Related papers: The Catenary Revisited: From Newtonian Strings to …

String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…

We present an overview of the intimate relationship between string and D-brane dynamics, and the dynamics of gauge and gravitational fields in three spacetime dimensions. The successes, prospects and open problems in describing both…

We present a generalization of the string's Polyakov action that describes a conformally invariant four dimensional brane. The new extended object is very different from the traditional D-branes of string theory, but, nevertheless, shares…

We propose a class of models in which extended objects are introduced in Chern-Simons supergravity in such a way that those objects appear on the same footing as the target space. This is motivated by the idea that branes are already first…

A large class of supersymmetric extended objects is considered from the viewpoint of embeddings of super worldsurfaces into target superspaces. It is shown that a simple geometrical condition leads to the equations of motion for the brane…

It has been known long time ago that the low energy dynamics of open-strings is described by non-abelian gauge theories in the same way that the low energy effective description of closed strings is governed by Einstein's gravity. In this…

We recall the special features of quantum dynamics on a light-front (in an infinite momentum frame) in string and field theory. The reason this approach is more effective for string than for fields is stressed: the light-front dynamics for…

We give a simple and self contained introduction to quaternions and their practical usage in dynamics. The rigid body dynamics are presented in full details. In the appendix, some more exotic relations are given that allow to write more…

Besides the familiar D-branes, string theory contains a vast number of other non-perturbative objects. While a complete classification is lacking, many of these objects are related to each other through various dualities. Codimension two…

The study of the so called brane world models has introduced completely new ways of looking up on standard problems in many areas of theoretical physics. Inspired in the recent developments of string theory, the Brane World picture involves…

Following is a collection of lecture notes on D-branes, which may be used by the reader as preparation for applications to modern research applications such as: the AdS/CFT and other gauge theory/geometry correspondences, Matrix Theory and…

We consider brane-world scenarios embedded into string theory. We find that the D-brane backreaction induces a large increase in the open string's proper length. Consequently the stringy nature of elementary particles can be detected at…

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…

This presentation is intended to give a flavour of the physics to be studied and discovered by exploiting the interface between string theory, M-theory and field theory provided by the dynamics of extended objects called `branes', and their…

A couple of issues concerning the effective dynamics of D-branes in string theory are discussed. Primarily, I am concerned with linearization of the actions by introduction of non-propagating fields and a full super- and kappa-symmetric…

String Theory is a hot topic of physics and mathematics. For the former, it stands as a huge sandbox where the formulation of difficult problems can be simplified and their hard computations carried out. For the latter, it stands as a…

We discuss superstring theory based on the reader's intuition and her college knowledge of general physics and calculus. Nowadays, superstring theory is considered the best candidate to explain physical phenomena that involve all of the…

As an expansion of complex numbers, the quaternions show close relations to numerous physically fundamental concepts. In spite of that, the didactic potential provided by quaternion interrelationships in formulating physical laws are hardly…

Over the last few years, string theory has changed profoundly. Most importantly, novel duality relations have emerged which involve gauge theories of brane excitations on one side and various closed string backgrounds on the other. In this…

An overview is presented of some cosmological aspects of string theory. Recent developments are emphasised, especially the attempts to derive inflation or alternatives to inflation from the dynamics of branes in string theory. Time…