Related papers: Closed String Tachyons and Semi-Classical Instabil…
This paper corroborates a statement that perturbative string theory does not admit a solution whose spacetime metric is de Sitter times a closed manifold, to all orders in the $\alpha'$ and $g_s$ expansions, under the assumption that the…
We consider the decay of cosmic strings that are trapped in the false vacuum in a theory of scalar electrodynamics in 3+1 dimensions. We restrict our analysis to the case of thin-walled cosmic strings which occur when large magnetic flux…
The bubble of nothing is a solution to Einstein's equations where a circle shrinks and pinches off smoothly. As such, it is one of the simplest examples of a dynamical cobordism to nothing. We take a first step in studying how this solution…
This thesis examines the interaction of both bosonic and superstrings with various backgrounds with a view to understanding the interplay between tachyon condensation and world-sheet conformal invariance, and to understanding the overlap of…
We consider coupled gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations of a family of five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell solutions that describes both magnetized black strings and horizonless topological stars. We find that the odd…
We consider an open-string realisation of $\mathcal{N}=2\to \mathcal{N}=0$ spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. It is based on type IIB orientifold theory compactified on $T^2\times…
The tachyon-free nonsupersymmetric string theories in ten dimensions have dilaton tadpoles which forbid a Minkowski vacuum. We determine the maximally symmetric backgrounds for the $USp(32)$ Type I string and the $SO(16)\times SO(16)$…
We discuss the problem of tachyon condensation in the framework of background independent open string field theory. We show, in particular, that the computation of the string field theory action simplifies considerably if one looks at…
We propose gauge theories in which the unstable branes and the fundamental string are realized as classical solutions. While the former are represented by domain wall like configurations of a scalar field coupled to the gauge field, the…
We investigate the quantum structure of Witten's cubic open bosonic string field theory by computing the one-loop contribution to the open string tadpole using both oscillator and conformal field theory methods. We find divergences and a…
Theories with compact extra dimensions can exhibit a vacuum instability known as a bubble of nothing. These decay modes can be obstructed if the internal manifold is stabilized by fluxes, or if it carries Wilson lines for background gauge…
Over the past three decades, considerable effort has been devoted to studying the rich and diverse phenomenologies of heterotic strings exhibiting spacetime supersymmetry. Unfortunately, during this same period, there has been relatively…
We investigate a non-perturbative vacuum in open string field theory expanded around the analytic classical solution which has been found in the universal Fock space generated by matter Virasoro generators and ghost oscillators. We carry…
Zero modes of the worldsheet spinors of a closed string can source higher order moments of the bulk supergravity fields. In this work, we analyze various configurations of closed strings focusing on the imprints of the quantized spinor vevs…
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…
It has been conjectured that at a stationary point of the tachyon potential for the D-brane of bosonic string theory, the negative energy density exactly cancels the D-brane tension. We evaluate this tachyon potential by off-shell…
In this Ph.D. thesis, we study tachyon condensation in string field theories. In chapter 2, we review Witten's bosonic string field theory and calculate the tachyon potential. In chapter 3, we calculate the tachyon potential in Berkovits'…
In this paper we give an exact analytic solution for tachyon condensation in the modified (picture 0) cubic superstring field theory. We prove the absence of cohomology and, crucially, reproduce the correct value for the D-brane tension.…
We point out some intriguing analogies between field theoretic solitons (topological defects) and D-branes. Annihilating soliton-antisoliton pairs can produce stable solitons of lower dimensionality. Solitons that localize massless gauge…
If nature is described by string theory, and if the compactification radius is large (as suggested by the unification of couplings), then the theory is in a regime best described by the low energy limit of $M$-theory. We discuss some…