Related papers: Snowmass White Paper: Bootstrapping String Theory
We critically assess the twin prospects of describing the observed universe in string theory, and using cosmological experiments to probe string theory. For the purposes of this short review, we focus on the limitations imposed by our…
The role of integrable systems in string theory is discussed. We remind old examples of the correspondence between stringy partition functions or effective actions and integrable equations, based on effective application of the matrix model…
There have been many remarkable developments in our understanding of superstring theory in the past few years, a period that has been described as ``the second superstring revolution.'' Several of them are discussed here. The presentation…
In this review I discuss some basic aspects of non-perturbative string theory. The topics include test of duality symmetries based on the analysis of the low energy effective action and the spectrum of BPS states, relationship between…
Closed string field theory is constructed by stochastically quantizing a matrix model for Polyakov loops that describes phases of a large N gauge theory at finite temperature. Coherent states in this string field theory describes winding…
We briefly review some recent developments in large N gauge theories which utilize the power of string perturbation techniques.
The study of strings is an important combinatorial field that precedes the digital computer. Strings can be very long, trillions of letters, so it is important to find compact representations. Here we first survey various forms of one…
A very brief review is given of some of the developments leading to our current understanding of black holes in string theory. This is followed by a discussion of two possible misconceptions in this subject - one involving the stability of…
String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…
Much of the recent progress in String Theory can be traced to a precise strategy: a careful study of the few models known since the beginnings of the subject, and the abstraction from them of basic properties that one would like to demand…
We review some of the recent developments in the construction of $W$-string theories. These are generalisations of ordinary strings in which the two-dimensional ``worldsheet'' theory, instead of being a gauging of the Virasoro algebra, is a…
We summarize the results obtained in the last few years about permutation orbifolds in two-dimensional conformal field theories, their application to string theory and their use in the construction of four-dimensional heterotic string…
String theory in two-dimensional spacetime illuminates two main threads of recent development in string theory: (1) Open/closed string duality, and (2) Tachyon condensation. In two dimensions, many aspects of these phenomena can be explored…
This is the written version of a set of introductory lectures on string theory.
I describe how superstring theory may violate spin-statistics in an experimentally observable manner. Reviewing the basics of superstring interactions and how to utilize these to produce a statistical phase, I then apply these ideas to two…
Solutions to low energy string theory describing black holes and black strings are reviewed. Many of these solutions can be obtained by applying simple solution generating transformations to the Schwarzschild metric. In a few cases, the…
An approach to systematically implement open-closed string duality for free large $N$ gauge theories is summarised. We show how the relevant closed string moduli space emerges from a reorganisation of the Feynman diagrams contributing to…
In this review article, we review the recent developments in constructing string field theories that have been proposed, all of which correctly reproduce the correlation functions of two-dimensional string theory. These include: (a) free…
The first part is an introduction to conformal field theory and string perturbation theory. The second part deals with the search for a deeper answer to the question posed in the title. Contents: 1. Conformal Field Theory 2. String Theory…
We give an introductory review of topological strings and their application to various aspects of superstrings and supersymmetric gauge theories. This review includes developing the necessary mathematical background for topological strings,…