Related papers: Lectures on Mirror Symmetry and Topological String…
It is shown that two dimensional (2d) topological gravity in the conformal gauge has a larger symmetry than has been hitherto recognized; in the formulation of Labastida, Pernici and Witten it contains a twisted ``small'' N=4 superconformal…
Worldsheet string theory compactified on exceptional holomony manifolds is revisited following arXiv:1809.06376, where aspects of the chiral symmetry were described for the case where the compact space is a 7-dimensional G$_2$-holonomy…
Topology concepts have significantly deepened of our understanding in recent years of the electronic properties of one-dimensional (1D) nano structures such as the graphene nanoribbons. Controlling topological electronic properties of GNRs…
String theories with two dimensional space-time target spaces are characterized by the existence of a ``ground ring'' of operators of spin $(0,0)$. By understanding this ring, one can understand the symmetries of the theory and illuminate…
$N=2$ string theories are formulated in space-times with 2 space and 2 time dimensions. If the world-sheet matter system consists of 2 chiral superfields, the space-time is Kahler and the dynamics are those of anti-self-dual gravity. If…
Taking the N=2 strings as the starting point, we discuss the equivalent self-dual field theories and analyse their symmetry structure in 2+2 dimensions. Restoring the full `Lorentz' invariance in the target space necessarily leads to an…
We consider a conformal system of a string and a particle defined in D=10+2 space-time dimensions. The extra time-like dimension is a gauge artifact and can be eliminated by choosing a gauge in which the SO(10,1) Lorentz symmetry is…
In this paper, we examine the analogy between topological string theory and equivariant cohomology. We also show that the equivariant cohomology of a topological conformal field theory carries a certain algebraic structure, which we call a…
We propose a construction of string cohomology spaces for Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces that arise in Batyrev's mirror symmetry construction. The spaces are defined explicitly in terms of the corresponding reflexive polyhedra in a…
We formulate a twisted version of the conjectured duality between heterotic and type I string theories. Our formulation relates the chiral part of the heterotic string with a type I topological B-model on a Calabi-Yau five-fold. We provide…
In this article I first give an abbreviated history of string theory and then describe the recently-conjectured field-string duality. This suggests a class of nonsupersymmetric gauge theories which are conformal (CGT) to leading order of…
Recently, Witten proposed a topological string theory in twistor space that is dual to a weakly coupled gauge theory. In this lectures we will discuss aspects of the twistor string theory. Along the way we will learn new things about…
The focus of this thesis is on (1) the role of Ka\v c-Moody (KM) algebras in string theory and the development of techniques for systematically building string theory models based on higher level ($K\geq 2$) KM algebras and (2) fractional…
The topological description of $2D$ string theory at the self-dual radius is studied in the algebro-geometrical formulation of the $A_{k+1}$ topological models at $k=-3$. Genus zero correlators of tachyons and their gravitational…
The aim of these lectures is to give an introduction to several topics which lie at the intersection of string theory, gravity theory and gravity phenomenology. One successively reviews: (i) the "membrane" approach to the dissipative…
We discuss different formulations and approaches to string theory and $ 2d$ quantum gravity. The generic idea to get a unique description of {\it many} different string vacua altogether is demonstrated on the examples in $ 2d$ conformal,…
In this lecture we address the following issues in the context of string theories: i) The role played by S and T dualities in obtaining topological inflation in N=1 supergravity models, ii) A mechanism to generate the baryon asymmetry of…
We continue our study of the large N phase transition in q-deformed Yang-Mills theory on the sphere and its role in connecting topological strings to black hole entropy. We study in detail the chiral theory defined in terms of uncoupled…
We study in detail the space of perturbations of a pair of dual $N=1$ supersymmetric theories based on an $SU(N_c)$ gauge theory with an adjoint $X$ and fundamentals with a superpotential which is polynomial in $X$. The equivalence between…
In this talk I review recent developments in superstring theory. In the first half of the talk I discuss some of the earlier developments in this subject. This includes a review of the status of string theory as a unified theory of gravity…