Related papers: On Climbing Scalars in String Theory
The dynamics of superstring, supergravity and M theories and their compactifications are probed by studying the various perturbation theories that emerge in the strong and weak coupling limits for various directions in coupling constant…
The main problem of inflation in string theory is finding the models with a flat potential, consistent with stabilization of the volume of the compactified space. This can be achieved in the theories where the potential has (an approximate)…
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…
Unstable, non-BPS D-branes in weakly coupled ten dimensional string theory have many mysterious properties. Among other things, it is not clear what sets their tension, what is their relation to the better understood BPS D-branes, and why…
In this review, a number of approaches to superstring cosmology which make use of key features which distinguish string theory from point particle theories are discussed, with particular emphasis on emergent scenarios. One motivation for…
Tadpoles accompany, in one form or another, all attempts to realize supersymmetry breaking in String Theory, making the present constructions at best incomplete. Whereas these tadpoles are typically large, a closer look at the problem from…
String theory in two-dimensional spacetime illuminates two main threads of recent development in string theory: (1) Open/closed string duality, and (2) Tachyon condensation. In two dimensions, many aspects of these phenomena can be explored…
We investigate the space of consistent tree-level extensions of the maximal supergravities in ten dimensions. We parametrize theory space by the first few EFT coefficients and by the on-shell coupling of the lightest massive state, and…
Lattice regularizations of the bosonic string allow no tachyons. This has often been viewed as the reason why these theories have never managed to make any contact to standard continuum string theories when the dimension of spacetime is…
We discuss a new formula for the symplectic structure on the phase space of open string field theory. Revisiting the setup of Cho, Mazel, and Yin, we use the formula to compute the energy of rolling tachyon solutions on unstable D-branes.…
Metastable cosmic strings appear in models of new physics with a two-step symmetry breaking $G\to H\to 1$, where $\pi_1(H)\neq 0$ and $\pi_1(G)=0$. They decay via the monopole-antimonopole pair creation inside. Conventionally, the breaking…
The theories of brane world and multidimensional gravity are widely discussed in the literature in connection with problems of evolution of early Universe, including dark matter and energy. A natural physical concept is that a distinguished…
We consider the simplest scenario when black strings / cigars penetrate the cosmological brane. As a result, the brane has a Swiss-cheese structure, with Schwarzschild black holes immersed in a Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker…
In these lectures, I review the current status of cosmic strings and cosmic superstrings. I first discuss topological defects in the context of Grand Unified Theories, focusing in particular in cosmic strings arising as gauge theory…
In four-space-time dimensional string/brane theory, obtained either through compactification of the extra spatial dimensions, or by appropriate restriction to brane worlds with three large spatial dimensions, the rich physics potential…
Infinite distance limits in the moduli space of a quantum gravity theory are characterized by having infinite towers of states becoming light, as dictated by the Distance Conjecture in the Swampland program. These towers imply a drastic…
We consider new cosmological solutions with a collapsing, an intermediate and an expanding phase. The boundary between the expanding (collapsing) phase and the intermediate phase is seen by comoving observers as a cosmological past (future)…
The scattering amplitudes of string theory exhibit many extraordinary properties. But are they the unique mathematical objects to do so? Recently, it has been shown how the spectrum and amplitudes of open string theory follow directly from…
We consider configurations of six-branes, five-branes and eight-branes in various superstring backgrounds. These configurations give rise to $(0,1)$ supersymmetric theories in six dimensions. The condition for RR charge conservation of a…
We consider "super no-scale models" in the framework of the heterotic string, where the N=4,2,1 --> 0 spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry is induced by geometrical fluxes realizing a stringy Scherk-Schwarz perturbative mechanism.…