Related papers: Where is String Theory?

We show that string theories admit chiral infinite tension analogues in which only the massless parts of the spectrum survive. Geometrically they describe holomorphic maps to spaces of complex null geodesics, known as ambitwistor spaces.…

Previous results on trans-Planckian collisions in superstring theory are rewritten in terms of an explicitly unitary S-matrix whose range of validity covers a large region of the energy/impact-parameter plane. Amusingly, as part of this…

String theory avoids the ultraviolet infinities that arise in trying to quantize gravity. It is also more predictive than conventional quantum field theory, one aspect of this being the way that it contributed to the emergence of the…

The recently introduced anomaly-free twistor string in 4 dimensions is further explored. The spectrum based on the physical states and its Minkowski interpretation are examined. Scattering amplitudes with vertex operators involving…

Scattering amplitudes of the spin-4/3 fractional superstring are shown to satisfy spurious state decoupling and cyclic symmetry (duality) at tree-level in the string perturbation expansion. This fractional superstring is characterized by…

We discuss the obstacles for defining a set of observable quantities analogous to an S-matrix which are needed to formulate string theory in an accelerating universe. We show that the quintessence models with the equations of state $-1 < w…

We explore the space of non-gravitational, maximally supersymmetric, planar 4d effective field theories (EFTs) that have $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) at leading order. We show that in the weakly-coupled regime, highly non-trivial…

This Ph.D. thesis investigates effective field and string theories in which supersymmetry is realized and broken in various ways. Chapter 1 addresses effective theories with nonlinearly realized supersymmetry, constructed using the…

The recent discovery of non-perturbatively stable two-dimensional string backgrounds and their dual matrix models allows the study of complete scattering matrices in string theory. In this note we adapt work of Moore, Plesser, and Ramgoolam…

We consider string theory in a time dependent orbifold with a null singularity. The singularity separates a contracting universe from an expanding universe, thus constituting a big crunch followed by a big bang. We quantize the theory both…

This lecture presents a brief overview of the early history of string theory and supersymmetry. It describes how the S-matrix theory program for understanding the strong nuclear force evolved into superstring theory, which is a promising…

The landscape of possible four-dimensional low-energy effective theories arising from compactifications of string/M-theory seems vast. This might lead one to believe that any consistent-looking effective field theory coupled to gravity can…

We derive bounds on Wilson coefficients in gravitational effective field theories using fully crossing symmetric dispersion relations. These sum rules naturally isolate finite subsets of low-energy couplings without relying on the forward…

We consider the scattering of zero branes off an elementary string in Matrix theory or equivalently gravitons off a longitudinally wrapped membrane. The leading supergravity result is recovered by a one-loop calculation in zero brane…

We re-examine positivity bounds on the $2\to2$ scattering of identical massless real scalars with a novel perspective on how these bounds can be used to constrain the spectrum of UV theories. We propose that the entire space of consistent…

We explore the space of meromorphic amplitudes with extra constraints coming from the shape of the leading Regge trajectory. This information comes in two guises: it bounds the maximal spin of exchanged particles of a given mass; it leads…

The notion of a space-time uncertainty principle in string theory is clarified and further developed. The motivation and the derivation of the principle are first reviewed in a reasonably self-contained way. It is then shown that the…

In this talk I review recent developments in superstring theory. In the first half of the talk I discuss some of the earlier developments in this subject. This includes a review of the status of string theory as a unified theory of gravity…

This elementary introduction to string field theory highlights the features and the limitations of this approach to quantum gravity as it is currently understood. String field theory is a formulation of string theory as a field theory in…

Ambitwistor strings are chiral, infinite tension analogues of conventional string theory whose target space is the space of complex null geodesics and whose spectrum consists exclusively of massless states. At genus zero, these strings…