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Abstract:

We show that under general conditions there is at least one natural inflationary direction for the Kahler moduli of type IIB flux compactifications. This requires a Calabi-Yau which has h^{2,1}>h^{1,1}>2 and for which the structure of the scalar potential is as in the recently found exponentially large volume compactifications. We also need - although these conditions may be relaxed - at least one Kahler modulus whose only non-vanishing triple-intersection is with itself and which appears by itself in the non-perturbative superpotential. Slow-roll inflation then occurs without a fine tuning of parameters, evading the eta problem of F-term inflation. In order to obtain COBE-normalised density perturbations, the stabilised volume of the Calabi-Yau must be O(10^5-10^7) in string units, and the inflationary scale M_{infl} ~ 10^{13} GeV. We find a robust model independent prediction for the spectral index of 1 - 2/N_e = 0.960 - 0.967, depending on the number of efoldings.

Abstract:

We present an explicit calculation of the spectrum of a general class of string models, corresponding to Calabi-Yau flux compactifications with h_{1,2}>h_{1,1}>1 with leading perturbative and non-perturbative corrections, in which all geometric moduli are stabilised as in hep-th/0502058. The volume is exponentially large, leading to a range of string scales from the Planck mass to the TeV scale, realising for the first time the large extra dimensions scenario in string theory. We provide a general analysis of the relevance of perturbative and non-perturbative effects and the regime of validity of the effective field theory. We compute the spectrum in the moduli sector finding a hierarchy of masses depending on inverse powers of the volume. We also compute soft supersymmetry breaking terms for particles living on D3 and D7 branes. We find a hierarchy of soft terms corresponding to `volume dominated' F-term supersymmetry breaking. F-terms for Kahler moduli dominate both those for dilaton and complex structure moduli and D-terms or other de Sitter lifting terms. This is the first class of string models in which soft supersymmetry breaking terms are computed after fixing all geometric moduli. We outline several possible applications of our results, both for cosmology and phenomenology and point out the differences with the less generic KKLT vacua.

Abstract:

We study the large volume limit of the scalar potential in Calabi-Yau flux compactifications of type IIB string theory. Under general circumstances there exists a limit in which the potential approaches zero from below, with an associated non-supersymmetric AdS minimum at exponentially large volume. Both this and its de Sitter uplift are tachyon-free, thereby fixing all Kahler and complex structure moduli, which has been difficult to achieve in the KKLT scenario. Also, for the class of vacua described in this paper, the gravitino mass is independent of the flux discretuum, whereas the ratio of the string scale to the 4d Planck scale is hierarchically small but flux dependent. The inclusion of alpha' corrections plays a crucial role in the structure of the potential. We illustrate these ideas through explicit computations for a particular Calabi-Yau manifold.