Formulate a mathematically rigorous definition of F-theory

Develop a mathematically rigorous formulation of F-theory that justifies the effective six-dimensional supergravity reductions and uplifts used to construct four-dimensional de Sitter solutions.

Background

The paper employs F-theory via its M-theory realization to derive a class of 6D (1,0) supergravity theories. While this framework has strong heuristic and practical support, the authors note that a fully rigorous formulation of F-theory is still lacking.

A rigorous formulation would strengthen the foundations of the 6D-to-10D connection used here and would broadly impact the mathematical underpinnings of flux compactifications and moduli stabilization in F-theory.