Related papers: On the null origin of the ambitwistor string
A brief review of the status of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The evidence is accumulating rapidly that an enormous group of duality symmetries, including perturbative T dualities and non-perturbative S-dualities,…
We consider an extension of a special class of conformal sigma models (`chiral null models') which describe extreme supersymmetric string solutions. The new models contain both `left' and `right' vector couplings and should correspond to…
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…
The purpose of this work is to return, with a new observation and rather unconventional point of view, to the study of asymptotically flat solutions of Einstein equations. The essential observation is that from a given asymptotically flat…
We show that in certain theories with topologically trivial quotient space of spontaneously broken gauge symmetry there can exist topologically stable strings that carry nonabelian gauge flux. These objects result from the ``accidental''…
We discuss the breakdown of perturbative unitarity of noncommutative quantum field theories in electric-type background in the light of string theory. We consider the analytic structure of string loop two-point functions using a suitable…
The unique spherically symmetric metric which has vanishing weyl tensor, is asymptotically desitter, and can model constant galactic rotation curves is presented. Two types of field equations are shown to have this metric as an exact…
We derive the universal threshold corrections in heterotic string theory including a continuous Wilson line. Unification of gauge and gravitational couplings is shown to be possible even within perturbative string theory. The relative…
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 origin of the graviton from string theory is well understood: it corresponds to a massless state in closed string spectra, whose low-energy effective action, as extracted from string scattering amplitudes, is that of Einstein-Hilbert.…
We use the S-matrix bootstrap to carve out the space of unitary, crossing symmetric and supersymmetric graviton scattering amplitudes in ten dimensions. We focus on the leading Wilson coefficient $\alpha$ controlling the leading correction…
In this note we observe that, contrary to the usual lore, string orbifolds do not describe strings on quotient spaces, but rather seem to describe strings on objects called quotient stacks, a result that follows from simply unraveling…
Two new effects of interaction of the gauge string with a homogeneous density of fermions are considered in a gauge model with an anomalous coupling of vector fields with fermions. First, the presence of an induced nonzero magnetic-like…
Tensionless string theory on $\text{AdS}_3\times\text{S}^3\times\mathcal{M}$ is explored in the limit that the strings wind the asymptotic boundary a large number of times. Although the worldsheet is usually thought to be localised to the…
This is the written version of a short talk given at the University of Leipzig in December 1998. It reviews some general aspects of string theory from the viewpoint of the search for an unifying theory. Here, special emphasis lies on the…
String theory provides the only consistent framework so far that unifies all interactions including gravity. We discuss gravity and cosmology in string theory. Conventional notions from general relativity like geometry, topology etc. are…
The Regge trajectories, upon which string theory is based, behave as rigid rotators rather than vibrating strings. The same relation, between the angular momentum, and the square of the mass, can be found in gravity, the electroweak, and…
We extend earlier ideas about the appearance of noncommutative geometry in string theory with a nonzero B-field. We identify a limit in which the entire string dynamics is described by a minimally coupled (supersymmetric) gauge theory on a…
We present the low-energy effective theory on long strings in quantum field theory, including a streamlined review of previous literature on the subject. Such long strings can appear in the form of solitonic strings, as in the 4d Abelian…
We present vertex operators for ambitwistor strings around generic Yang-Mills, gravity and NS-NS backgrounds. The requirement that vertex operators lie in the BRST cohomology of the worldsheet theory enforces the appropriate linear…