Flux compactifications in string theory:: A comprehensive review

We present a pedagogical overview of flux compactifications in string theory, from the basic ideas to the most recent developments. We concentrate on closed-string fluxes in type-II theories. We start by reviewing the supersymmetric flux configurations with maximally symmetric four-dimensional spaces. We then discuss the no-go theorems (and their evasion) for compactifications with fluxes. We analyze the resulting four-dimensional effective theories, as well as some of its perturbative and non-perturbative corrections, focusing on moduli stabilization. Finally, we briefly review statistical studies of flux backgrounds. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.