Clarify provenance and resolve singularities in 10D Romans supergravity de Sitter solutions

Determine the string-theoretic provenance of ten-dimensional Romans (massive IIA) supergravity and develop a method to handle the singularities that arise in its classical de Sitter solutions, such as those studied by Cordova, De Luca, and Tomasiello, in order to place these solutions on firm microscopic footing.

Background

In discussing attempts to evade de Sitter no-go theorems at the classical level, the authors highlight massive IIA (Romans) supergravity as a notable exception that can yield de Sitter solutions. However, they emphasize two unresolved aspects that limit its reliability as a candidate for de Sitter in string theory: the incomplete understanding of its stringy origin and the presence of singularities whose treatment is not presently known.

Addressing both questions is essential to assessing whether massive IIA supergravity provides controlled de Sitter backgrounds compatible with string theory, analogous to the control sought in gauged chiral 6D supergravity and F-theory compactifications examined in the paper.