F-theory and experiment

There is currently a wide gulf between string theory and experiment. This is compounded by the existence of a ‘landscape’ of solutions to the string theory equations of motion, many of which are in gross violation of experimental constraints. To make contact with experiment, it is then necessary to impose some additional criteria to find potentially realistic solutions. In this article we show that requiring that the forces of the Standard Model unify, while remaining decoupled from gravity, imposes sharp restrictions. A promising class of string based models which meet both these criteria are known as F-theory GUTs. We review the main ingredients of these constructions, and how they make contact with experiment.