Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Models of Particle Physics from Type IIB String Theory and F-theory: A Review

Anshuman Maharana, Eran Palti

TL;DR

The review addresses how type IIB string theory and its F-theory extension can yield realistic particle-physics vacua through moduli stabilization (complex structure, axio-dilaton fixed by fluxes and Kahler moduli via nonperturbative effects or α' corrections), D3-branes at singularities, and intersecting 7-branes. It compares local brane constructions with global embeddings, highlighting the spectral-cover/G-flux framework, hypercharge flux for GUT breaking, and the necessity of exceptional symmetries in F-theory to generate a perturbatively allowed top Yukawa. It emphasizes ultra-local, local, and global model-building methods, including anomaly cancellation, U(1) symmetries to control operators, and the challenges of achieving realistic Yukawas, generation structure, and gauge coupling unification within a globally consistent setting. The practical impact lies in providing a coherent, multi-faceted toolkit—ranging from D3/D7 brane constructions and toric del Pezzo singularities to F-theory GUTs and spectral covers—that guides the search for string-derived, testable particle-physics scenarios while identifying key obstacles such as global consistency and moduli stabilization in full compactifications.

Abstract

We review particle physics model building in type IIB string theory and F-theory. This is a region in the landscape where in principle many of the key ingredients required for a realistic model of particle physics can be combined successfully. We begin by reviewing moduli stabilisation within this framework and its implications for supersymmetry breaking. We then review model building tools and developments in the weakly coupled type IIB limit, for both local D3-branes at singularities and global models of intersecting D7-branes. Much of recent model building work has been in the strongly coupled regime of F-theory due to the presence of exceptional symmetries which allow for the construction of phenomenologically appealing Grand Unified Theories. We review both local and global F-theory model building starting from the fundamental concepts and tools regarding how the gauge group, matter sector and operators arise, and ranging to detailed phenomenological properties explored in the literature.

Models of Particle Physics from Type IIB String Theory and F-theory: A Review

TL;DR

The review addresses how type IIB string theory and its F-theory extension can yield realistic particle-physics vacua through moduli stabilization (complex structure, axio-dilaton fixed by fluxes and Kahler moduli via nonperturbative effects or α' corrections), D3-branes at singularities, and intersecting 7-branes. It compares local brane constructions with global embeddings, highlighting the spectral-cover/G-flux framework, hypercharge flux for GUT breaking, and the necessity of exceptional symmetries in F-theory to generate a perturbatively allowed top Yukawa. It emphasizes ultra-local, local, and global model-building methods, including anomaly cancellation, U(1) symmetries to control operators, and the challenges of achieving realistic Yukawas, generation structure, and gauge coupling unification within a globally consistent setting. The practical impact lies in providing a coherent, multi-faceted toolkit—ranging from D3/D7 brane constructions and toric del Pezzo singularities to F-theory GUTs and spectral covers—that guides the search for string-derived, testable particle-physics scenarios while identifying key obstacles such as global consistency and moduli stabilization in full compactifications.

Abstract

We review particle physics model building in type IIB string theory and F-theory. This is a region in the landscape where in principle many of the key ingredients required for a realistic model of particle physics can be combined successfully. We begin by reviewing moduli stabilisation within this framework and its implications for supersymmetry breaking. We then review model building tools and developments in the weakly coupled type IIB limit, for both local D3-branes at singularities and global models of intersecting D7-branes. Much of recent model building work has been in the strongly coupled regime of F-theory due to the presence of exceptional symmetries which allow for the construction of phenomenologically appealing Grand Unified Theories. We review both local and global F-theory model building starting from the fundamental concepts and tools regarding how the gauge group, matter sector and operators arise, and ranging to detailed phenomenological properties explored in the literature.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 34 sections, 150 equations, 7 figures, 4 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Moduli Fields and Their Stabilisation
  3. Kahler Moduli Stabilisation
  4. Soft Supersymmetry Breaking
  5. Branes at Singularities
  6. Orbifold Models
  7. Standard Model
  8. Left-Right Symmetric Models
  9. Pati-Salam Models
  10. Trinification Models
  11. Models on Del Pezzo and general Toric Singularities
  12. Intersecting 7-branes in IIB
  13. Tadpoles
  14. Chiral Spectrum
  15. Supersymmetry
  16. ...and 19 more sections

Figures (7)

  • Figure 1: The quiver for D3 and D7 branes probing a ${\mathbb{C}^{3}/ \mathbb{Z}_{3}}$ singularity.
  • Figure 2: The Standard Model at ${\mathbb{C}^{3}/ \mathbb{Z}_{3}}$
  • Figure 3: The Left-Right symmetric model at ${\mathbb{C}^{3}/ \mathbb{Z}_{3}}$
  • Figure 4: Pati-Salam models at a ${\mathbb{C}^{3}/ \mathbb{Z}_{3}}$ singularity.
  • Figure 5: Trinification Models at ${\mathbb{C}^{3}/ \mathbb{Z}_{3}}$
  • ...and 2 more figures