Related papers: Charge Violation and Alice Behavior in Global and …
We consider the (2, 0) supersymmetric theory of tensor multiplets and self-dual strings in six space-time dimensions. Space-time diffeomorphisms that leave the string world-sheet invariant appear as gauge transformations on the normal…
When axionic strings carry a global charge, domain walls bounded by such strings may not be allowed to decay completely. This happens in particular in some models where a composite axion-like particle is the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson of…
When a fermion interacts with a global vortex or cosmic string a solenoidal "gauge" field is induced. This results in a non-trivial scattering cross-section. For scalars and non-relativistic fermions the cross-section is similar to that of…
We fully investigate the symmetry breaking patterns occurring upon creation of composite non-Abelian strings: vortex strings in non-Abelian theories where different sets of colours have different amounts of flux. After spontaneous symmetry…
We show the existence of a global anomaly in the one-loop graphs of N=2 string theory, defined by sewing tree amplitudes, unless spacetime supersymmetry is imposed. The anomaly is responsible for the non-vanishing maximally helicity…
We study stringy fluctuations as a source for corrections to the Wilson loop as obtained from the superstrings on (adS_5 x S^5)/ N=4 SYM correspondence. We give a formal expression in terms of determinants of two dimensional operators for…
(3+1)D topological phases of matter can host a broad class of non-trivial topological defects of codimension-1, 2, and 3, of which the well-known point charges and flux loops are special cases. The complete algebraic structure of these…
Is string theory uniquely determined by self-consistency? Causality and unitarity seemingly permit a multitude of putative deformations, at least at the level of two-to-two scattering. Motivated by this question, we initiate a systematic…
We have studied numerically the evolution and decay of axion strings. These global defects decay mainly by axion emission and thus contribute to the cosmological axion density. The relative importance of this source relative to misalignment…
We present a simple derivation of the Callan-Harvey-Naculich effect, {\it i.e.} the compensation of charge violation on axion strings due to gauge anomalies by accretion of charge onto the string from the surrounding space. We then show, in…
Continuous global symmetries are expected to be broken by gravity, which can lead to important phenomenological consequences. A prime example is the threat that this poses to the viability of the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong CP…
The normal confining phase of gauge theories is characterised by the condensation of magnetic monopoles and center vortices. Sometimes in coupled gauge system one finds another phase with simultaneous condensation of electric and magnetic…
Superstring theories are very promising theoretically, but the enormous landscape of string vacua and the (likely) very large underlying string scale imply that they may never be tested directly. Nevertheless, concrete constructions…
The perturbative analysis of models of open and closed superstrings presents a number of surprises. For instance, variable numbers of antisymmetric tensors ensure their consistency via generalized Green-Schwarz cancellations and a novel…
In string theory, the consequences of replacing the measure of integration $\sqrt{-\gamma}d^2 x$ in the Polyakov's action by $\Phi d^2 x$ where $\Phi$ is a density built out of degrees of freedom independent of the metric $\gamma_{ab}$…
I describe how superstring theory may violate spin-statistics in an experimentally observable manner. Reviewing the basics of superstring interactions and how to utilize these to produce a statistical phase, I then apply these ideas to two…
Quantum non-local charges are central to the quantum integrability of a sigma-model. In this paper we study the quantum consistency and UV finiteness of non-local charges of string theory in AdS(5)xS(5). We use the pure spinor formalism. We…
Billiards tables - a minimal model for particles moving in a confined region - are known to present classical (and quantum) different features according to their shape, ranging from strongly chaotic to integrable dynamics. Here we consider…
We investigate the possibility that stringy nonperturbative effects appear as holes in the world-sheet. We focus on the case of Dirichlet string theory, which we argue should be formulated differently than in previous work, and we find that…
Perturbative spectra and related factorization properties of one-loop open string amplitudes in the presence of a constant external background B are analysed in detail. While the pattern of the closed string spectrum, obtained after a…