The Geometer's Toolkit to String Compactifications

Abstract

These lecture notes are meant to serve as an introduction to some geometric constructions and techniques (in particular the ones of toric geometry) often employed by the physicist working on string theory compactifications. The emphasis is wholly on the geometry side, not on the physics. The treated topics include toroidal orbifolds, methods of toric geometry, desinglularization of toroidal orbifolds and their orientifold quotients.

Lecture notes based on lectures given at the Workshop on String and M-Theory Approaches to Particle Physics and Astronomy, Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics, Arcetri (Firenze). 52 pages