Split attractor flows and the spectrum of BPS D-branes on the quintic

Abstract

We investigate the spectrum of type IIA BPS D-branes on the quintic from a four dimensional supergravity perspective and the associated split attractor flow picture. We obtain some very concrete properties of the (quantum corrected) spectrum, mainly based on an extensive numerical analysis, and to a lesser extent on exact results in the large radius approximation. We predict the presence and absence of some charges in the BPS spectrum in various regions of moduli space, including the precise location of the lines of marginal stability and the corresponding decay products. We explain how the generic appearance of multiple basins of attraction is due to the presence of conifold singularities and give some specific examples of this phenomenon. Some interesting space-time features of these states are also uncovered, such as a nontrivial, moduli independent lower bound on the area of the core of arbitrary BPS solutions, whether they are black holes, empty holes, or more complicated composites.