Related papers: Strings in Background Fields
We consider the set of controlled time-dependent backgrounds of general relativity and string theory describing ``bubbles of nothing'', obtained via double analytic continuation of black hole solutions. We analyze their quantum stability,…
At the classical level we study open bosonic strings. A generic description of string self-interactions localized at string ends is given. Self-interactions are characterized by two dimensionless coupling constants. The model is rewritten…
The $\cal{N}=4$ supersymmetric spinning particle admits several consistent quantizations, related to the gauging of different subgroups of the $SO(4)$ $R$-symmetry on the worldline. We construct the background independent BRST quantization…
Under the assumption of axial symmetry we introduce a map from dilatonic gravity to a string-like action. This map allows one to introduce, in a rather simple way, the equivalent of string theory T-duality in dilatonic gravity. Here we…
Time-dependent solutions of supergravity and string theory are studied. The examples are obtained from de Sitter deformation of gauge/gravity dualities, analytical continuation of static solutions, and ``exactly solvable'' worldsheet…
A novel continuum theory of two-dimensional quantum gravity, based on a version of Causal Dynamical Triangulations which incorporates topology change, has recently been formulated as a genuine string field theory in zero-dimensional target…
The Conformal Field Theory of the current algebra of the centrally extended 2-d Euclidean group is analyzed. Its representations can be written in terms of four free fields (without background charge) with signature ($-$+++). We construct…
The two-dimensional model which emerges from low-energy considerations of string theory is written down. Solutions of this classical model are noted, including some examples which have nontrivial tachyon field. One such represents the…
Unconstrained local Lagrangians for higher-spin gauge theories are bound to involve auxiliary fields, whose integration in the partition function generates geometric, effective actions expressed in terms of curvatures. When applied to the…
We consider a string-inspired torsion-dilaton-gravity action in a Randall-Sundrum brane world scenario and show that, in an effective four-dimensional theory on the visible brane, the rank-2 antisymmetric Kalb-Ramond field (source of…
This thesis is almost entirely devoted to studying string theory backgrounds characterized by simple geometrical and integrability properties. The archetype of this type of system is given by Wess-Zumino-Witten models, describing string…
In string theory the coupling ``constants'' appearing in the low-energy effective Lagrangian are determined by the vacuum expectation values of some (a priori) massless scalar fields (dilaton, moduli). This naturally leads one to expect a…
We argue that the light particles in string theory obey an effective quantum mechanics modified by the inclusion of a quantum-gravitational friction term, induced by unavoidable couplings to unobserved massive string states in the…
Given two conformal field theories related to each other by a marginal perturbation, and string field theories constructed around such backgrounds, we show how to construct explicit redefinition of string fields which relate these two…
Intrinsic and extrinsic geometric properties of string world sheets in curved space-time background are explored. In our formulation, the only dynamical degrees of freedom of the string are its immersion coordinates. Classical equation of…
Double Field Theory (DFT) has emerged as a comprehensive framework for gravity, presenting a testable and robust alternative to General Relativity (GR), rooted in the $\mathbf{O}(D,D)$ symmetry principle of string theory. These lecture…
We first make more precise a recent "Hamiltonian" reformulation of the Hohm-Zwiebach approach to the tree-level, $O(d,d)$-invariant string cosmology equations at all orders in the $\alpha'$ expansion, and recall how it allows to give a…
We explain how the spacetime diffeomorphism in the classical bosonic closed string field theory (SFT) is represented as $L_\infty$ gauge transformations in weakly curved backgrounds. In particular, we demonstrate the explicit map between…
We study string theory in supersymmetric time-dependent backgrounds. In the framework of general relativity, supersymmetry for spacetimes without flux implies the existence of a covariantly constant null vector, and a relatively simple form…
Within the framework of string theory, a number of new fields are possible correcting the Einstein-Hilbert action, including a Kalb-Ramond two-form field. In this work we derive explicitly first order relativistic corrections to…