Related papers: String and M-theory: answering the critics
We study and extend the duality web unifying different decoupling limits of type II superstring theories and M-theory. We systematically build connections to different corners, such as Matrix theories, nonrelativistic string and M-theory,…
Ever since its birth, up until its present development, the major role of string theory involves being the best candidate for the theory of quantum gravity and other species of interactions. In the present work, we would like to accomplish…
In the past three years our views on how the standard model of particle physics could be embedded into string theory have dramatically changed. The heterotic string is no longer the only possibility for such an embedding and other…
In this semi-technical review we discuss string theory (and all that goes by that name) as a framework for a quantum theory of gravity. This is a new paradigm in theoretical physics that goes beyond relativistic quantum field theory. We…
The reader surely knows what particles physics is about: finding building blocks of nature that appear elementary at a given time and study their interactions - so why in the world this essay? The problem is how to arrive at a fundamental…
The gauge/gravity duality provides us with nonperturbative formulation of superstring/M-theory. Although inputs from gauge theory side are crucial for answering many deep questions associated with quantum gravitational aspects of…
There are two main reasons for the recent renewal of interest in cosmic strings: Fundamental string-theory models suggest their existence; and there are at least two tentative observations of their possible effects. In this talk, I review…
We discuss the connection between Matrix string theory and the DLCQ of string theory. Using this connection we describe the sense in which perturbative string amplitudes are reproduced in the Matrix string theory. Using recent realization…
The ``unification'' of fundamental physical forces (interactions) imagines a ``single'' conceptual entity using which {\em all} the observable or physical phenomena, {\em ie}, changes to physical bodies, would be suitably describable. The…
In the first part of this paper I review the construction of the realistic free fermionic models, as well as current attempts to study aspects of these models in the nonperturbative framework of M- and F-theories. I discuss the recent…
We comment on the relation between string theory and empirical science, grounding our discussion in cosmology, a subject with increasingly precise data in which this connection operates at several levels. It is important to take into…
Thermodynamical aspects of string theory are reviewed and discussed.
This is mainly a brief review of some key achievements in a `hot'' area of theoretical and mathematical physics. The principal aim is to outline the basic structures underlying {\em integrable} quantum field theory models with {\em…
We show a possibility that the matrix models recently proposed to explain (almost) all the physics of M-theory may include the superstring theories that we know perturbatively. The ``1st quantized'' physical system of one IIA string seems…
We will report on recent advances in the understanding of non-perturbative interconnections between different string dualities. Weak-strong coupling duality (S-duality) and T-duality (symmetry under compactification on dual tori) allows one…
This is a broad-brush review of how string theory addresses several important questions of gravitational physics. The problem of non-renormalizability is first reviewed, followed by introduction of string theory as an ultraviolet-finite…
In this article we examine the appearance of tensionless strings in M-Theory. We subsequently interpret these tensionless strings in a String Theory context. In particular, we examine tensionless strings appearing in M-Theory on $S^{1}$,…
This elementary introduction to string field theory highlights the features and the limitations of this approach to quantum gravity as it is currently understood. String field theory is a formulation of string theory as a field theory in…
String theory is the most promising candidate for the theory unifying all interactions including gravity. It has an extremely difficult dynamics. Therefore, it is useful to study some its simplifications. One of them is non-critical string…
The partition function of the membrane is investigated. In particular, the case relevant to perturbative string theory of a membrane with topology $S^1 \times \Sigma$ is examined. The coupling between the string world sheet Euler character…