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It is argued that string theory predicts unified field theory rather than general relativity coupled to matter fields. In unified field theory all the objects are geometrical, for strings the Kalb-Ramond matter field is identical to the…
The doubled formulation of string theory, which is T-duality covariant and enlarges spacetime with extra coordinates conjugate to winding number, is reformulated and its geometric and topological features examined. It is used to formulate…
The ground state of string theory may lie at a point of ``maximally enhanced symmetry", at which all of the moduli transform under continuous or discrete symmetries. This hypothesis, along with the hypotheses that the theory at high…
Since ancient times, mathematics has proven unreasonably effective in its description of physical phenomena. As humankind enters a period of advancement where the completion of the much coveted theory of quantum gravity is at hand, there is…
We consider two dimensional string backgrounds. We discuss the physics of long strings that come from infinity. These are related to non-singlets in the dual matrix model description.
This monograph discusses dualities in physics: what dualities are, their main examples--from quantum mechanics and electrodynamics to statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and string theory--and the philosophical questions they raise.…
Present day physics rests on two main pillars: General relativity and quantum field theory. We discuss the deep and at the same time problematic interplay between these two theories. Based on an argument by Doplicher, Fredenhagen, and…
We analyze how string theory dualities may be described in M theory. T dualities arise from scalar-vector dualities in the worldvolume of the membrane of M theory. ``Electric-magnetic'' dualities arise from a duality transformation in M…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
In certain backgrounds string theory exhibits quantum Hall-like behavior. These backgrounds provide an explicit realization of the effective non-commutative gauge theory description of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), and of the…
I discuss the quantum instability of an electric field in a theory of open strings.
The role of integrable systems in string theory is discussed. We remind old examples of the correspondence between stringy partition functions or effective actions and integrable equations, based on effective application of the matrix model…
We uncover a remarkable role that an infinite hierarchy of non-linear differential equations plays in organizing and connecting certain {hat c}<1 string theories non-perturbatively. We are able to embed the type 0A and 0B (A,A) minimal…
String theory is arguably the best candidate for a theory of quantum gravity and unified interactions. Reconciling Einstein's theory of General Relativity with Quantum Mechanics. The theory however is best understood on Minkowski and…
There have been many remarkable developments in our understanding of superstring theory in the past few years, a period that has been described as ``the second superstring revolution.'' Several of them are discussed here. The presentation…
If a string is cyclically shifted it will re-appear after a certain number of shifts, which will be called its order. We solve the problem of how many strings exist with a given order. This problem arises in the context of quantum mechanics…
We describe some of the novel 6d quantum field theories which have been discovered in studies of string duality. The role these theories (and their 4d descendants) may play in alleviating the vacuum degeneracy problem in string theory is…
A recent concept in theoretical physics, motivated in string duality and M-theory, is the notion that not all quantum theories arise from quantising a classical system. Also, a given quantum model may possess more than just one classical…
N=(2,1) heterotic string theory provides clues about hidden structure in M-theory related to string duality; in effect it geometrizes some aspects of duality. The program whereby one may deduce this hidden structure is outlined, together…
Criteria for defining errors of a physical theory are formulated. It is shown that the Special Theory of Relativity (STR) has a solid mathematical basis. An enormous amount of experiments carried out in particle physics use beams of…