Related papers: Duality Symmetries
We discuss various dualities, relating integrable systems and show that these dualities are explained in the framework of Hamiltonian and Poisson reductions. The dualities we study shed some light on the known integrable systems as well as…
I discuss several aspects of strings as unified theories. After recalling the difficulties of the simplest supersymmetric grand unification schemes I emphasize the distinct features of string unification. An important role in constraining…
We show that the ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity theories in ten dimensions with gauge groups $U(1)^{496}$ and $E_8 \times U(1)^{248}$ are not consistent quantum theories. Cancellation of anomalies cannot be made compatible with supersymmetry and…
These lectures begin by reviewing the evidence for S duality of the toroidally compactified heterotic string in 4d that was obtained in the period 1992--94. Next they review recently discovered dualities that relate all five of the 10d…
String theories should reduce to ordinary four-dimensional field theories at low energies. Yet the formulation of the two are so different that such a connection, if it exists, is not immediately obvious. With the Schwinger proper-time…
Strong/weak coupling duality in Chern-Simons supergravity is studied. It is argued that this duality can be regarded as an example of superduality. The use of supergroup techniques for the description of Chern-Simons supergravity greatly…
In this lecture we address the following issues in the context of string theories: i) The role played by S and T dualities in obtaining topological inflation in N=1 supergravity models, ii) A mechanism to generate the baryon asymmetry of…
There are at present two known string theories in $(2,2)$ dimensions. One of them is the well known $N=2$ string, and the other one is a more recently constructed $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetric string. They are both based on certain…
Recently Seiberg has conjectured a duality symmetry connecting different theories of the supersymmetric QCD type. We provide support for this conjecture by analyzing a flat direction of the theory along which the two dual theories go over…
Duality in supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory with a symmetric tensor is studied using the technique of deconfining and Seiberg's duality. By construction the gauge group of the dual theory necessarily becomes a product group. In order to…
Aspects of duality and mirror symmetry in string theory are discussed. We emphasize, through examples, the importance of loop spaces for a deeper understanding of the geometrical origin of dualities in string theory. Moreover we show that…
In the context of field theory two elements seem to be necessary to search for strong-weak coupling duality. First, a gauge theory formulation and second, supersymmetry. For gravitation these two elements are present in MacDowell-Mansouri…
Versions of M-theory are found in spacetime signatures (9,2) and (6,5), in addition to the usual M-theory in 10+1 dimensions, and these give rise to type IIA string theories in 10-dimensional spacetime signatures (10,0),(9,1),(8,2),(6,4)…
We discuss aspects of global and gauged symmetries in quantum field theory and quantum gravity, focusing on discrete gauge symmetries. An effective Lagrangian description of $\Z_p$ gauge theories shows that they are associated with an…
We develop a systematic method of obtaining duality symmetric actions in different dimensions. This technique is applied for the quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator, the scalar field theory in two dimensions and the Maxwell theory in…
This is a talk given at YKIS '95, primarily to non-string theorists. I review the evidence for string duality, the principle that any string theory at strong coupling looks like another string theory at weak coupling. A postscript…
Models of 4D $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity coupled to chiral multiplets with vanishing or positive scalar potential have been denoted as no-scale. Of particular interest in the context of string theory are models which additionally possess a…
In these two lectures, delivered at the XXXVII Karpacz Winter School, February 2001, I review some applications of superspace in various topics related to string theory and M-theory. The first lecture is mainly devoted to descriptions of…
In discussing the construction of a consistent theory of quantum gravity unified with the gauge interactions we are naturally led to a string theory. We review its properties and the five consistent supersymmetric string theories in ten…
An introductory survey of some of the developments that have taken place in superstring theory in the past few years is presented. The main focus is on three particular dualities. The first one is the appearance of an 11th dimension in the…