where all effects are under perturbative control. In this paper we investigate the presence of stable de Sitter vacua in type II string theory with non-geometric fluxes. We introduce a systematic method for solving the equations of motion at the origin of moduli space, by expressing the fluxes in terms of the supersymmetry breaking parameters. As a particular example, we revisit the geometric type IIA compactifications, and argue that non-geometric…
In the present talk I shall review the construction of N=2 supergravity models exhibiting stable de Sitter vacua. These solutions represent the first instance of stable backgrounds with positive cosmological constant in the framework of extended supergravities (N >=2). After briefly reviewing the role of de Sitter space--times in inflationary cosmology, I shall describe the main ingredients which were necessary for the construction of gauged N=2 supergravity models admitting stable solutions of this kind.
We present a brief overview of attempts to construct de Sitter vacua in string theory and explain how the results of this 20-year endeavor could point to the fact that string theory harbors no de Sitter vacua at all. Making such a statement is often considered controversial and "bad news for string theory". We discuss how perhaps the opposite can be true.
We outline the construction of metastable de Sitter vacua of type IIB string theory. Our starting point is highly warped IIB compactifications with nontrivial NS and RR three-form fluxes. By incorporating known corrections to the superpotential from Euclidean D-brane instantons or gaugino condensation, one can make models with all moduli fixed, yielding a supersymmetric AdS vacuum. Inclusion of a small number of anti-D3 branes in the resulting warped geometry allows one to uplift the AdS minimum and make it a metastable de Sitter ground state. The lifetime of our metastable de Sitter vacua is …
We find a new class of metastable de Sitter solutions in compactifications of six-dimensional supergravity motivated by type IIB or heterotic string vacua. Two Fayet-Iliopoulos terms of a local U(1) symmetry are generated by magnetic flux and by the Green-Schwarz term canceling the gauge anomalies, respectively. The interplay between the induced D-term, the moduli dependence of the effective gauge coupling, and a nonperturbative superpotential stabilizes the moduli and determines the size of the extra dimensions.
We extend a recent scenario of Kachru, Kallosh, Linde and Trivedi to fix the string moduli fields by using a combination of fluxes and non-perturbative superpotentials, leading to de Sitter vacua. In our scenario the non-perturbative superpotential is taken to be the N=1^* superpotential for an SU(N) theory, originally computed by Dorey and recently rederived using the techniques of Dijkgraaf-Vafa. The fact that this superpotential includes the full instanton contribution gives rise to the existence of a large number of minima, increasing with N. In the absence of supersymmetry breaking these …
The rôle of string loop corrections on the existence of de Sitter vacua and the moduli stabilization problem is examined in type IIB effective theories. The fundamental building blocks are a minimum of three intersecting D7 brane stacks, three Kähler moduli, and a novel Einstein-Hilbert term associated with higher derivative terms of the 10-dimensional effective action. It was shown in previous works that loop corrections appear which induce novel logarithmic volume-dependent terms in the effective potential. When D-term contributions are considered, all Kähler moduli are stabilized and de Sit…
We present further no-go theorems for classical de Sitter vacua in Type II string theory, i.e., de Sitter constructions that do not invoke non-perturbative effects or explicit supersymmetry breaking localized sources. By analyzing the stability of the 4D potential arising from compactification on manfiolds with curvature, fluxes, and orientifold planes, we found that additional ingredients, beyond the minimal ones presented so far, are necessary to avoid the presence of unstable modes. We enumerate the minimal setups for (meta)stable de Sitter vacua to arise in this context.
We construct a new class of metastable de Sitter vacua of flux compactifications of type IIB string theory. These solutions provide a natural extension of the `Large Volume Scenario' anti-de Sitter vacua, and can analogously be realised at parametrically large volume and weak string coupling, using standard ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity. For these new vacua, a positive vacuum energy is achieved from the inclusion of a small amount of flux-induced supersymmetry breaking in the complex structure and axio-dilaton sector, and no additional `uplift' contribution (e.g.~from anti-branes) is required. We …
We investigate membrane instanton effects in type IIA strings compactified on rigid Calabi-Yau manifolds. These effects contribute to the low-energy effective action of the universal hypermultiplet. In the absence of additional fivebrane instantons, the quaternionic geometry of this hypermultiplet is determined by solutions of the three-dimensional Toda equation. We construct solutions describing membrane instantons, and find perfect agreement with the string theory prediction. In the context of flux compactifications we discuss how membrane instantons contribute to the scalar potential and th…
Typical de Sitter (dS) vacua of gauged supergravity correspond to saddle points of the potential and often the unstable mode runs into a singularity. We explore the possibility to obtain dS points where the unstable mode goes on both sides into a supersymmetric smooth vacuum. Within N=2 gauged supergravity coupled to the universal hypermultiplet, we have found a potential which has two supersymmetric minima (one of them can be flat) and these are connected by a de Sitter saddle point. In order to obtain this potential by an Abelian gauging, it was important to include the recently proposed qua…
The search for classically stable Type IIA de-Sitter vacua typically starts with an ansatz that gives Anti-de-Sitter supersymmetric vacua and then raises the cosmological constant by modifying the compactification. As one raises the cosmological constant, the couplings typically destabilize the classically stable vacuum, so the probability that this approach will lead to a classically stable de-Sitter vacuum is Gaussianly suppressed. This suggests that classically stable de-Sitter vacua in string theory (at least in the Type IIA region), especially those with relatively high cosmological const…
Recently, a careful canonical quantisation of the theory of closed bosonic tensionless strings has resulted in the discovery of three separate vacua and hence three different quantum theories that emerge from this single classical tensionless theory. In this note, we perform lightcone quantisation with the aim of determination of the critical dimension of these three inequivalent quantum theories. The satisfying conclusion of a rather long and tedious calculation is that one of vacua does not lead to any constraint on the number of dimensions, while the other two give $D=26$. This implies that…
A new class of metastable de Sitter vacua is presented and analyzed in N =1 supergravity and string theory with tunable (infinitesimally small) value of the cosmological constant. They are based on a gauged R-symmetry and the minimal spectrum contains a vector and a linear multiplet of the string dilaton or of a compactification modulus. In the minimum of the scalar potential supersymmetry is broken by an expectation value of both a D- and F-term.
We study string loop corrections to the gravity kinetic terms in type IIB compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds or their orbifold limits, in the presence of $D7$-branes and orientifold planes. We show that they exhibit in general a logarithmic behaviour in the large volume limit transverse to the $D7$-branes, induced by a localised four-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert action that appears at a lower order in the closed string sector, found in the past. Here, we compute the coefficient of the logarithmic corrections and use them to provide an explicit realisation of a mechanism for Kähler modu…
In this note, we review our construction of de Sitter vacua in type IIB flux compactifications, in which moduli stabilization and D-term uplifting can be combined consistently with the supergravity constraints. Here, the closed string fluxes fix the dilaton and the complex structure moduli while perturbative quantum corrections to the Kähler potential stabilize the volume Kahler modulus in an AdS_4-vacuum. Then, magnetized D7-branes provide consistent supersymmetric D-term uplifting towards dS_4. Based on hep-th/0602253.
We review the prospect of obtaining tree-level de Sitter (dS) vacua and slow-roll inflation models in string compactifications. Restricting ourselves to the closed string sector and assuming the absence of NSNS-sources, we classify the minimal classical ingredients that evade the simplest no-go theorems against dS vacua and inflation. Spaces with negative integrated curvature together with certain combinations of low-dimensional orientifold planes and low-rank RR-fluxes emerge as the most promising setups of this analysis. We focus on two well-controlled classes that lead to an effective 4D, N…
It has recently been conjectured that string theory does not admit de Sitter critical points. This note points out that in several cases, including KKLT or racetrack models, this statement is equivalent to the absence of supersymmetric Minkowski or AdS solutions. This equivalence arises from establishing the positivity of the potential in a large-radius limit, requiring a turnover of the potential before reaching an AdS vacuum. For example, this conjecture is incompatible with the simplest 1-modulus KKLT AdS supersymmetric solution.
We study the instability of de Sitter space-time (dS) under thermal radiation in different vacua. We argue that the mode function solution of a scalar field in four-dimensional dS can be separated into the incoming and outgoing modes. Different vacua for dS are realized by different combinations of positive frequency modes assigned to each solution. For a minimally coupled massless scalar field, we explicitly compute the behavior of the mode function and the corresponding energy-momentum tensor in the Unruh vacuum near the horizon, and find that the horizon area increases (decreases) in time w…
We study the stability of vacua with spontaneously broken supersymmetry in N=2 supergravity theories with only hypermultiplets. Focusing on the projection of the scalar mass matrix along the sGoldstino directions, we are able to derive a universal upper bound on the lowest mass eigenvalue. This bound only depends on the gravitino mass and the cosmological constant, but not on the details of the quaternionic manifold spanned by the scalar fields. Comparing with the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound shows that metastability requires the cosmological constant to be smaller than a certain negative crit…
Consistent uplifting of AdS vacua in string theory often requires extra light degrees of freedom in addition to those of a (Kaehler) modulus. Here we consider the possibility that de Sitter and Minkowski vacua arise due to hidden sector matter interactions. We find that, in this scheme, the hierarchically small supersymmetry breaking scale can be explained by the scale of gaugino condensation and that interesting patterns of the soft terms arise. In particular, a matter-dominated supersymmetry breaking scenario and a version of the mirage mediation scheme appear in the framework of spontaneous…
A family of de Sitter vacua introduced in hep-th/0203198 as plausible initial conditions for inflation, are discussed from the point of view of de Sitter holography. The vacua are argued to be physically acceptable and the inflationary picture provides a physical interpretation of a subfamily of de Sitter invariant vacua. Some speculations on the issue of vacuum choice and the connection between the CMBR and holography are also provided.
