Related papers: String Theory: The Early Years

We provide a detailed analysis of the problems and prospects of superstring theory c. 1986, anticipating much of the progress of the decades to follow.

String field theory is a candidate for a full non-perturbative definition of string theory. We aim to define string field theory on a space-time lattice to investigate its behaviour at the quantum level. Specifically, we look at string…

In addition to being a prime candidate for a fundamental unified theory of all interactions in nature, string theory provides a natural setting to understand gauge field theories. This is linked to the concept of "D-branes": extended,…

The topic of cosmic strings provides a bridge between the physics of the very small and the very large. They are predicted by some unified theories of particle interactions. If they exist, they may help to explain some of the largest-scale…

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…

The search for a theory of quantum gravity faces two great challenges: the incredibly small scales of the Planck length and time, and the possibility that the observed constants of nature are in part the result of random processes. A…

As of today there exist consistent, gauge-invariant string field theories describing all string theories: bosonic open and closed strings, open superstrings, heterotic strings and type II strings. The construction of these theories require…

This is a non-technical talk given at the Sixth Marcel Grossman Meeting on General Relativity, Kyoto, Japan in June 1991. Some developments in string theory over the last six years are discussed together with their qualitative implications…

This talk begins with some history and basic facts about string theory and its connections with strong interactions. Comparisons of stacks of Dirichlet branes with curved backgrounds produced by them are used to motivate the AdS/CFT…

This is a brief description of what has been accomplished and what remains to be done in the construction of a nonperturbative formulation of "The Theory Formerly Known as String". It is culled from two short talks given by the author at…

This is a broad-brush review of how string theory addresses several important questions of gravitational physics. The problem of non-renormalizability is first reviewed, followed by introduction of string theory as an ultraviolet-finite…

Using as a springboard a three-way debate between theoretical physicist Lee Smolin, philosopher of science Nancy Cartwright and myself, I address in layman's terms the issues of why we need a unified theory of the fundamental interactions…

In this review I discuss some basic aspects of non-perturbative string theory. The topics include test of duality symmetries based on the analysis of the low energy effective action and the spectrum of BPS states, relationship between…

We review applications of string theory to cosmology, from primordial times to the present-day accelerated expansion. Starting with a brief overview of cosmology and string compactifications, we discuss in detail moduli stabilisation,…

The first part of this thesis is a general introduction to the bosonic and fermionic string theory, to the concept of D brane and to string dualities. A discussion of anomalies cancellation closes the chapter. The second part of the thesis…

We define string geometry: spaces of superstrings including the interactions, their topologies, charts, and metrics. Trajectories in asymptotic processes on a space of strings reproduce the right moduli space of the super Riemann surfaces…

These are lecture notes on string theory at Fudan University.

We consider two questions in string ``phenomenology.'' First, are there any generic string predictions? Second, are there any general lessons which string theory suggests for thinking about low energy models, particularly in the framework…

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…

The first quantum string theories were developed around 1970, prior to the discovery of QCD, with the goal of producing a theory of hadrons. Basic physical requirements and mathematical consistency of the string theories known at that time…