Related papers: Discrete gauge symmetries from (closed string) tac…
We consider discrete gauge symmetries in D dimensions arising as remnants of broken continuous gauge symmetries carried by general antisymmetric tensor fields, rather than by standard 1-forms. The lagrangian for such a general ${\bf Z}_p$…
The study of open string tachyon condensation in string field theory can be drastically simplified by making an appropriate choice of coordinates on the space of string fields. We show that a very natural coordinate system is suggested by…
Compactified string theories give rise to discrete symmetries which are essential if they are to provide a realistic low energy theory. We find that in a class of four dimensional string theories these symmetries are constrained by similar…
In string theory, there are no continuous global symmetries. Discrete symmetries frequently appear, and these can often be understood as unbroken subgroups of larger, spontaneously broken gauge symmetries (discrete gauge symmetries). In…
Intersecting D-brane models and their T-dual magnetic compactifications provide an attractive framework for particle physics, allowing for chiral fermions and supersymmetry breaking. Generically, magnetic compactifications have tachyons…
A careful treatment of closed string BRST cohomology shows that there are more discrete states and associated symmetries in $D=2$ string theory than has been recognized hitherto. The full structure, at the $SU(2)$ radius, has a natural…
We consider the probem of gauging discrete symmetries. All valid constraints on such symmetries can be understood in the low energy theory in terms of instantons. We note that string perturbation theory often exhibits global discrete…
Alternative gauge choices for worldsheet supersymmetry can elucidate dynamical phenomena obscured in the usual superconformal gauge. In the particular example of the tachyonic $E_8$ heterotic string, we use a judicious gauge choice to show…
In particle physics model building discrete symmetries are often invoked to forbid unwanted or dangerous couplings. A classical example is the R-parity of the MSSM, which guarantees the absence of dimension four baryon- and lepton-number…
We study closed string tachyon condensation using the RG flow of the worldsheet theory. In many cases the worldsheet theory enjoys N=2 supersymmetry, which provides analytic control over the flow, due to non-renormalization theorems.…
We consider closed string tachyons localized at the fixed points of noncompact nonsupersymmetric orbifolds. We argue that tachyon condensation drives these orbifolds to flat space or supersymmetric ALE spaces. The decay proceeds via an…
We study systems of multiple localized closed string tachyons and the phenomena associated with their condensation, in C3/ZN nonsupersymmetric noncompact orbifold singularities using gauged linear sigma model constructions, following…
We consider the type 0 theories, obtained from the closed NSR string by a diagonal GSO projection which excludes space-time fermions, and study the D-branes into these theories. The low-energy dynamics of N coincident D-branes is governed…
A discrete symmetry of the string field tachyon condensate noted by Hata and Shinohara is identified as a discrete subgroup of an SU(1,1) symmetry acting on the ghost coordinates. This symmetry, known from early studies of free gauge…
In this dissertation we study hidden symmetries within the framework of string theory. There are two kinds of hidden symmetries investigated in this work: the first type is associated with dynamics of quantum fields and the second type is…
We review the recent studies of tachyon condensation in string field theory. After introducing the open string field theory both for bosonic string and for superstring, we use them to examine the conjecture that the unstable configurations…
Dvali and Shifman have proposed a field-theoretic mechanism for localizing gauge fields to "branes" in higher dimensional spaces using confinement in a bulk gauge theory. The resulting objects have a number of qualitative features in common…
We discuss condensations of closed string tachyons localized in compact spaces. Time evolution of an on-shell condensation is naturally related to the worldsheet RG flow. Some explicit tachyonic compactifications of Type II string theory is…
We investigate closed string tachyon condensation in Misner space, a toy model for big bang universe. In Misner space, we are able to condense tachyonic modes of closed strings in the twisted sectors, which is supposed to remove the big…
Closed string tachyon condensation resolves the singularities of nonsupersymmetric orbifolds, however the resolved space typically has fewer D-brane charges than that of the orbifold. The description of the tachyon condensation process via…