Related papers: Emergent Strings, Duality and Weak Coupling Limits…

In this thesis the recently developed duality covariant approach to string and M-theory is investigated. In this formalism the U-duality symmetry of M-theory or T-duality symmetry of Type II string theory becomes manifest upon extending…

We analyse the r\^ole of approximate axionic shift symmetries in gravity-decoupling limits arising in type II Calabi-Yau compactifications. Associated with each shift symmetry there is an axionic string whose tension constrains the gradient…

We introduce a new class of non-compact backgrounds of Type IIB string theory preserving eight supercharges by combining S-folds and non-perturbative 7-branes wrapping orbifolds, and study the four-dimensional superconformal field theories…

Geometric structures and dualities arise naturally in quantum field theories and string theory. In fact, these tools become very useful when studying strong coupling effects, where standard perturbative techniques can no longer be used. In…

Using a $U$-duality symmetry of type II compactification on $T^4$ represented by triality action on the $T$-duality group, and applying the adiabatic argument we construct dual pairs of type II compactifications in lower dimensions. The…

When $N$ five-branes of M-theory coincide the world-volume theory contains tensionless strings, according to Strominger's construction. This suggests a large $N$ limit of tensionless string theories. For the small $E_8$ instanton theories,…

I review the relations between mass scales in various string theories and in M-theory. I discuss physical motivations and possible consistent realizations of large volume compactifications and low string scale. Large longitudinal…

The strong coupling physics of two dimensional gravity at $C=7$, $13$, $19$ is summarized. It is based on a new set of local fields which do not preserve chirality. Thus this quantum number becomes ``deconfined'' in the strongly coupled…

We review the main results of our investigations motivated by the tadpole potentials of ten-dimensional strings with broken supersymmetry. While these are at best partial indications, it is hard to resist the feeling that they do capture…

At low energies, interactions of massless particles in type II strings compactified on a torus $T^d$ are described by an effective Wilsonian action $\mathcal{S}(\Lambda)$, consisting of the usual supergravity Lagrangian supplemented by an…

We address the issue of T-duality and U-duality symmetries in the toroidally-compactified type IIA string. It is customary to take as a starting point the dimensionally-reduced maximal supergravity theories, with certain field strengths…

We study string compactifications with sixteen supersymmetries. The moduli space for these compactifications becomes quite intricate in lower dimensions, partly because there are many different irreducible components. We focus primarily,…

We test the recently conjectured duality between $N=2$ supersymmetric type II and heterotic string models by analysing a class of higher dimensional interactions in the respective low-energy Lagrangians. These are $F$-terms of the form $F_g…

We show how enhanced gauge symmetry in type II string theory compactified on a Calabi--Yau threefold arises from singularities in the geometry of the target space. When the target space of the type IIA string acquires a genus $g$ curve $C$…

The Emergence Proposal suggests that some Swampland criteria, in particular on large field distances, are a consequence of the emergent nature of dynamics for fields in the infrared. In the context of type II string theory compactified on…

Using heterotic/type II string duality, we obtain exact nonperturbative results for the point particle limit (alpha' -> 0) of some particular four dimensional, N=2 supersymmetric compactifications of heterotic strings. This allows us to…

We investigate the pp-wave limit of the AdS_3\times S^3\times K3 compactification of Type IIB string theory from the point of view of the dual Sym_N(K3) CFT. It is proposed that a fundamental string in this pp-wave geometry is dual to the…

The recent developments in string theory suggest that the space-time coordinates should be generalized to non-commuting matrices. Postulating this suggestion as the fundamental geometrical principle, we formulate a candidate for covariant…

It has been shown recently that the toroidally compactified type IIB string effective action possesses an SL(2, R) invariance as a consequence of the corresponding symmetry in ten dimensions when the self-dual five-form field strength is…

We study the compactification of the $(2,0)$ and type-II little-string theories on $S^1$, $T^2$ and $T^3$ with an R-symmetry twist that preserves half the supersymmetry. We argue that it produces the same moduli spaces of vacua as…