Related papers: A light dilaton in a metastable vacuum
We study a class of classical dilaton vacua in string theory that depend on the light-cone variable $z=t\pm x$ and, thus, have wavelike behavior. One of the interesting results is the existence of a solution subclass with perfectly regular…
Supercritical string theories in D>10 dimensions with no moduli are described, generalizing the asymmetric orientifold construction of one of the authors. By taking the number of dimensions to be large and turning on fluxes, dilaton…
The paper proposes a novel cosmological model based on a two-field scenario, where the two fields are independently coupled with a specific invariant, based on cubic contractions of the Riemann tensor. After obtaining the modified Friedmann…
Theories with more than one vacuum allow quantum transitions between them, which may proceed via bubble nucleation; theories with more than two vacua posses additional decay modes in which the wall of a bubble may further decay. The…
We propose the use of lattice field theory for the study of string field theory at the non-perturbative quantum level. We identify many potential obstacles and examine possible resolutions thereof. We then experiment with our approach in…
Although quasi-dilaton massive gravity is a well-defined gravitational theory, it exhibits instabilities and suffers from the strong coupling problem. In this work we construct an extension of the theory, through the inclusion of the aether…
We point out that the (pseudo-)conformal Universe scenario may be realized as decay of conformally invariant, metastable vacuum, which proceeds via spontaneous nucleation and subsequent growth of a bubble of a putative new phase. We study…
Domain wall solutions of $d$-dimensional gravity coupled to a dilaton field $\sigma$ with an exponential potential $\Lambda e^{-\lambda\sigma}$ are shown to be governed by an autonomous dynamical system, with a transcritical bifurcation as…
In recent years light-cone quantization of quantum field theory has emerged as a promising method for solving problems in the strong coupling regime. This approach has a number of unique features that make it particularly appealing, most…
We analyze a class of bottom-up holographic models for low energy thermo-electric transport. The models we focus on belong to a family of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories parameterized by two scalar functions, characterizing the dilaton…
We investigate the stability against inhomogeneous perturbations and the appearance of ghost modes in Gauss-Bonnet gravitational theories with a non-minimally coupled scalar field, which can be regarded as either the dilaton or a…
Westudythebehaviourofisocurvatureperturbationsinnon-linearsigmamodels which naturally emerge in supergravity and string inflationary scenarios. We focus on the case of negatively curved field manifolds which can potentially lead to a…
The Vainshtein mechanism suppresses the fifth force at astrophysical distances, while enabling it to compete with gravity at cosmological scales. Typically, Vainshtein solutions exhibit superluminal perturbations. However, a restricted…
The DBI galileons are a generalization of the galileon terms, which extend the internal galilean symmetry to an internal relativistic symmetry, and can also be thought of as generalizations of DBI which yield second order field equations.…
We briefly discuss the differences between considering the gauge coupling as a constant or as a field, the dilaton, in N=1 supersymmetric theories. We emphasize the differences regarding supersymmetry breaking. Recent developments on the…
Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory with non-trivial dilaton potential is known to admit asymptotically flat and (Anti-)de Sitter charged black hole solutions. We investigate the conditions for the presence of horizons as function of the…
I report recent studies on the evolution of perturbations in the context of the ``pre-big-bang" scenario typical of string cosmology, with emphasis on the formation of a stochastic background of relic photons and gravitons, and its possible…
Motivated by the electroweak hierarchy problem, we consider theories with two extra dimensions in which the four-dimensional scalar fields are components of gauge boson in full space. We explore the Nielsen-Olesen instability for SU(N) on a…
We study dilaton stabilization in heterotic string models. By utilizing the asymmetric orbifold construction, we construct an explicit three-generation model whose matter content in the visible sector is the supersymmetric standard model…
Exact static, spherically symmetric solutions to the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar equations, with a dilatonic-type scalar-vector coupling, in $D$-dimensional gravity with a chain of $n$ Ricci-flat internal spaces are considered. Their properties…