In this paper, we employ genetic algorithms to explore the landscape of type IIB flux vacua. We show that genetic algorithms can efficiently scan the landscape for viable solutions satisfying various criteria. More specifically, we consider a symmetric T 6 as well as the conifold region of a Calabi-Yau hypersurface. We argue that in both cases genetic algorithms are powerful tools for finding flux vacua with interesting phenomenological properties. We also compare genetic algorithms to algorithms based on different breeding mechanisms as well as random walk approaches.

We argue that the Standard Model quiver can be embedded into compact Calabi-Yau geometries through orientifolded D3-branes at del Pezzo singularities dPn with n ≥ 5 in a framework including moduli stabilisation. To illustrate our approach, we explicitly construct a local dP5 model via a combination of Higgsing and orientifolding. This procedure reduces the original dP5 quiver gauge theory to the Left-Right symmetric model with three families of quarks and leptons as well as a Higgs sector to further break the symmetries to the Standard Model gauge group. We embed this local model in a globally consistent Calabi-Yau flux compactification with tadpole and Freed-Witten anomaly cancellations. The model features closed string moduli stabilisation with a de Sitter minimum from T-branes, supersymmetry broken by the Kähler moduli, and the MSSM as the low energy spectrum. We further discuss phenomenological and cosmological implications of this construction.

Extracting reliable low-energy information from string compactifications notoriously requires a detailed understanding of the UV sensitivity of the corresponding effective field theories. Despite past efforts in computing perturbative string corrections to the tree-level action, neither a systematic approach nor a unified framework has emerged yet. We make progress in this direction, focusing on the moduli dependence of perturbative corrections to the 4D scalar potential of type IIB Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications. We proceed by employing two strategies. First, we use two rescaling symmetries of type IIB string theory to infer the dependence of any perturbative correction on both the dilaton and the Calabi-Yau volume. Second, we use F/M-theory duality to conclude that KK reductions on elliptically-fibred Calabi-Yau fourfolds of the M-theory action at any order in the derivative expansion can only generate (α′)even corrections to the 4D scalar potential, which, moreover, all vanish for trivial fibrations. We finally give evidence that (α′)odd effects arise from integrating out KK and winding modes on the elliptic fibration and argue that the leading no-scale breaking effects at string tree-level arise from (α′)3 effects, modulo potential logarithmic corrections.

We search for effective axions with super-Planckian decay constants in type IIB string models. We argue that such axions can be realised as long winding trajectories in complex-structure moduli space by an appropriate flux choice. Our main findings are: The simplest models with aligned winding in a 2-axion field space fail due to a general no-go theorem. However, equally simple models with misaligned winding, where the effective axion is not close to any of the fundamental axions, appear to work to the best of our present understanding. These models have large decay constants but no large monotonic regions in the potential, making them unsuitable for large-field inflation. We also show that our no-go theorem can be avoided by aligning three or more axions. We argue that, contrary to misaligned models, such models can have both large decay constants and large monotonic regions in the potential. Our results may be used to argue against the refined Swampland Distance Conjecture and strong forms of the axionic Weak Gravity Conjecture. It becomes apparent, however, that realising inflation is by far harder than just producing a light field with large periodicity.1 This can be viewed as the Higgsing of several 0-forms by (−1)-forms [44][45][46], such that a single 0-form with large f survives. Similarly, several 1-forms can be Higgsed by 0-forms to challenge the WGC for vector fields [47]. Thus, establishing the original proposal of [10] would be important to evaluate how much trust one can put in the subsequent more general claim of [47]. 2 Shift-symmetric complex-structure moduli have been considered in the context of inflation before, e.g., as complex-structure moduli of 4-folds or D7-brane moduli [52][53][54][55][56][57][58] as well as in the 3-fold case [59,60]. 3 See, however, [50, 51] for a critical discussion of large field ranges in type IIB models at the conifold point. For very recent optimistic analyses in a rather different approach see [62,63].4 This is true modulo the small-action loophole pointed out in [13] (see also [64]). 5 Another reason why, despite its name, the Strong WGC is less strong than the Smallest Charge WGC is that its 1-form version does not have any implications for the spectrum of the low-energy EFT. In particular, if only the Strong WGC holds, the inequality m qg [3] can be satisfied by states with arbitrarily large charges and, hence, arbitrarily large masses. 6 See also the less restrictive Tower WGC [66], where the WGC is also satisfied by a large number of states but they do not necessarily occupy a sub-lattice in charge space.

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We explore the far-from-equilibrium dynamics of Bose gases in a universal regime associated to nonthermal fixed points. While previous investigations concentrated on scaling functions and exponents describing equal-time correlations, we compute the additional scaling functions and dynamic exponent z characterizing the frequency dependence or dispersion from unequal-time correlations. This allows us to compare the characteristic condensation and correlation times from a finite-size scaling analysis depending on the system's volume. arXiv:1612.03038v1 [cond-mat.quant-gas]

The classification of 4D reflexive polytopes by Kreuzer and Skarke allows for a systematic construction of Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces as fine, regular, star triangulations (FRSTs). Until now, the vastness of this geometric landscape remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we construct Calabi-Yau orientifolds from holomorphic reflection involutions of such hypersurfaces with Hodge numbers h1,1≤ 12. In particular, we compute orientifold configurations for all favourable FRSTs for h1,1≤ 7, while randomly sampling triangulations for each pair of Hodge numbers up to h1,1 = 12. We find explicit string compactifications on these orientifolded Calabi-Yaus for which the D3-charge contribution coming from Op-planes grows linearly with the number of complex structure and Kähler moduli. We further consider non-local D7-tadpole cancellation through Whitney branes. We argue that this leads to a significant enhancement of the total D3-tadpole as compared to conventional SO(8) stacks with (4 + 4) D7-branes on top of O7-planes. In particular, before turning-on worldvolume fluxes, we find that the largest D3-tadpole in this class occurs for Calabi-Yau threefolds with $$ \left({h}_{+}^{1,1},{h}_{-}^{1,2}\right) $$ h + 1 , 1 h − 1 , 2 = (11, 491) with D3-brane charges |QD3| = 504 for the local D7 case and |QD3| = 6, 664 for the non-local Whitney branes case, which appears to be large enough to cancel tadpoles and allow fluxes to stabilise all complex structure moduli. Our data is publicly available under the following link https://github.com/AndreasSchachner/CY_Orientifold_database.

Moduli stabilisation in superstring compactifications on Calabi-Yau orientifolds remains a key challenge in the search for realistic string vacua. In particular, odd moduli arising from the reduction of 2-forms (B2, C2) in type IIB are largely unexplored despite their relevance for inflationary model building. This article provides novel insights into the general structure of 4D $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 1 F-term scalar potentials at higher orders in the α′ and gs expansion for arbitrary Hodge numbers. We systematically examine superpotential contributions with distinct moduli dependences which are induced by fluxes or non-perturbative effects. Initially, we prove the existence of a no-scale structure for odd moduli in the presence of (α′)3 corrections to the Kähler potential. By studying a partially SL(2, ℤ)-completed form of the Kähler potential, we derive the exact no-scale breaking effects at the closed string 1-loop and non-perturbative D-instanton level. These observations allow us to present rigorous expressions for the F-term scalar potential applicable to arbitrary numbers of moduli in type IIB Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications. Finally, we compute the Hessian for odd moduli and discuss potential phenomenological implications.