Related papers: k-Strings as Fundamental Strings
Pulsar timing arrays are one of the powerful tools to test the existence of cosmic strings through searching for the gravitational wave background. The amplitude of the background connects to information on cosmic strings such as the…
In these lectures I discuss the possibility that superstrings of cosmic length might exist and be observable. I first review the original idea of cosmic strings arising as gauge theory solitons, and discuss in particular their network…
Attempts to formulate a quantum theory of gravitation are collectively known as {\it quantum gravity}. Various approaches to quantum gravity such as string theory and loop quantum gravity, as well as black hole physics and doubly special…
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…
We discuss aspects of global and gauged symmetries in quantum field theory and quantum gravity, focusing on discrete gauge symmetries. An effective Lagrangian description of $\Z_p$ gauge theories shows that they are associated with an…
We synthesize and extend the previous ideas about appearance of both noncommutative and Finsler geometry in string theory with nonvanishing B--field and/or anholonomic (super) frame structures \cite{vstring,vstr2,vnonc,vncf}. There are…
If string theory is correct, then our observable Universe may be a 3-dimensional "brane" embedded in a higher-dimensional spacetime. This theoretical scenario should be tested via the state-of-the-art in gravitational experiments -- the…
In this paper we present well-posedness results of the wave equation in $H^{1}$ for spacetimes that contain string-like singularities. These results extend a framework able to characterise gravitational singularities as obstruction to the…
The observation of a scalar resonance at the LHC, compatible with perturbative electroweak symmetry breaking, reinforces the Standard Model parameterisation of all subatomic data. The logarithmic evolution of the SM gauge and matter…
A string background, which is in some precise sense {\em universal} (i.e., incorporating all orders in the Feynman diagram expansion), is proposed to represent pure gauge theories. S-duality at the level of the string metric is considered…
An overview is given of the way in which the unification program of particle physics has evolved into the proposal of superstring theory as a prime candidate for unifying quantum gravity with the other forces and particles of nature. A key…
Various approaches to Quantum Gravity (such as String Theory and Doubly Special Relativity), as well as black hole physics predict a minimum measurable length, or a maximum observable momentum, and related modifications of the Heisenberg…
Cosmic strings are predicted by many field-theory models, and may have been formed at a symmetry-breaking transition early in the history of the universe, such as that associated with grand unification. They could have important…
We consider the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) factorizations of gravity scalar-leg amplitudes into products of scalar-leg Yang-Mills amplitudes. We check and examine the factorizations at O(1) in $\alpha'$ and extend the analysis by considering…
The initial data of the gravitational field produced by a loop thick string is considered. We show that a thick loop is not a geodesic on the initial hypersurface, while a loop conical singularity is. This suggests that there is the ``{\it…
An implicit, fully characteristic, numerical scheme for solving the field equations of a cosmic string coupled to gravity is described. The inclusion of null infinity as part of the numerical grid allows us to apply suitable boundary…
We construct excited states of fundamental strings that admit a semiclassical description as rotating circular loops of string. We identify them with the supergravity solutions for rotating dipole rings. The identification involves a…
Products of large-N conformal field theories coupled by multi-trace interactions in diverse dimensions are used to define quantum multi-gravity (multi-string theory) on a union of (asymptotically) AdS spaces. One-loop effects generate a…
The gravitational properties of a local cosmic string in the framework of scalar-tensor gravity are examined. We find the metric in the weak-field approximation and we show that, contrary to the General Relativity case, the cosmic string in…
We present an overview of the intimate relationship between string and D-brane dynamics, and the dynamics of gauge and gravitational fields in three spacetime dimensions. The successes, prospects and open problems in describing both…