Related papers: Large-density field theory, viscosity, and "$2k_F$…
During the last ten years, intriguing dualities between gauge and string theory have been found and explored. They provide a novel window on strongly coupled gauge physics, including QCD-like models. Based on a short historical review of…
The one-plaquette Hamiltonian of large N lattice gauge theory offers a constructive model of a $1+1$-dimensional string theory with a stable ground state. The free energy is found to be equivalent to the partition function of a string where…
We use effective string theory to study mesons with large spin $J$ in large $N_c$ QCD as rotating open strings. In the first part of this work, we formulate a consistent effective field theory (EFT) for open spinning strings with light…
Open string theories can be decoupled from closed strings and gravity by scaling to the critical electric field. We propose dual descriptions for the strong coupling limit of these NCOS (Non-Commutative Open String) theories in six or fewer…
I argue that string theory compactified on a Riemann surface crosses over at small volume to a higher dimensional background of supercritical string theory. Several concrete measures of the count of degrees of freedom of the theory yield…
In this paper, which is a revised version of the author's PhD thesis, we analyze two different applications of string theory. In the first part, we focus on four dimensional compactifications of Type II string theories preserving N=1…
We derive a class of solutions to the string sigma-model equations for the closed bosonic string. The tachyon field is taken to form a constant condensate and the beta-function equations at one-loop level are solved for the evolution of the…
We study the effects of friction on the scaling evolution of string networks in condensed matter and cosmological contexts. We derive a generalized `one-scale' model with the string correlation length $L$ and velocity $v$ as dynamical…
I describe renewed efforts to establish a string description of large N_c QCD by summing large ``fishnet'' diagrams. Earlier work on fishnets indicated that the usual relativistic (zero thickness) string theory can arise at strong 't Hooft…
In this paper we make further refinements to the duality proposed between N=1 SQCD and certain string (supergravity plus branes) backgrounds, working in the regime of comparable large number of colors and flavors. Using the string theory…
The AdS/CFT correspondence is an exact duality between string theory in anti-de Sitter space and conformal field theories on its boundary. Inspired in this correspondence some relations between strings and non conformal field theories have…
One of the few cases of AdS/CFT where both sides of the duality are under good control relates tensionless $k=1$ strings on AdS$_3$ to a two-dimensional symmetric product CFT. Building on prior observations, we propose an exact duality…
We study superstring theory in three dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetime with NS-NS flux, focusing on the case where the radius of curvature is equal to the string length. This corresponds to the critical level k=1 in the…
Integrability occupies an increasingly important role in direct tests of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Integrable structures have appeared in both planar N=4 super Yang-Mills theory and type IIB superstring theory on AdS_5 x S^5. A…
The strong version of Maldacena's AdS/CFT conjecture implies that the large N expansion of free N=4 super-YM theory describes an interacting string theory in the extreme limit of high spacetime curvature relative to the string length.…
Lattice gauge theories are a powerful language to theoretically describe a variety of strongly correlated systems, including frustrated magnets, high-$T_c$ superconductors, and topological phases. However, in many cases gauge fields couple…
We analyze the analytic continuation of the formally divergent one-loop amplitude for scattering of the graviton multiplet in the Type II Superstring. In particular we obtain explicit double and single dispersion relations, formulas for all…
By studying 2d string compactifications with half-maximal supersymmetry in a variety of duality frames, we find a natural physical setting for understanding Umbral moonshine. Near points in moduli space with enhanced gauge symmetry, we find…
In this work we reason that there is a universal picture for several different holographic toy model constructions, and a gravity-like bulk field theory that gives rise it. First, we observe that the perfect tensor-networks and hyperbolic…
We consider several aspects of unitary higher-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs). We first study massive deformations that trigger a flow to a gapped phase. Deep inelastic scattering in the gapped phase leads to a convexity…