https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-008-0545-2
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
On the low energy spectra of the non-supersymmetric heterotic string theories
1
Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZL, UK
2
Department of Physics and Institute of Plasma Physics, University of Crete, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
* e-mail: faraggi@sune.amtp.liv.ac.uk
Received:
9
January
2008
Published online:
16
February
2008
The ten dimensional string theories as well as eleven dimensional supergravity are conjectured to arise as limits of a more basic theory, traditionally dubbed M-theory. This notion is confined to the ten dimensional supersymmetric theories. String theory, however, also contains ten dimensional non-supersymmetric theories that have not been incorporated into this picture. In this note we explore the possibility of generating the low energy spectra of various non-supersymmetric heterotic string vacua from the Horava–Witten model. We argue that this can be achieved by imposing on the Horava–Witten model an invariance with respect to some extra operators which identify the orbifold fixed planes in a non-trivial way, and we demonstrate it for the E8 and SO(16)×SO(16) heterotic string vacua in ten dimensions.
© Springer-Verlag , 2008
