We study the symmetry breaking mechanism under which a 6d orbifold compactification of the 10d heterotic string turns into a smooth Calabi--Yau compactification. This process is naturally required to preserve N=1 supersymmetry ...
String theory represents a unifying framework for quantum field theory as well as for general relativity combining them into a theory of quantum gravity. The topological string is a subsector of the full string theory ...