Geometry of Type Ii Superstrings and the Moduli of Superconformal Field Theories

We study general properties of the low-energy effective theory for 4D type II superstrings obtained by the compactification on an abstract (2,2) superconformal system. This is the basic step towards the construction of their moduli space. We give an explicit and general algorithm to convert the effective Lagrangian for the type IIA into that of type IIB superstring defined by the same (2,2) superconformal system (and vice versa). This map converts Kahler manifolds into quaternionic ones (and quaternionic into Kahlerian ones) and has a deep geometrical meaning. The relationship with the theory of normal quaternionic manifolds (and algebras), as well as with Jordan algebras, is outlined. It turns out that only a restricted class of quarternionic geometries is allowed in the string case. We derive a general and explicit formula for the (fully nonlinear) couplings of the vector-multiplets (IIA case) in terms of the basic three-point functions of the underlying superconformal theory. A number of illustrative examples is also presented.