Gravity Decoupling and Axionic Shift Symmetries

Abstract

We analyse the rôle of approximate axionic shift symmetries in gravity-decoupling limits arising in type II Calabi-Yau compactifications. Associated with each shift symmetry there is an axionic string whose tension constrains the gradient of the Kähler potential, as expected in regimes where gravity becomes weakly coupled. The gradients of these tensions define vector fields on moduli space, analogous to those associated with BPS particle masses. Together, they characterise the evolution of different effective field theory sectors along asymptotic limits, encoding both their coupling to gravity and their kinetic mixing. By deriving upper bounds on the inner products of these vector fields, we show that they split into mutually orthogonal subsets, one of which decouples from gravity. Finally, we relate the Laplacian of certain axionic string tensions to a divergent moduli space curvature.