Related papers: Is string field theory background independent?
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…
We study the role of closed string backgrounds in boundary string field theory. Background independence requires the introduction of dual boundary fields, which are reminiscent of the doubled field formalism. We find a correspondence…
The quantum string field theoretic structure of interactive phenomena is discussed
We revisit the existence, background independence and uniqueness of closed, open and open-closed bosonic- and topological string field theory, using the machinery of homotopy algebra. In a theory of classical open- and closed strings, the…
Searching for space/time noncommutativity we reconsider open strings in a constant background electric field. The main difference between this situation and its magnetic counterpart is that here there is a critical electric field beyond…
One of the perspectives in modern quantum field and string theory is related with the attempts to go beyond the perturbation theory. It turns out that a key principle in the formulation of all known non-perturbative results is {\it…
Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. In spite of the more than thirty years of its existence it did not make any empirically testable predictions. And it is…
This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory and its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical review of four decades of string theory within the broader context of six decades of…
Given two conformal field theories related to each other by a marginal perturbation, and string field theories constructed around such backgrounds, we show how to construct explicit redefinition of string fields which relate these two…
Not only in physical string theories, but also in some highly simplified situations, background independence has been difficult to understand. It is argued that the ``holomorphic anomaly'' of Bershadsky, Cecotti, Ooguri, and Vafa gives a…
String theory, as a theory containing quantum gravity, is usually thought to require more dimensions of spacetime than the usual 3+1. Here I argue on physical grounds that needing extra dimensions for strings may well be an artefact of…
We study the perturbative unitarity of noncommutative scalar field theories. Field theories with space-time noncommutativity do not have a unitary S-matrix. Field theories with only space noncommutativity are perturbatively unitary. This…
This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory and its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical review of four decades of ST within the broader context of six decades of failed attempts…
In these lectures we give a brief introduction to perturbative and non-perturbative string theory. The outline is the following: 1. Introduction to perturbative string theory 1.1 From point particle to extended objects 1.2 Free closed and…
String theory has been the dominating research field in theoretical physics during the last decades. Despite the considerable time elapse, no new testable predictions have been derived by string theorists and it is understandable that…
In some string theories, e.g. SO(32) heterotic string theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds, a massless field with a tree level potential can acquire a tachyonic mass at the one loop level, forcing us to quantize the theory around a new background…
A polemical article evaluating string theory from the point of view of a quantum field theorist working in a mathematics department. Comments to the author are encouraged.
The history of general relativity suggests that in absence of experimental data, constructing a theory on philosophical first principles can lead to a very useful theory as well as to ground-breaking insights about physical reality. The two…
String theory has not even come close to a complete formulation after half a century of intense research. On the other hand, a number of features of the theory suggest that the theory, once completed, may be a final theory. It is argued in…
In this paper, we study open-closed string field theory in the background B-field in the so-called alpha=p^{+} formulation. The string field theory in the infrared gives noncommutative gauge theory in the open string sector. Since this…