Related papers: Stringy algebras, stretched horizons, and quantum-…
This monograph is an updated and extended version of the author's PhD thesis. It consists of an introductory text followed by two separate parts which are loosely related but may be read independently of each other. In Part I we analyze…
The ultraviolet cutoff on a quantum field theory can be interpreted as a condensate of the affine curvature such that while the maximum of the affine action gives the power-law corrections, its minimum leads to the emergence of gravity.…
Homogeneous gravitational wave backgrounds arise as infinite momentum limits of many geometries with a well-understood holographic description. General global aspects of these geometries are discussed. Using exact CFT techniques, strings in…
We develop the effective worldvolume theory for the dynamics of black branes with charges of the kind that arise in many supergravities and low-energy limits of string theory. Using this theory, we construct numerous new rotating black…
We explore various aspects of dynamical black holes defined by a future outer trapping horizon in $n(\ge 5)$-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. In the present paper, we assume that the spacetime has symmetries corresponding to the…
In Einstein-Maxwell theory, magnetic flux lines are `expelled' from a black hole as extremality is approached, in the sense that the component of the field strength normal to the horizon goes to zero. Thus, extremal black holes are found to…
A generic spacetime topology contains timelike boundaries. Making use of two such boundaries, we formulate a microscopic holographic dual that captures cosmological spacetime beyond the cosmic horizon patch, including the future wedge. We…
We argue that the requirement of a finite entanglement entropy of quantum degrees of freedom across a boundary surface is closely related to the phenomenon of running spectral dimension, universal in approaches to quantum gravity. If…
In the AdS/CFT correspondence one encounters theories that are not invariant under diffeomorphisms. In the boundary theory this is a gravitational anomaly, and can arise in 4k+2 dimensions. In the bulk, there can be gravitational…
I study constraints on fundamental physics emerging from consistency of a unitary, local and perturbative $S$-matrix in $4d$. For massless particles, some new constraints arising from consistent complex factorisation of $2\rightarrow 2$…
In this work are consider several topics in the Topological Membrane (TM) approach to string theory. The string dynamics is generated from the bulk physics, namely from the 3D Topologically Massive Gauge Theory (TMGT) and Topologically…
String gas cosmology is rewritten in the Einstein frame. In an effective theory in which a gas of closed strings is coupled to a dilaton gravity background without any potential for the dilaton, the Hagedorn phase which is quasi-static in…
The hypothesis that every theory of quantum gravity in AdS_3 is a dimensional reduction of string/M-theory leads to a natural conjecture for the density of states of two dimensional CFTs with a large central charge limit. We prove this…
Understanding flux string dynamics can provide insight into quark confinement and hadronization. First-principles quantum and numerical simulations have mostly focused on toy-model Abelian lattice gauge theories (LGTs). With the advent of…
We investigate numerically the configurational statistics of strings. The algorithm models an ensemble of global $U(1)$ cosmic strings, or equivalently vortices in superfluid $^4$He. We use a new method which avoids the specification of…
This Ph.D. thesis investigates effective field and string theories in which supersymmetry is realized and broken in various ways. Chapter 1 addresses effective theories with nonlinearly realized supersymmetry, constructed using the…
The topological aspects of Einstein gravity suggest that topological invariance could be a more profound principle in understanding quantum gravity. In this work, we explore a topological supergravity action that initially describes a…
We consider "super no-scale models" in the framework of the heterotic string, where the N=4,2,1 --> 0 spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry is induced by geometrical fluxes realizing a stringy Scherk-Schwarz perturbative mechanism.…
We study universal features of the density of one-particle states $\rho(E)$ in weakly coupled theories of gravity at energies above the quantum gravity cutoff $\Lambda$, defined as the scale suppressing higher-derivative corrections to the…
Particle physics models where there are large hidden extra dimensions are currently on the focus of an intense activity. The main reason is that these large extra dimensions may come with a TeV scale for quantum gravity (or string theory)…