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通量紧致化PI：Melanie Becker研究所：马里兰州大学该提案的目标之一是构建现象学上现实的模型，可以解释WMAP数据、超新星观测和HST数据记录的小而正的宇宙学常数。解释宇宙学常数的值自古以来就是理论物理学的一个挑战性问题。弦理论现在确实有基本的工具来非常精确地解决这个问题，这将在这个提议中提出。以同样的精度，我们可以解决宇宙学、暴胀和我们当前宇宙的结构。回答这些问题的一个关键要素是弦理论和M理论的非零通量紧化。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对偶性，QCD中的重要问题，如禁闭，原则上可以自然地描述在这种情况下。拟议的工作主要探讨了弦理论的“景观”，动态有趣的弦紧化空间。在弦理论中，这是一个日益重要的领域。PI在这个提议中探索了新类型的紧化，即杂种优势M理论和非Kahler，而大多数早期的工作都集中在IIB通量模型（PI也帮助开创了这个模型）。

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).