Related papers: String theory dualities and supergravity divergenc…
The constraints imposed by maximal supersymmetry on multi-loop contributions to the scattering of four open superstrings in the U(N) theory are examined by use of the pure spinor formalism. The double-trace term k^2 t_8(tr F^2)^2 (where k…
An overview is given of the way in which the unification program of particle physics has evolved into the proposal of superstring theory as a prime candidate for unifying quantum gravity with the other forces and particles of nature. A key…
Three subjects are considered here: a self-dual non-critical string that appears in Type IIB superstring theory at points in ${\rm K3}$ moduli space where the Type IIA theory has extended gauge symmetry; a conformal field theory singularity…
One expects type II string theory to be the unique ultraviolet completion of maximal supergravity. Motivated by the recent computation of the unitary bound on the leading Wilson coefficient within the S-matrix bootstrap, we analyse the…
We construct zero-temperature solutions of supergravity theories in five and four dimensions which interpolate between two copies of anti-de Sitter space, one of which preserves an abelian gauge symmetry while the other breaks it. These…
We show that certain type II string amplitudes at genus $g$ are given by the topological partition function $F_g$ discussed recently by Bershadsky, Cecotti, Ooguri and Vafa. These amplitudes give rise to a term in the four-dimensional…
Four-graviton couplings in the low energy effective action of type II string vacua compactified on tori are strongly constrained by supersymmetry and U-duality. While the $R^4$ and $D^4 R^4$ couplings are known exactly in terms of…
The monodromy relations in string theory provide a powerful and elegant formalism to understand some of the deepest properties of tree-level field theory amplitudes, like the color-kinematics duality. This duality has been instrumental in…
We consider the AdS/CFT correspondence between the beta-deformed supersymmetric gauge theory and the type IIB string theory on the Lunin-Maldacena background. Guided by gauge theory results, we modify and extend the supergravity solution of…
We review exact results obtained for R^4 couplings in maximally supersymmetric type II string theories. These couplings offer a privileged scene to understand the rules of semiclassical calculus in string theory. Upon expansion in weak…
A field theory approach to summing threshold effects to the gauge couplings in a two-torus compactification is presented and the link with the (heterotic) string calculation is carefully investigated. We analyse whether the complete UV…
We derive Schwinger-Dyson equations for the Wilson loops of a type IIB matrix model. Superstring coordinates are introduced through the construction of the loop space. We show that the continuum limit of the loop equation reproduces the…
Gravity duals for little string theories --- which give rise to four-dimensional theories that undergo permanent confinement in the infrared --- have not been studied in great detail. We address this question in the framework of heterotic…
It is pointed out that string-loop effects may generate matter couplings for the dilaton allowing this scalar partner of the tensorial graviton to stay massless while contributing to macroscopic gravity in a way naturally compatible with…
A brief review of the status of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The evidence is accumulating rapidly that an enormous group of duality symmetries, including perturbative T dualities and non-perturbative S-dualities,…
String theory avoids the ultraviolet infinities that arise in trying to quantize gravity. It is also more predictive than conventional quantum field theory, one aspect of this being the way that it contributed to the emergence of the…
We analyse divergences of the scalar curvature $R$ of the vector multiplet moduli space of type IIA string theory compactified on a Calabi--Yau $X$, along infinite-distance large volume limits. Extending previous results, we classify the…
It has been speculated in the literature that the effective actions of string theories at any order of $\alpha'$ should be invariant under the Buscher rules plus their higher covariant derivative corrections. This may be used as a…
The heterotic string theory, compactified to four dimensions, has been conjectured to have a duality symmetry (S duality) that transforms the dilaton nonlinearly. If valid, this symmetry could provide an important means of obtaining…
Based on the recent developments of explicit computations at 2 loops in superstring theory in the covariant RNS formalism, we propose an explicit formula for the arbitrary loop 4-particle amplitude in superstring theory. We prove that this…