Related papers: String Universality
We generalize the results of Polchinski and Strassler regarding the N=1-preserving mass deformation of N=4 SU(N) SYM theories and its string theory dual to SO(N) and USp(2N) gauge groups. The string theory duals involve 5-branes wrapped on…
The aim of these notes is to give recent developments in string theory. In particular, we discuss the string spectrums, compactifications, brane physics and dualities.
The weakly-coupled heterotic string is known to have problems of dilaton/moduli stabilization, supersymmetry breaking (by hidden-sector gaugino condensation), gauge coupling unification (or the Newton's constant), QCD axion, as well as…
There are many conceivable possibilities of embedding the MSSM in string theory. These proceedings describe an approach which is based on grand unification in higher dimensions. This allows one to obtain global string-derived models with…
We propose examples, which involve orbifolds by elements of the U-duality group, with M-theory moduli fixed at the eleven-dimensional Planck scale. We begin by reviewing asymmetric orbifold constructions in perturbative string theory, which…
After briefly reviewing basic concepts of perturbative string theory, we explain in simple terms some of the new findings that created excitement among the string physicists. These developments include non-perturbative dualities and a…
We consider brane-world scenarios embedded into string theory. We find that the D-brane backreaction induces a large increase in the open string's proper length. Consequently the stringy nature of elementary particles can be detected at…
We discuss the moduli space of nine dimensional N=1 supersymmetric compactifications of M theory / string theory with reduced rank (rank 10 or rank 2), exhibiting how all the different theories (including M theory compactified on a Klein…
We study the general patterns of SUSY-breaking soft terms arising under the assumption of Kahler moduli dominated SUSY-breaking in string theory models. Insisting that all MSSM gauginos get masses at leading order and that the top Yukawa…
We consider massless string scattering amplitudes in a limit where the number of external particles becomes very large, while the energy of each particle remains small. Using the growth of the volume of the relevant moduli space, and by…
We discuss the obstacles for defining a set of observable quantities analogous to an S-matrix which are needed to formulate string theory in an accelerating universe. We show that the quintessence models with the equations of state $-1 < w…
We argue that traditional methods of compactification of string theory make it very difficult to understand how the cosmological constant becomes zero. String inspired models can give zero cosmological constant after fine tuning but since…
The observation in the universe of a small but positive vacuum energy strongly suggests, in the string landscape picture, that there will ultimately be a phase transition to an exactly supersymmetric universe. This ground state or "true…
We look at the string theory dual of the $\N=1^*$ theory, involving 5--branes, which was recently proposed by Polchinski and Strassler \cite{PolStr}. We argue that SUGRA alone is not enough in order to obtain the correct screening and…
This is a brief overview on the current status of string theory for non-specialists. The purpose is to give an aspect on the nature of string theory as a unified theory of all interactions including quantum gravity and to discuss future…
Four dimensional supergravities may be the right framework to describe particle physics at low energies. Its connection to the underlying string theory can be implemented through higher dimensional supergravities which bear special…
In string theory the coupling ``constants'' appearing in the low-energy effective Lagrangian are determined by the vacuum expectation values of some (a priori) massless scalar fields (dilaton, moduli). This naturally leads one to expect a…
Charge and color breaking minima in SUSY theories might make the standard vacuum unstable. In this talk a brief review of this issue is performed. When a complete analysis of all the potentially dangerous directions in the field space of…
Quantum anomalies, determined by the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, place strong constraints on the space of quantum gravity theories in six dimensions with minimal supersymmetry. The conjecture of "string universality" states that all such…
A naive dimensional reduction of the $N=1, D=10$ supergravity theory that naturally arises in five-brane models is used to determine the r\^ole of two fields which are basic ingredients of string models: the dilaton and, among the moduli,…