Related papers: String Theory and Quintessence
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…
In gravitational theories with extra dimensions, it is argued that the existence of a positive vacuum energy generically implies catastrophic instability of our four-dimensional world. The most generic instability is a decompactification…
Beginning with a review of the arguments leading to the so-called c=1 barrier in the continuum formulation of noncritical string theory, the pathology is then exhibited in a discretized version of the theory, formulated through dynamical…
There is some evidence that the Universe is presently undergoing accelerating expansion. This has restored some credit to the scenarios with a non-vanishing cosmological constant. From the point of view of a theory of fundamental…
The past year has seen enormous progress in string theory. It has become clear that all of the different string theories are different limits of a single theory. Moreover, in certain limits, one obtains a new, eleven-dimensional structure…
It is argued that the complete S-matrix of string theory at tree level in a flat background can be obtained from a small set of target space properties, without recourse to the worldsheet description. The main non-standard inputs are…
We consider N=1 supersymmetric U(N), SO(N), and Sp(N) gauge theories, with two-index tensor matter and added tree-level superpotential, for general breaking patterns of the gauge group. By considering the string theory realization and…
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…
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…
Recently, a number of authors have challenged the conventional assumption that the string scale, Planck mass, and unification scale are roughly comparable. It has been suggested that the string scale could be as low as a TeV. The greatest…
The space-time light-cone Hamiltonian P^- of large-N matrix models for dynamical triangulations may be viewed as that of a quantum spin chain and analysed in a mean field approximation. As N -> infinity, the properties of the groundstate as…
String theory provides the only consistent framework so far that unifies all interactions including gravity. We discuss gravity and cosmology in string theory. Conventional notions from general relativity like geometry, topology etc. are…
We investigate the cosmological consequences of particle physics theories that admit stable loops of superconducting cosmic string - {\it vortons}. General symmetry breaking schemes are considered, in which strings are formed at one energy…
Swampland conjectures (SCs) of string theory require that a constant cosmological constant $\Lambda$ be replaced by a time-dependent scalar-field quintessence with constrained parameters. The constraints limit the duration of the present…
The four-dimensional superstring solutions define at low energy effective supergravity theories. A class of them extends successfully the validity of the standard model up to the string scale (${\cal O}(10^{17})~TeV$). We stress the…
Popular multiverse models such as the one based on the string theory landscape require an underlying set of unexplained laws containing many specific features and highly restrictive prerequisites. I explore the consequences of relaxing some…
String theory builds on the great legacy of Yukawa and Tomonaga: New degrees of freedom and control of the UV are two important themes. This talk will give an overview of some of the progress and some of the unsolved problems that…
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…
We study cosmic strings in the complex symmetron model, a scalar-tensor theory with a spontaneously broken local $U(1)$ symmetry in low matter density regions. Using numerical simulations, we show that these strings preferentially attach to…
A large class of time-dependent solutions with 1/2 supersymmetry were found previously. These solutions involve cosmic singularities at early time. In this paper, we study if matrix string description of the singularities in these solutions…