Related papers: Quantum critical superconductors in string theory …
A theorem of differential geometry is employed to locally embed a wide class of superstring backgrounds that admit a covariantly constant null Killing vector field in eleven-dimensional, Ricci-flat spaces. Included in this class are exact…
The main principles of two-dimensional quantum field theories, in particular two-dimensional QCD and gravity are reviewed. We study non-perturbative aspects of these theories which make them particularly valuable for testing ideas of…
I describe our understanding of physics near the planck length, in particular the great progress of the last four years in string theory. Superstring theory, and a recent extension called M theory, are leading candidates for a quantum…
We construct the type-IIB $AdS_4\times K$ supergravity solutions which are dual to the three-dimensional ${\cal N}=4$ superconformal field theories that arise as infrared fixed points of circular-quiver gauge theories. These superconformal…
We construct five different two-parameter massive deformations of the unique nine-dimensional N=2 supergravity. All of these deformations have a higher-dimensional origin via Scherk-Schwarz reduction and correspond to gauged supergravities.…
The four six-dimensional ``little string'' theories are all described in the infinite momentum frame (IMF) as matrix theories by non-trivial 1+1 dimensional infra-red fixed points. We characterize these fixed points using supergravity.…
A correspondence between type IIB string theory with N D7-branes on R^{1,3} x C^1/Z_2 x T^2/Z_2 x T^2/Z_2 and pure N=1 SU(N) gauge theory in four dimensions is proposed and argued. First the supergravity background of unwrapped and flat…
A theory of critical fluctuations in extreme type-II superconductors subjected to a finite but weak external magnetic field is presented. It is shown that the standard Ginzburg-Landau representation of this problem can be recast, with help…
We show that the recent string theory embedding of a spacetime with nonrelativistic Schrodinger symmetry can be generalised to a twenty one dimensional family of solutions with that symmetry. Our solutions include IIB backgrounds with no…
In this lecture we address the following issues in the context of string theories: i) The role played by S and T dualities in obtaining topological inflation in N=1 supergravity models, ii) A mechanism to generate the baryon asymmetry of…
The status of exponential scalar potentials in supergravity is reviewed, and updated. One version of N=8 D=4 supergravity with a positive exponential potential, obtainable from a `non-compactification' of M-theory, is shown to have an…
An introductory survey of some of the developments that have taken place in superstring theory in the past few years is presented. The main focus is on three particular dualities. The first one is the appearance of an 11th dimension in the…
We present a consistent Kaluza-Klein truncation of D=11 supergravity on an arbitrary seven-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein space (SE_7) to a D=4 theory containing a metric, a gauge-field, a complex scalar field and a real scalar field. We use…
The assumptions behind the recently conjectured relation between gauge theory and supergravity are elaborated on. It is pointed out that the scaling limit that preserves supergravity solutions, gives the entire DBI action on the gauge…
We describe new half-BPS cosmic string solutions in N=2, d=4 supergravity coupled to one vector multiplet and one hypermultiplet. They are closely related to D-term strings in N=1 supergravity. Fields of the N=2 theory that are frozen in…
Multi-cut two-matrix models are studied in the Z_k symmetry breaking k-cut (\hat p,\hat q) critical points which should correspond to (\hat p,\hat q) minimal k-fractional superstring theory. FZZT-brane or macroscopic loop amplitudes are…
We construct four-dimensional de Sitter space as an excited state, rather than as a vacuum configuration, in type IIB, heterotic SO(32), and heterotic E_8 \times E_8 string theories. This framework provides a mechanism to evade vacuum-based…
This text is a review of aspects of supergravity theories that are relevant in superstring cosmology. In particular, it considers the possibilities and restrictions for `uplifting terms', i.e. methods to produce de Sitter vacua. We…
A consistent theory of supersymmetry breaking must have a hidden sector, an observable sector, and must be embedded in a locally supersymmetric theory which arises from string theory. For phenomenological reasons it must also transmit…
We study large-N double-scaling limits of U(N) gauge theories in four dimensions. We focus on theories in a partially confining phase where an abelian subgroup $\hat{G}$ of the gauge group remains unconfined. Double-scaling is defined near…