Related papers: String Theory and the Space-Time Uncertainty Princ…

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…

We demonstrate that string consistency in four spacetime dimensions leads to a spectrum of string states which satisfies the supertrace constraints Str(M^0)=0 and Str(M^2)=\Lambda at tree level, where \Lambda is the one-loop string…

These lectures intend to give a pedagogical introduction into some of the developments in string theory during the last years. They include perturbative T-duality and non perturbative S- and U-dualities, their unavoidable demand for…

We give a brief overview of the nature of spacetime emerging from string theory. This is radically different from the familiar spacetime of Einstein's relativity. At a perturbative level, the spacetime metric appears as ``coupling…

String theory is a quantum theory that reproduces the results of General Relativity at long distances but is completely different at short distances. Mathematically, string theory is based on a very new -- and little understood -- framework…

By quantizing an open string ending on a D-brane in a nontrivial supergravity background, we argue that there is a new kind of uncertainty relation on a D-brane worldvolume. Furthermore, we fix the form of the uncertainty relations and…

We study string theory in supersymmetric time-dependent backgrounds. In the framework of general relativity, supersymmetry for spacetimes without flux implies the existence of a covariantly constant null vector, and a relatively simple form…

String theory is canonically accompanied with a space-time interpretation which determines S-matrix-like observables, and connects to the standard physics at low energies in the guise of local effective field theory. Recently, we have…

A string theory in $3$ euclidean spacetime dimensions is found to describe the semiclassical behavior of a certain exact physical state of quantum general relativity in $4$ dimensions. Both the worldsheet and the three dimensional metric…

We demonstrate that the spectrum of any consistent string theory in $D$ dimensions must satisfy a number of supertrace constraints: $ Str~M^{2n}=0 $ for $0 \leq n < D/2-1$, integer $n$. These results hold for a large class of string…

We study supersymmetry breaking by Scherk-Schwarz compactifications in type I string theory. While in the gravitational sector all mass splittings are proportional to a (large) compactification radius, supersymmetry remains unbroken for the…

The String Uncertainty Relations have been known for some time as the stringy corrections to the original Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle. In this letter the Stringy Uncertainty relations, and corrections thereof, are explicitly derived…

We review various aspects of de Sitter spacetime in string theory: its status as an effective field theory spacetime solution, its relation to the vacuum energy problem in string theory, its (global) holographic definition in terms of two…

I describe our understanding of physics near the planck length, in particular the great progress of the last four years in string theory. Superstring theory, and a recent extension called M theory, are leading candidates for a quantum…

Nonperturbative effects in string theory are usually associated to D-branes. In many cases it can be explicitly shown that D-brane instantons control the large-order behavior of string perturbation theory, leading to the well-known (2g)!…

We consider string theory in a time dependent orbifold with a null singularity. The singularity separates a contracting universe from an expanding universe, thus constituting a big crunch followed by a big bang. We quantize the theory both…

We show that the path-integral quantization of relativistic strings with the Schild action is essentially equivalent to the usual Polyakov quantization at critical space-time dimensions. We then present an interpretation of the Schild…

In this talk I review recent developments in superstring theory. In the first half of the talk I discuss some of the earlier developments in this subject. This includes a review of the status of string theory as a unified theory of gravity…

We suggest that the universe filled with unstable D-branes in their rolling tachyon vacuum state, described by periodic arrays of D-instantons along the imaginary time direction, may be a natural background for formulating string theory.…

In this paper we discuss symmetry breaking in string theory. Spacetime symmetries are implemented as inner automorphisms of the underlying superconformal algebra. Conserved currents generate unbroken spacetime symmetries. As we deform the…