Title: Minkowski and de Sitter Branes in Massive Type IIA String Theory

Abstract: One hurtle currently facing string theory is realizing vacuum solutions which describe accelerated cosmological expansion as we see both during inflation and in our contemporary dark energy dominated era. In this presentation, we will explore Minkowski and de Sitter braneworlds that reproduce effective 3-spaces of Minkowksi and de Sitter-like geometry, respectively. We discuss the stability of these models both classically and to quantum corrections in light of supersymmetry and the Swampland Conjectures of string theory.

2:00-4:00pm, Phillips 277; or by Zoom, https://unc.zoom.us/my/jobalkar