Related papers: String and M-theory: answering the critics
We explain the need for a theory of quantum gravity and some general ideas about string theory, including the idea of the derivation of the Hawking Bekenstein entropy formula for extremal black holes. We then give a general description of…
A self-contained review is given of the matrix model of M-theory. The introductory part of the review is intended to be accessible to the general reader. M-theory is an eleven-dimensional quantum theory of gravity which is believed to…
Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is prima facie…
String cosmology aims at providing a reliable description of the very early Universe in the regime where standard-model physics is no longer appropriate, and where we can safely apply the basic ingredients of superstring models such as…
We try to draw lessons for higher dimensions from the string representations recently derived for large $N$ Yang-Mills theory by Gross and Taylor, Kostov, and others, and call attention to three characteristics that should be expected of a…
String Theory includes a plethora of higher-spin excitations, which clearly lie behind its most spectacular properties, but whose detailed behavior is largely unknown. Conversely, string interactions contain much useful information on…
This article is based on a talk given at the ``Strings'97'' conference. It discusses the search for the universality class of confining strings. The key ingredients include the loop equations, the zigzag symmetry, the non-linear…
String theory builds on the great legacy of Yukawa and Tomonaga: New degrees of freedom and control of the UV are two important themes. This talk will give an overview of some of the progress and some of the unsolved problems that…
Assuming string theorists will not soon provide a compelling case for the primary theory underlying particle physics, the field will proceed as it has historically: with data stimulating and testing ideas. Ideally the soft supersymmetry…
I briefly summarize a recent research program aiming to probe the landscape of low-energy phases of string theory from a global perspective. Borrowing conceptual lessons from the swampland program, I will discuss how the effective theories…
Modern fundamental physics poses new questions for philosophy, which, as it seems to us, have not yet received appropriate attention from philosophers of science. This paper formulates a number of such questions in order to present them to…
I present arguments to the affect that the topological phase of string theory must be event-symmetric. This motivates a search for a universal string group for discrete strings in event-symmetric space-time which unifies space-time symmetry…
This lecture presents a brief overview of the early history of string theory and supersymmetry. It describes how the S-matrix theory program for understanding the strong nuclear force evolved into superstring theory, which is a promising…
This PhD-thesis reviews matrix string theory and recent developments therein. Emphasis is put on symmetries, interactions and scattering processes in the matrix model. We start with an introduction to matrix string theory and a review of…
This book provides an introduction to string field theory (SFT). String theory is usually formulated in the worldsheet formalism, which describes a single string (first-quantization). While this approach is intuitive and could be pushed far…
We present a solution of M(atrix) theory describing type IIA fundamental string. Our construction is based on the central charge of the longitudinal membrane (= fundamental string), the BPS saturation condition and the relation between…
M-theory suggests the large N limit of the matrix description of a collection of N Type IA D-particles should provide a nonperturbative formulation of heterotic string theory. In this paper states in the matrix theory corresponding to…
These notes provide a hopefully pedagogic introduction to Born-Infeld theory and some of its uses in String/M-Theory from the perspective of some-one interested in spacetime geometry. Causality and the consequences of having both the open…
Two popular attempts to understand the quantum physics of gravitation are critically assessed. The talk on which this paper is based was intended for a general particle-physics audience.
The debate between loop quantum gravity and string theory is sometimes lively, and it is hard to present an impartial view on the issue. Leaving any attempt to impartiality aside, I report here, instead, a conversation on this issue,…