Related papers: More on closed string effective actions at order $…
We apply the localization technique to compute the free energy on four-sphere and the circular BPS Wilson loop in the four-dimensional $\cal N$=2 superconformal $Sp(2N)$ gauge theory containing vector multiplet coupled to four…
This paper is about the use of a novel, exact functional quantization method as applied to two commonly studied actions in theoretical physics. The functional method in question has its roots in the exact renormalisation group flow…
It has been speculated in the literature that the effective actions of string theories at any order of $\alpha'$ should be invariant under the Buscher rules plus their higher covariant derivative corrections. This may be used as a…
We construct the supersymmetric completion of quartic $R+R^4$-actions in the ten-dimensional effective action of the heterotic string. Two invariants, of which the bosonic parts are known from one-loop string amplitude calculations, are…
Previous work has shown that massless tree amplitudes of the type I and IIA/B superstrings can be dramatically simplified by expressing them as double copies between field-theory amplitudes and scalar disk/sphere integrals, the latter…
We compare order $R^4$ terms in the 10-dimensional effective actions of SO(32) heterotic and type I superstrings from the point of view of duality between the two theories. Some of these terms do not receive higher-loop corrections being…
Low energy effective action of bosonic string theory possesses a kind of singular static solution which can be interpreted as a naked singularity. Based on the Hohm-Zwiebach action, the naked singularities could be smoothed out by…
We develop techniques to compute higher loop string amplitudes for twisted $N=2$ theories with $\hat c=3$ (i.e. the critical case). An important ingredient is the discovery of an anomaly at every genus in decoupling of BRST trivial states,…
We spell out the derivation of novel features, put forward earlier in a letter, of two dimensional gravity in the strong coupling regime, at $C_L=7$, 13, 19. Within the operator approach previously developed, they neatly follow from the…
We study the heterotic string compactified on K3 x T^2 near the line T=U, where the effective action becomes singular due to an SU(2) gauge symmetry enhancement. By `integrating in' the light W^\pm vector multiplets we derive a quantum…
The string field theory of N=(2,1) heterotic strings describes a set of self-dual Yang-Mills fields coupled to self-dual gravity in 2+2 dimensions. We show that the exact classical action for this field theory is a certain complexification…
We further develop the string $1/c^2$ expansion of closed bosonic string theory, where $c$ is the speed of light. The expansion will be performed up to and including the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). We show that the next-to-leading…
Quantization of closed string proceeds with a suitable choice of worldsheet vacuum. A priori, the vacuum may be chosen independently for left-moving and right-moving sectors. We construct {\sl ab initio} quantized bosonic string theory with…
In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the structure of six-derivative bosonic couplings in heterotic string theory. First, we determine the maximal covariant and Yang-Mills gauge invariant basis, which consists of 801…
We reconsider the issue of embedding space-time fermions into the four-dimensional N=2 world-sheet supersymmetric string. A new heterotic theory is constructed, taking the right-movers from the N=4 topological extension of the conventional…
The Cosmological Constant Problem is re-examined from an effective field theory perspective. While the connection between gravity and particle physics has not been experimentally probed in the quantum regime, it is severely constrained by…
We explore a class of effective field theory models of cosmic acceleration involving a metric and a single scalar field. These models can be obtained by starting with a set of ultralight pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons whose couplings to…
The target space theory of the N=(2,1) heterotic string may be interpreted as a theory of gravity coupled to matter in either $1+1$ or $2+1$ dimensions. Among the target space theories in $1+1$ dimensions are the bosonic, type II, and…
We construct an $O(d,d)$ invariant universal formulation of the first-order $\alpha'$-corrections of the string effective actions involving the dilaton, metric and two-form fields. Two free parameters interpolate between four-derivative…
The nature of duality symmetries is explored in closed bosonic string theory, particularly in the case of a four-dimensional target space admitting a one-parameter isometry. It appears that the S-duality of string theory behaves analogously…