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 $\overline{\mathrm{D}3}$-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 much greater than the cosmological time scale of ${10}^{10}\mathrm{yr}.$ We also prove, under certain conditions, that the lifetime of dS space in string theory will always be shorter than the recurrence time.

/pdf/de-sitter-vacua-in-string-theory-2gp3ty8kg8.pdf

De Sitter vacua in string theory

Generalized complex geometry, as developed by Hitchin, contains complex and symplectic geometry as its extremal special cases. In this thesis, we explore novel phenomena exhibited by this geometry, such as the natural action of a B-field. We provide new examples, including some on manifolds admitting no known complex or symplectic structure. We prove a generalized Darboux theorem which yields a local normal form for the geometry. We show that there is an elliptic deformation theory and establish the existence of a Kuranishi moduli space. 
We then define the concept of a generalized Kahler manifold. We prove that generalized Kahler geometry is equivalent to a bi-Hermitian geometry with torsion first discovered by physicists. We then use this result to solve an outstanding problem in 4-dimensional bi-Hermitian geometry: we prove that there exists a Riemannian metric on the complex projective plane which admits exactly two distinct Hermitian complex structures with equal orientation. 
Finally, we introduce the concept of generalized complex submanifold, and show that such sub-objects correspond to D-branes in the topological A- and B-models of string theory.

Generalized complex geometry

Flux compactifications in string theory: A Comprehensive review

The geometric Langlands program can be described in a natural way by compactifying on a Riemann surface C a twisted version of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. The key ingredients are electric-magnetic duality of gauge theory, mirror symmetry of sigma-models, branes, Wilson and 't Hooft operators, and topological field theory. Seemingly esoteric notions of the geometric Langlands program, such as Hecke eigensheaves and D-modules, arise naturally from the physics.

https://www.intlpress.com/site/pub/files/_fulltext/journals/cntp/2007/0001/0001/CNTP-2007-0001-0001-a001.pdf

Electric-Magnetic Duality And The Geometric Langlands Program

The zero modes of closed strings on a torus — the torus coordinates plus dual coordinates conjugate to winding number — parameterize a doubled torus. In closed string field theory, the string field depends on all zero-modes and so can be expanded to give an infinite set of fields on the doubled torus. We use string field theory to construct a theory of massless fields on the doubled torus. Key to the consistency is a constraint on fields and gauge parameters that arises from the L0−0 = 0 condition in closed string theory. The symmetry of this double field theory includes usual and `dual diffeomorphisms', together with a T-duality acting on fields that have explicit dependence on the torus coordinates and the dual coordinates. We find that, along with gravity, a Kalb-Ramond field and a dilaton must be added to support both usual and dual diffeomorphisms. We construct a fully consistent and gauge invariant action on the doubled torus to cubic order in the fields. We discuss the challenges involved in the construction of the full nonlinear theory. We emphasize that the doubled geometry is physical and the dual dimensions should not be viewed as an auxiliary structure or a gauge artifact.

Double Field Theory

Generalized complex geometry encompasses complex and symplectic ge- ometry as its extremal special cases. We explore the basic properties of this geometry, including its enhanced symmetry group, elliptic deforma- tion theory, relation to Poisson geometry, and local structure theory. We also dene and study generalized complex branes, which interpolate be- tween at bundles on Lagrangian submanifolds and holomorphic bundles on complex submanifolds.

/pdf/generalized-complex-geometry-btdputtm9s.pdf

Reduction of Courant algebroids and generalized complex structures

We first extend the notion of connection in the context of Courant algebroids to obtain a new characterization of generalized Kaehler geometry. We then establish a new notion of isomorphism between holomorphic Poisson manifolds, which is non-holomorphic in nature. Finally we show an equivalence between certain configurations of branes on Poisson varieties and generalized Kaehler structures, and use this to construct explicitly new families of generalized Kaehler structures on compact holomorphic Poisson manifolds equipped with positive Poisson line bundles (e.g. Fano manifolds). We end with some speculations concerning the connection to non-commutative algebraic geometry.

Branes on Poisson varieties

We describe how generalized complex geometry, which interpolates between complex and symplectic geometry, is compatible with T-duality, a relation between quantum field theories discovered by physicists. T-duality relates topologically distinct torus bundles, and prescribes a method for transporting geometrical structures between them. We describe how this relation may be understood as a Courant algebroid isomorphism between the spaces in question. This then allows us to transport Dirac structures, generalized Riemannian metrics, generalized complex and generalized Kahler structures, extending the 'Buscher rules' well-known to physicists. Finally, we re-interpret T-duality as a Courant reduction, and explain that T-duality between generalized complex manifolds may be viewed as a generalized complex submanifold (D-brane) of the product, in a way that establishes a direct analogy with the Fourier-Mukai transform.

/pdf/generalized-complex-geometry-and-t-duality-dqofvoip5x.pdf

Marco Gualtieri

Papers

Generalized complex geometry

Generalized complex geometry

Reduction of Courant algebroids and generalized complex structures

Branes on Poisson varieties

Generalized complex geometry and T-duality