Related papers: Absence of initial singularities in superstring co…
I examine some non-anthropic approaches to the string landscape. These approaches are based on finding the initial conditions of the universe using the wavefunction of the multiverse to select the most probable vacuum out of this landscape.…
We discuss an aspect of string theory which has been tackled from many different perspectives, but incompletely: the role of nonlocality in the theory and its relation to the geometric shape of the string. In particular, we will describe in…
Aspects of string cosmology for critical and non-critical strings are discussed emphasizing the necessity to account for the dilaton dynamics for a proper incorporation of ``large - small" duality. This drastically modifies the intuition…
A rather simple and non-technical exposition of our new approach to {\em Time, Quantum Physics, Black-Hole dynamics}, and {\em Cosmology}, based on non-critical string theory, is provided. A new fundamental principle, the {\em Procrustean…
At the present time, string theory (and its generalizations) remain relatively abstruse subjects to the particle phenomenologist and experimentalist. Yet, striking developments of the last two years offer hope that a fundamental…
We describe a new tunneling solution for the decay of a cosmic string into a burst of gravitational waves. We find the relevant instanton and compute the tunneling rate. Locally, our solution is just an analytic continuation of the Kerr…
Compactified string theories give rise to discrete symmetries which are essential if they are to provide a realistic low energy theory. We find that in a class of four dimensional string theories these symmetries are constrained by similar…
The BFSS matrix model is a suggested non-perturbative definition of string theory. Starting from a thermal state of this matrix model, we show how space and time can emerge dynamically. Results from the IKKT matrix model indicate that the…
One cannot yet point to any firm string prediction. While many approximate string ground states are known with interesting properties, we do not have any argument that one or another describes what we observe around us, and for reasons…
We argue that string theory emerges inevitably from a few simple assumptions about physical scattering. Consistency alone requires that all tree-level four-point scattering amplitudes exhibit vanishing residues at prescribed values of the…
A broad class of two-dimensional loop-corrected dilaton gravity models exhibit cosmological solutions that interpolate between the string perturbative vacuum and a background with asymptotically flat metric and linearly growing dilaton. The…
If there is a single underlying "theory of everything" which in some limits of its "moduli space" reduces to the five weakly coupled string theories in 10D, and 11D SUGRA, then it is possible that all six of them have some common domain of…
Progress on string theory in curved spacetimes since 1992 are reviewed. After a short introduction on strings in Minkowski and curved spacetimes, we focus on strings in cosmological spacetimes. The classical behaviour of strings in FRW and…
The tensionless limit of classical string theory may be formulated as a topological theory on the world-sheet. A vector density carries geometrical information in place of an internal metric. It is found that path-integral quantization…
At its very beginning, the universe is believed to have grown exponentially in size via the mechanism of inflation. The almost scale-invariant density perturbation spectrum predicted by inflation is strongly supported by cosmological…
The intersection of string theory with cosmology is unavoidable in the early universe, and its exploration may shine light on both fields. In this thesis, three papers at this intersection are presented and reviewed, with the aim of…
After recalling a few basic concepts from cosmology and string theory, I will discuss the main ideas/assumptions underlying string cosmology and show how these lead to a two-parameter family of ``minimal" models. I will then explain how to…
This is a summary of a course given at the Fourth Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics on some aspects of PBB cosmology. After introductory remarks the lectures concentrate on some amusing consequences derived from the…
Using a classical action associated to a point-particle in (1+1)-dimensions the classical string theory is derived. In connection with this result two aspects are clarified: First, the point particle in (1+1)-dimensions is not an ordinary…
Over the past three decades, considerable effort has been devoted to studying the rich and diverse phenomenologies of heterotic strings exhibiting spacetime supersymmetry. Unfortunately, during this same period, there has been relatively…