Related papers: Dissecting the string theory dual of QCD
In $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory without matter, there exist stable long electric fluxtube strings which carry a 1-form symmetry charge. Over the past decade or so, there has been increasing evidence from lattice calculations that the…
A method to solve various aspects of the strong coupling expansion of the superconformal field theory duals of AdS_5 x X geometries from first principles is proposed. The main idea is that at strong coupling the configurations that dominate…
We review and elaborate on properties of the string tension in two-dimensional gauge theories. The first model we consider is massive QED in the $m\ll e$ limit. We evaluate the leading string tension both in the fermionic and bosonized…
A string theory in $3$ euclidean spacetime dimensions is found to describe the semiclassical behavior of a certain exact physical state of quantum general relativity in $4$ dimensions. Both the worldsheet and the three dimensional metric…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
We show that five-dimensional anti de-Sitter space remains a solution to low-energy type IIB supergravity when the leading higher-derivative corrections to the classical supergravity (which are non-perturbative in the string coupling) are…
We search for a possible bosonic (i.e. non-supersymmetric) string/gauge theory correspondence by using IIB and 0B strings as a guide. Our construction is based on the low-energy bosonic string effective action modified by an extra form…
We apply the techniques of the ``universal string theory'' to the ``manifold'' paradigm for superstring/M-theory and come up with a candidate manifold: the manifold of F-theory vacua, defined in conformal field theoretical terms. It…
We consider M-theory in the presence of M parallel M5-branes probing a transverse A_{N-1} singularity. This leads to a superconformal theory with (1,0) supersymmetry in six dimensions. We compute the supersymmetric partition function of…
We argue that a class of ``non-critical superstring'' vacua is holographically related to the (non-gravitational) theory obtained by studying string theory on a singular Calabi-Yau manifold in the decoupling limit $g_s\to 0$. In two…
I present a new class of topological string theories, and discuss them in two dimensions as candidates for the string description of large-$N$ QCD. The starting point is a new class of topological sigma models, whose path integral is…
We study strong coupling effects in four-dimensional heterotic string models where supersymmetry is spontaneously broken with large internal dimensions, consistently with perturbative unification of gauge couplings. These effects give rise…
The properties of a string-inspired two-dimensional theory of gravity are studied. The post-Newtonian and weak-field approximations, `stellar' structure and cosmological solutions of this theory are developed. Some qualitative similarities…
By utilizing the gauge symmetries of Two-Time Physics (2T-physics), a superstring with linearly realized global SU(2,2|4) supersymmetry in 4+2 dimensions (plus internal degrees of freedom) is constructed. It is shown that the dynamics of…
I investigate two discrete models of random geometries, namely simplicial quantum gravity and quantum string theory. In four-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity, I show that the addition of matter gauge fields to the model is capable of…
We propose an exotic geometric M-theory dual for the weak coupling Type 0A string: compactification on a sub-Planckian $S^1\vee S^1$ (two circles connected at a point), where strong quantum effects lead to fields living on distinct…
String theory is the most promising candidate for the theory unifying all interactions including gravity. It has an extremely difficult dynamics. Therefore, it is useful to study some its simplifications. One of them is non-critical string…
We study string theory in supersymmetric time-dependent backgrounds. In the framework of general relativity, supersymmetry for spacetimes without flux implies the existence of a covariantly constant null vector, and a relatively simple form…
The doubled formulation of string theory, which is T-duality covariant and enlarges spacetime with extra coordinates conjugate to winding number, is reformulated and its geometric and topological features examined. It is used to formulate…
By analytically continuing the string equations of the subcritical Type 0A (2, 4|m|) minimal string theories, we reveal a whole new family of differential and integro-differential equations associated with the naively supercritical (2,…