Flux Compactification of M-theory, Cosmology and the Standard Model of Elementary Particles

M理论、宇宙学和基本粒子标准模型的磁通紧凑化PI：Melanie Becker研究所：马里兰大学这个提议的目标之一是建立现象学上现实的模型，能够解释由WMAP数据、超新星观测和HST数据记录的小而正的宇宙学常数。解释宇宙常数的值自古以来就是理论物理的一个具有挑战性的问题。弦理论现在确实拥有了非常精确地解决这个问题的基本工具，正如本提案中所建议的那样。以同样的精度处理宇宙学、膨胀和我们当前宇宙的结构是可能的。回答这些问题的一个关键因素是弦理论和具有非零通量的M-理论紧致化。沿着这一方向将提出几个项目。由于超引力和强耦合规范理论之间的二元性，诸如QCD中的禁闭等重要问题原则上可以在此背景下自然地描述。这项拟议的工作主要探索了弦理论的“景观”，即动态有趣的弦压缩空间。这是弦理论中一个不断发展并具有长期意义的领域。在这项建议中，PI探索了新类型的紧凑化，即杂性M理论和非Kahler理论，而大多数早期的工作集中在IIB通量模型(PI也帮助开创了该模型)。

Flux Compactification of M-theory, Cosmology and the Standard Model of Elementary Particles PI: Melanie Becker Institution: University of Maryland One of the goals of this proposal is to construct phenomenologically realistic models that can explain the small and positive cosmological constant recorded by the WMAP data, supernova observations and the HST data. Explaining the value of the cosmological constant has been a challenging problem for theoretical physics since ancient times. String theory does now have the basic tools to address this question very precisely as will be suggested in this proposal. With the same precision it is possible to address cosmology, inflation and the structure of our current universe. A crucial ingredient to answer these questions is string theory and M-theory compactifications with non-vanishing fluxes. Several projects will be suggested along this direction. Due to the duality between supergravity and strongly coupled gauge theories, important issues such as confinement in QCD could in principle be naturally described in this context. The proposed work largely explores the 'landscape' of string theory, the space of dynamically interesting string compactifications. This is an area of growing and long-term significance in string theory. The PI explores in this proposal new types of compactifications, namely heterotic M-theory and non-Kahler, whereas most earlier work has focused on the IIB flux models (which the PI also helped pioneer).