A Geometric Realization of Confinement

Abstract

We study the geometric realization of the Higgs phenomenon in type II string compactifications on Calabi--Yau manifolds. The string description is most directly phrased in terms of confinement of magnetic flux, with magnetic charged states arising from D-branes wrapped around chains as opposed to cycles. The rest of the closed cycle of the D-brane worldvolume is manifested as a confining flux tube emanating from the magnetic charges, in the uncompactified space. We also study corrections to hypermultiplet moduli for type II compactifications, in particular for type IIA near the conifold point.