Transitions in the Web of Heterotic Vacua

Understand

We analyze transitions between heterotic vacua with distinct gauge bundles using two complementary methods - the effective four-dimensional field theory and the corresponding geometry.

• From the viewpoint of effective field theory, such transitions occur between flat directions of the potential energy associated with heterotic stability walls.
• Geometrically, this branch structure corresponds to smooth deformations of the gauge bundle coupled to the chamber structure of K\"ahler moduli space.
• We demonstrate how such transitions can change important properties of the effective theory, including the gauge symmetry and the massless spectrum.