Abstract. We study the large volume limit of the scalar potential in Calabi-Yau flux compactifications of type IIB string theory. Under general circumstances there exists a limit in which the potential approaches zero from below, with an associated non-supersymmetric AdS minimum at exponentially large volume. Both this and its de Sitter uplift are tachyon-free, thereby fixing all Kähler and complex structure moduli. Also, for the class of vacua described in this paper, the gravitino mass is independent of the flux discretuum, whereas the ratio of the string scale to the 4d Planck scale is hierarchically small but flux dependent. The inclusion of α' corrections plays a crucial role in the structure of the potential. We illustrate these ideas through explicit computations for a particular Calabi-Yau manifold.

Key words: Superstrings and Heterotic Strings; Superstring Vacua

E-print number: hep-th/0502058
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Received 28 February 2005, accepted for publication 1 March 2005
Published 30 March 2005