Related papers: Strings in a Time-Dependent Orbifold
String theory is at the moment the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. But, in spite of the more than thirty years of its existence, it does not make any empirically testable predictions, and it…
We discuss the obstacles for defining a set of observable quantities analogous to an S-matrix which are needed to formulate string theory in an accelerating universe. We show that the quintessence models with the equations of state $-1 < w…
String theory is the most promising candidate theory for a unified description of all fundamental forces exist in the nature. It provides a mathematical framework that combine quantum theory with Einstein's general theory of relativity. But…
We study string scattering amplitudes by using the deformed cubic string field theory which is equivalent to the string field theory in the proper-time gauge. The four-string scattering amplitudes with three tachyons and an arbitrary string…
This is a summary of a talk based on hep-th/9305139 and presented at the SUSY-93 International Workshop. We study infinite dimensional unbroken gauge symmetries which arise when time is toroidally compactified in string theory.
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…
We review the current status of the singularity problem in string theory for non-experts. After the problem is discussed from the point of view of supergravity, we discuss classic examples and recent examples of singularity resolution in…
String theory in two-dimensional spacetime illuminates two main threads of recent development in string theory: (1) Open/closed string duality, and (2) Tachyon condensation. In two dimensions, many aspects of these phenomena can be explored…
We study an exact model of string theory propagating in a space-time containing regions with closed time-like curves (CTCs) separated from a finite cosmological region bounded by a Big Bang and a Big Crunch. The model is an non-trivial…
These notes on string theory are based on a series of talks I gave during my graduate studies. As the talks, this introductory essay is intended for young students and non-string theory physicists.
An accelerating Universe can be accommodated naturally within non-critical string theory, in which scattering is described by a superscattering matrix \$ that does not factorize as a product of $S$- and $S^\dagger$-matrix elements and time…
We study a string theory which is exclusively based on extrinsic curvature action. It is a tensionless string theory because the action reduces to perimeter for the flat Wilson loop. We are able to solve and quantize this high-derivative…
The strong coupling limit of a quantum system is in general quite complicated, but in some cases a great simplification occurs: the strongly coupled limit is equivalent to the weakly coupled limit of some other system. In string theory…
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…
We study the global structure of the exact two-dimensional space-time which emerges from string theory. Previous work has shown that in the semi-classical limit, this is a black hole similar to the Schwarzschild solution. However, we find…
We consider conditions under which a universe contracting towards a big crunch can make a transition to an expanding big bang universe. A promising example is 11-dimensional M-theory in which the eleventh dimension collapses, bounces, and…
In this dissertation, we study various aspects of type IIB string theory compactified on freely acting orbifolds. We focus particularly on asymmetric orbifolds, which are examples of non-geometric string compactifications and constitute an…
We analyze the nature of space-time nonlocality in string theory. After giving a brief overview on the conjecture of the space-time uncertainty principle, a (semi-classical) reformulation of string quantum mechanics, in which the dynamics…
In some string theories, e.g. SO(32) heterotic string theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds, a massless field with a tree level potential can acquire a tachyonic mass at the one loop level, forcing us to quantize the theory around a new background…
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…