F-theory compactifications for supersymmetric GUTs

We construct a family of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau four-folds Y-4 for F-theory compactifications that realize SU(5) GUTs in the low-energy limit. The three-fold base X-3 of these fibrations is almost Fano and satisfies the topological criteria required to ensure that the U(1)(Y) gauge boson remains massless, while allowing a decoupling of GUT and Planck scale physics. We study generic features of these models and the ability to engineer three chiral generations of MSSM matter. Finally, we demonstrate that it is relatively easy to implement the topological conditions required to reproduce certain successful features of local F-theory models, such as the emergence of flavor hierarchies.