Related papers: On Smooth Time-Dependent Orbifolds and Null Singul…
We consider string theory in a time dependent orbifold with a null singularity. The singularity separates a contracting universe from an expanding universe, thus constituting a big crunch followed by a big bang. We quantize the theory both…
We study the null orbifold singularity in 2+1 d flat space higher spin theory as well as string theory. Using the Chern-Simons formulation of 2+1 d Einstein gravity, we first observe that despite the singular nature of this geometry, the…
We study string theory in supersymmetric time-dependent backgrounds. In the framework of general relativity, supersymmetry for spacetimes without flux implies the existence of a covariantly constant null vector, and a relatively simple form…
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 consider time-dependent orbifolds in String Theory and we show that divergences are not associated with a gravitational backreaction since they appear in the open string sector too. They are related to the non existence of the underlying…
We construct a novel orientifold of type IIB string theory that breaks all supersymmetries. It is a closed string theory without open sector and it can be understood as a Scherk-Schwarz deformation in which supersymmetry is restored at…
In this thesis we study string theory with D-branes and possibly orientifolds in curved or time-dependent spaces. Our study aims at understanding some aspects of curved and time-dependent spaces, notably because of their importance in…
We propose a new cosmological scenario which resolves the conventional initial singularity problem. The space-time geometry has an unconventional time-like singularity on a lower dimensional hypersurface, with localized energy density. The…
We study M/D-branes in a null-brane background. By taking a near horizon limit, one is left with cosmological models in the corresponding Poincar\'e patches. To deal with their usual horizons, we either extend these models to global AdS or…
We explore bosonic strings and Type II superstrings in the simplest time dependent backgrounds, namely orbifolds of Minkowski space by time reversal and some spatial reflections. We show that there are no negative norm physical excitations.…
We continue and extend our earlier investigation ``Strings in a Time-Dependent Orbifold'' (hep-th/0204168). We formulate conditions for an orbifold to be amenable to perturbative string analysis and classify the low dimensional orbifolds…
We study a topological obstruction of a very stringy nature concerned with deforming the target space of an $N=2$ non-linear \sm. This target space has a singularity which may be smoothed away according to the conventional rules of geometry…
We study pairs of planar D-branes intersecting on null hypersurfaces, and other related configurations. These are supersymmetric and have finite energy density. They provide open-string analogues of the parabolic orbifold and null-fluxbrane…
Type II string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold, with a singularity modeled by a hypersurface in an orbifold, is considered. In the limit of vanishing string coupling, one expects a non gravitational theory concentrated at the…
We analyze the D-branes of a type IIB string theory on an orbifold singularity including the possibility of discrete torsion following the work of Douglas et al. First we prove some general results about the moduli space of a point…
We do not know the symmetries underlying string theory. Furthermore, there must exist an inherently quantum, and spacetime independent, formulation of this theory. Independent of string theory, there should exist a description of quantum…
We consider null bosonic p-branes moving in curved space-times and develop a method for solving their equations of motion and constraints, which is suitable for string theory backgrounds. As an application, we give an exact solution for…
S(pacelike)D-branes are objects arising naturally in string theory when Dirichlet boundary conditions are imposed on the time direction. SD-brane physics is inherently time-dependent. Previous investigations of gravity fields of SD-branes…
In this paper we propose a unified approach to (topological) string theory on certain singular spaces in their large volume limit. The approach exploits the non-commutative structure of D-branes, so the space is described by an algebraic…
Brane-world singularities are analysed, emphasizing the case of supergravity in singular spaces where the singularity puzzle is naturally resolved. These naked singularities are either time-like or null, corresponding to the finite or…