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ST&FI
String Theory and Fundamental Interactions

 
String Phenomenology and String Cosmology
 
 
The research activity of our team is focused both on fundamental aspects of string theory and QFT and on its low-energy implications 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 – Full Professor
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 209 1011 – e-mail: michele.cicoli@unibo.it

Federico Carta – INFN Research
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
Tel: +39 051 209 1011 – e-mail: federico.carta@bo.infn.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 – Associate Professor
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: ling.lin@unibo.it

Francisco Gil Pedro – Associate Professor and Local Coordinator
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

Luca Caraffi- PhD Student
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: luca.caraffi2@unibo.it

Vittorio Larotonda – PhD student
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: vittorio.larotonda@unibo.it

Riccardo Milioli – PhD student
Personal webpage
Via Irnerio 46, I-40126 Bologna
e-mail: riccardo.milioli2@unibo.it