Related papers: TF1 Snowmass Report: Quantum gravity, string theor…
Formulating a quantum theory of gravity lies at the heart of fundamental theoretical physics. This collection of lecture notes encompasses a selection of topics that were covered in six mini-courses at the Nordita PhD school "Towards…
What follows is a broad-brush overview of the recent synergistic interactions between mathematics and theoretical physics of quantum field theory and string theory. The discussion is forward-looking, suggesting potentially useful and…
Some problems in finding a complete quantum theory incorporating gravity are discussed. One is that of giving a consistent unitary description of high-energy scattering. Another is that of giving a consistent quantum description of…
Black holes provide a window into the microscopic structure of spacetime in quantum gravity. Recently the quantum information contained in Hawking radiation has been calculated, verifying a key aspect of the consistency of black hole…
We give an elementary introduction to black holes in supergravity and string theory. The focus is on BPS solutions in four- and higher-dimensional supergravity and string theory. Basic ideas and techniques are explained in detail, including…
We discuss progress and prospects in the application of bootstrap methods to string theory.
Superconformal field theories (SCFTs) occupy a central role in the study of many aspects of quantum field theory. In this white paper for the Snowmass process we give a brief overview of aspects of SCFTs in $3\leq D \leq 6$ space-time…
In these lectures I discuss various unsolved problems of string theory and their relations to quantum gravity, 3d Ising model, large N QCD, and quantum cosmology. No solutions are presented but some new and perhaps useful approaches are…
Investigating quantum gravity requires a comprehension of both, general relativity and quantum field theory. Therefore this thesis starts, after a general introduction to the treated topics, with a brief review of the field theoretical…
We review recent progress and future prospects for harnessing powerful tools from theoretical high-energy physics, such as scattering amplitudes and effective field theory, to develop a precise and systematically improvable framework for…
Loop Quantum Gravity is a theory that attempts to describe the quantum mechanics of the gravitational field based on the canonical quantization of General Relativity. According to Loop Quantum Gravity, in a gravitational field, geometric…
Black holes are a continuing source of mystery. Although their classical properties have been understood since the 1970's, their quantum properties raise some of the deepest questions in theoretical physics. Some of these questions have…
In this report we summarize the work performed at Snowmass 2001 on the physics of extra dimensions. We divide these analyses into the following classes: searches for extra dimensional phenomena, identification of specific new physics…
Is string theory relevant to the black hole information problem? This is an attempt to clarify some of the issues involved. Presented at Strings '95.
This thesis is devoted to trying to find a microscopic quantum description of black holes. We consider black holes in string theory which is a quantum theory of gravity. We find that the ``area law'' black hole entropy for extremal and…
We review some recent results obtained for black holes using effective field theory methods applied to quantum gravity, in particular the unique effective action. Black holes are complex thermodynamical objects that not only have a…
Progress in the quantum readout and control of mechanical devices from single atoms to large masses may enable a first generation of experiments probing the gravitational interaction in the quantum regime, conceivably within the next…
This article provides a review of the literature on rigorous definitions and constructions in Quantum Field Theory, spanning the period of seven decades. Comparing with the ideas and constructions found in the modern physics literature, we…
We summarize progress made in theoretical astrophysics and cosmology over the past decade and areas of interest for the coming decade. This Report is prepared as the TF09 "Astrophysics and Cosmology" topical group summary for the Theory…
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…