1995/12/31 by Keshav Dasgupta, Sunil Mukhi · 2 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · #Geometric Analysis and Curvature Flows #Geometric and Algebraic Topology #Homotopy and Cohomology in Algebraic Topology #Psychology #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/0550-3213(96)00070-3
published as Nucl.Phys. B465 (1996) 399-412 · Uses harvmac, 16 pages (b) or 20 pages (l). Minor changes, final version to appear in NPB
arxiv created 1996/02/05 · openalex publication_date 1996/04/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study Z2-orbifolds of 11-dimensional M-theory on tori of various dimensions. The most interesting model (besides the known S1/Z2 case) corresponds to T5/Z2, for which we argue that the resulting six-dimensional theory is equivalent to the type IIB string compactified on K3. Gravitational anomaly cancellation plays a crucial role in determining what states appear in the twisted sector. Most of the other models appear to break spacetime supersymmetry. We observe that M-theory tends to produce chiral compactifications on orbifolds, and that our results may provide an insight into the mechanism by which twisted-sector states arise in this hypothetical theory.