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One of the simplest time-dependent solutions of M theory consists of nine-dimensional Euclidean space times 1+1-dimensional compactified Milne space-time. With a further modding out by Z_2, the space-time represents two orbifold planes…
The strong coupling limit of a quantum system is in general quite complicated, but in some cases a great simplification occurs: the strongly coupled limit is equivalent to the weakly coupled limit of some other system. In string theory…
This essay is a nontechnical primer for a broader audience, in which I paint a broad-brush picture of modern cosmology. I begin by reviewing the evidence for the big bang, including the expansion of our Universe, the cosmic microwave…
The weakly coupled vacuum of $E_8\otimes E_8$ heterotic string theory remains an attractive scenario for phenomenolgy and cosmology. The particle spectrum is reviewed and the issues of gauge coupling unification, dilaton stabilization and…
We consider a class of conformal models describing closed strings in axially symmetric stationary magnetic flux tube backgrounds. These models are closed string analogs of the Landau model of a particle in a magnetic field or the model of…
We present some phenomenological aspects of the pre-big-bang cosmological model inspired by the duality properties of string theory. In particular, assuming the spatial sections of the homogeneous background geometry to be isotropic, we…
We discuss the possibility that, besides the usual gravitational lensing, there may exist a sort of gravitational waveguiding in cosmology which could explain some anomalous phenomena which cannot be understood by the current gravitational…
For two decades the hot big-bang model has been referred to as the standard cosmology -- and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not addressed by the standard cosmology and…
We review the current status of the singularity problem in string theory for non-experts. After the problem is discussed from the point of view of supergravity, we discuss classic examples and recent examples of singularity resolution in…
The Friedmann cosmological solution of the standard Einstein gravitational field equation has a curvature singularity at a moment in time known as the Big Bang. It has been suggested that this Big Bang curvature singularity can be…
Talk given at the ``4th Hellenic School on Elementary Particle Physics", Corfu, 2-20 September 1992: The propagation of strings in cosmological space-time backgrounds is reviewed. We show the relation of a special class of cosmological…
The cosmological constant problem represents an evident tension between our present description of gravity and particle physics. Many solutions have been proposed, but experimental tests are always difficult or impossible to perform and…
A set of temporal singularities (transients) in the mass-energy density and pressure, bearing a specific mathematical structure which represents a new solution to the continuity equation (\ie~conservation of mass-energy) and satisfying the…
We present a simplified dynamic-vacuum-energy model for a time-symmetric Milne-like universe. The big bang singularity in this simplified model, like the one in a previous model, is just a coordinate singularity with finite curvature and…
We discuss the possible cosmological implications of a class of superluminal particles, in a scenario where: a) Lorentz invariance is only an approximate property of the equations of a sector of matter; b) several critical speeds of matter…
We investigate particular cosmological models, based either on tachyon fields or on perfect fluids, for which soft future singularities arise in a natural way. Our main result is the description of a smooth crossing of the soft singularity…
Loop quantum cosmology is an application of recent developments for a non-perturbative and background independent quantization of gravity to a cosmological setting. Characteristic properties of the quantization such as discreteness of…
Big Bang models of the Universe predict rapid domination by curvature, a paradox known as the flatness problem. Solutions to this problem usually leave the Universe exactly flat for every practical purpose. Explaining a nearly but not…
New one parameter family of exact solutions in General Relativity with a scalar field is found. The metric is of Liouville type which admits complete separation of variables in the geodesic Hamilton-Jacobi equation. This solution exists for…
In these lectures I discuss various unsolved problems of string theory and their relations to quantum gravity, 3d Ising model, large N QCD, and quantum cosmology. No solutions are presented but some new and perhaps useful approaches are…