Gauge sector statistics of intersecting D-brane models

In this paper, which is based on the first part of the author's PhD thesis, we review the statistics of the open string sector in T-6/(Z(2) x Z(2)) orientifold compactifications of type IIA. After an introduction to the orientifold setup we discuss the two different techniques that have been developed, using either a saddle point approximation or a direct computer based method. We explain the two approaches by means of eight and six-dimensional toy models and present the results for the four-dimensional models in detail. Special emphasis is placed on models containing phenomenologically interesting gauge groups, in particular those containing a standard model, Pati-Salam or SU(5) part. (c) 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.