Geometric structures on G2 and Spin(7)-manifolds

This article shows that given any orientable 3-manifold X, the 7-manifold T^*X x R admits a closed G_2-structure varphi=Re(Omega)+omega\wedge dt where Omega is a certain complex-valued 3-form on T^*X; next, given any 2-dimensional submanifold S of X, the conormal bundle N^*S of S is a 3-dimensional submanifold of T^*X x R such that varphi restricted to N^*S is equivalent to 0. A corollary of the proof of this result is that N^*S x R is a 4-dimensional submanifold of T^*X x R ...

In this talk we report on recent progress in describing compactifications of string theory and M-theory on G_2 and Spin(7) manifolds. We include the infinite set of alpha'-corrections and describe the entire tower of massless and massive Kaluza-Klein modes resulting from such compactifications.

The mathematical features of a string theory compactification determine the physics of the effective four-dimensional theory. For this reason, understanding the mathematical structure of the possible compactification spaces is of profound importance. It is well established that the compactification space for M-Theory must be a seven-manifold with holonomy $G_{2}$, but much else remains to be understood regarding how to achieve a physically-realistic effective theory from such...

Given a CMC surface in $R^3$, its traceless second fundamental form can be viewed as a holomorphic section called the Hopf differential. By analogy, we show that for an associative submanifold of a 7-manifold $M^7$ with $G_2$-structure, its traceless second fundamental form can be viewed as a twisted spinor. Moreover, if $M$ is $R^7$, $T^7$, or $S^7$ with the standard $G_2$-structure, then this twisted spinor is harmonic. Consequently, every non-totally-geodesic associative 3...

This is a short note on generalized $G_2$-structures obtained as a consequence of a $T$-dual construction given in a previous work of the authors together with Leonardo Soriani. Given classical $G_2$-structure on certain seven dimensional manifolds, either closed or co-closed, we obtain integrable generalized $G_2$-structures which are no longer an usual one, and with non-zero three form in general. In particular we obtain manifolds admitting closed generalized $G_2$-structur...

Let $X$ be a closed $6-$dimensional manifold with a half-closed $SU(3)-$structure. On the product manifold $X\times S^{1}$, with respect to the product $G_{2}-$structure and on a pullback vector bundle from $X$, we show that any $G_{2}-$instanton is equivalent to a Hermitian Yang-Mills connection on $X$ via a "broken gauge". This result reveals the topological type of the moduli of $G_{2}-$instantons on $X\times S^{1}$. In dimension $8$, similar result holds for moduli of $Sp...

We shall obtain unobstructed deformations of four geometric structures: Calabi-Yau, HyperK\"ahler, $\G$ and Spin(7) structures in terms of closed differential forms (calibrations). We develop a direct and unified construction of smooth moduli spaces of these four geometric structures and show that the local Torelli type theorem holds in a systematic way.

By a theorem of Mclean, the deformation space of an associative submanifold Y of an integrable G_2 manifold (M,\phi) can be identified with the kernel of a Dirac operator D:\Omega^{0}(\nu) -->\Omega^{0}(\nu) on the normal bundle \nu of Y. Here, we generalize this to the non-integrable case, and also show that the deformation space becomes smooth after perturbing it by natural parameters, which corresponds to moving Y through `pseudo-associative' submanifolds. Infinitesimally,...

This article reveals a significant connection in geometry: when the Lee form $\theta$ is normal to an almost Hermitian manifold $N$, it implies that $N$ possesses a nearly K\"ahler structure. Investigating locally conformally Spin(7) manifolds with 2-vector fields, our study provides a concise yet rigorous proof of this relationship.

There is a strong analogy between compact, torsion-free $G_2$-manifolds $(X,\varphi,*\varphi)$ and Calabi-Yau 3-folds $(Y,J,g,\omega)$. We can also generalize $(X,\varphi,*\varphi)$ to 'tamed almost $G_2$-manifolds' $(X,\varphi,\psi)$, where we compare $\varphi$ with $\omega$ and $\psi$ with $J$. Associative 3-folds in $X$, a special kind of minimal submanifold, are analogous to $J$-holomorphic curves in $Y$. Several areas of Symplectic Geometry -- Gromov-Witten theory, Qua...