CP violation and modular symmetries -: art. no. 056005

We reconsider the origin of CP violation in fundamental theory. Existing string models of spontaneous CP violation make ambiguous predictions, due to the arbitrariness of CP transformation and the apparent noninvariance of the results under duality. We find a modular CP invariance condition, applicable to any predictive model of spontaneous CP violation, which circumvents these problems; it strongly constrains CP violation by heterotic string moduli. The dilaton is also evaluated as a source of CP violation, but is likely experimentally excluded. We consider the prospects for explaining CP violation in strongly coupled strings and brane worlds.