Related papers: ADE Little String Theory on a Riemann Surface (and…
We suggest that compactifications on Anti-de-Sitter (AdS) spaces of type IIA, IIB, heterotic strings and eleven dimensional vacuua of M-theory are related by a combination of $T$ and strong/weak dualities. Maldacena conjecture relates then…
It is known that string theory compactifications leading to low energy effective theories with different chiral matter content ({\it e.g.} different numbers of standard model generations) are connected through phase transitions, described…
A particular two-parameter class of little string theories can be described by $M$ parallel M5-branes probing a transverse affine $A_{N-1}$ singularity. We previously discussed the duality between the theories labelled by $(N,M)$ and…
We consider the compactification of the E8xE8 heterotic string on a K3 surface with "the spin connection embedded in the gauge group" and the dual picture in the type IIA string (or F-theory) on a Calabi-Yau threefold X. It turns out that…
The equivalence of quantum field theory and string theory as exemplified by the AdS/CFT correspondence is explored from the point of view of lightcone quantization. On the string side we discuss the lightcone version of the static string…
One of the main topics in the modern String Theory are the AdS/CFT dualities. Proving such conjectures is extremely difficult since the gauge and string theory perturbative regimes do not overlap. In this perspective, the discovery of…
We review the semiclassical analysis of strings in AdS5xS5 with a focus on the relationship to the underlying integrable structures. We discuss the perturbative calculation of energies for strings with large charges, using the folded string…
We study families of deformed ADE surfaces by probing them with a D2-brane in Type IIA string theory. The geometry of the total space $X$ of such a family can be encoded in a scalar field $\Phi$, which lives in the corresponding ADE algebra…
We present the partition function of the refined Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$ with arbitrary A,B,C,D gauge algebra in terms of multiple sine functions. For B and C cases this representation is novel. It allows us to conjecture duality to…
The partition function of two dimensional QCD on a Riemann surface of area $A$ is expanded as a power series in $1/N$ and $A$. It is shown that the coefficients of this expansion are precisely determined by a sum over maps from a two…
The AdS/CFT correspondence of elementary string theory has been recently suggested as a ``microscopic'' approach to QCD string theory in various dimensions. We use the microscopic theory to show that the ultraviolet regime on the string…
String theory on AdS3 backgrounds arises as an IR limit of Little String Theory on NS5-branes. A wide variety of holographic RG flows from the fivebrane theory in the UV to (orbifolds of) AdS3 in the IR is amenable to exact treatment in…
We attempt to review all trustworthy and well-controlled de Sitter compactifications of string theory.
String theory compactifications come with numerous $U(1)$ factors, implying the presence of many hidden photons in the low-energy EFT. One may call this the ``string photoverse''. We argue that, generically, these hidden photons are…
A_n-type AGT correspondence anticipates that conformal blocks of A_n Toda CFT are related to partition functions of a family of 4d N=2 SCFTs. We use gauge/vortex duality to both give a precise form of the correspondence, and to prove it.…
We consider string theory on $\text{AdS}_3 \times \text{S}^3 \times \mathbb{T}^4$ in the tensionless limit, with one unit of NS-NS flux. This theory is conjectured to describe the symmetric product orbifold CFT. We consider the string on…
We compute the equivariant partition function of the six-dimensional M-string SCFTs on a background with the topology of a product of a two-dimensional torus and an ALE singularity. We determine the result by exploiting BPS strings probing…
$AdS_3$ string theory in the stringy regime $k=(R_{AdS}/\ell_{str})^2 < 1$ provides a laboratory for the study of holography in which both sides of AdS/CFT duality are under fairly good control. Worldsheet string theory is solvable, and for…
We continue our study of symmetries of a class of little string theories of A-type, which are engineered by $N$ parallel M5-branes probing a flat transverse space. Extending the analysis of the companion paper, we discuss the part of the…
We consider type IIB string theory on $\mathrm{AdS}_5\times S^5/\mathbb{Z}_{L}$ orbifold spaces with generic $L$. Recent localisation results in the dual 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ circular quiver gauge theories provide us with strong coupling…