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ST&FI
String Theory and Fundamental Interactions
 
String Phenomenology and String Cosmology
 
 
The research activity of our team is focused on the low-energy implications of string theory for particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In particular we study the low-energy four-dimensional limit of string compactifications with branes, orientifolds and fluxes. These are also characterised by the presence of moduli which mediate fifth-forces and determine, via their vacuum expectation values, the features of the effective low-energy theory. In order to avoid phenomenological problems and make predictions, the moduli have to become massive via moduli stabilisation. The dynamics underlying moduli stabilisation controls also crucial phenomenological features like supersymmetry breaking, the spectrum of soft terms, the vacuum energy and inflation. A viable string compactification should reproduce what we already know about both particle physics (the Standard Model with possible supersymmetric or GUT generalisations thereof) and cosmology (inflation, reheating, dark matter, matter-antimatter asymmetry and dark energy). The long-term plan of our team is to build a complete model where moduli stabilisation and a phenomenologically viable model building are performed simultaneously within the framework of Calabi-Yau flux compactifications.

 
 

Staff members

Michele Cicoli – Associate Professor and Local coordinator
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 209 1011 – e-mail: michele.cicoli@unibo.it

Antonella Grassi – Full Professor
Personal webpage
Piazza di Porta San Donato 5, 40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 20 9 4451 – e-mail: antonella.grassi3@unibo.it

Ling Lin – Senior Assistant professor
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: ling.lin@unibo.it

Francisco Gil Pedro – Senior Assistant Professor
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 209 1166 – e-mail: francisco.soares@unibo.it

Gianmassimo Tasinato – Associate Professor
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: gianmassimo.tasinato@unibo.it

Max Brinkmann – Postdoc
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: brinkmann@pd.infn.it

Osmin Lacombe – Postdoc
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: deriusosmin.lacombe@unibo.it

Ratul Mahanta – Postdoc
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: mahanta@bo.infn.it

Matteo Licheri – PhD student
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: matteo.licheri@unibo.it

Nicola Pedron – PhD student
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: nicola.pedron2@unibo.it

Pellegrino Piantadosi – PhD student
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: pellegrin.piantados2@unibo.it