D-brane and F-theory Model Building

Understand

We review recent progress in the construction of four-dimensional vacua of Type II string theory and F-theory which yield the Standard Model of particle physics (SM) or extensions thereof.

• In Type II orientifold compactifications the SM gauge group and chiral spectrum arise from the open string sector of the theory, namely from stacks of D-branes.
• The universal features of the chiral spectrum between various sets of D-branes allow for a general approach to build realistic models, which can be implemented in different setups.
• We describe the realisation of this strategy in Type II Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications and Rational Conformal Field Theories, discussing the specific model building rules and features of each setting.