Related papers: Superstring Vacua of 4-dimensional PP-Waves with E…
Making use of non-perturbative U-duality symmetries of type II strings we construct new `superstring' vacua in three dimensions with N=1 supersymmetry. This has an interpretation as compactifying formally from 13 dimensions (S-theory) on…
In this article we review four-dimensional string vacua with N=2 space-time supersymmetry. In particular, we will discuss several aspects of the string-string duality between the heterotic string, compactified on $K3\times T^2$, and the…
We investigate the connections between four-dimensional, N=2 M-theory vacua constructed as orbifolds of type II, heterotic, and type I strings. All these models have the same massless spectrum, which contains an equal number of vector…
We study the singularities of the Higgs branch of supersymmetric U(1)^r gauge theories with eight supercharges. We derive new solutions for the moduli space of vacua preserving manifestly the eight supercharges by using a geometric…
We argue that supersymmetric higher-dimension operators in the effective actions of M-theory and IIB string theory do not affect the maximally supersymmetric vacua: $adS_4\times S^7$ and $adS_7\times S^4$ in M-theory and $adS_5\times S^5$…
In the first lecture, we derive the five-dimensional effective action of strongly coupled heterotic string theory for the complete (1,1) sector of the theory by performing a reduction, on a Calabi-Yau three-fold, of M-theory on S1/Z2. The…
We argue that a class of ``non-critical superstring'' vacua is holographically related to the (non-gravitational) theory obtained by studying string theory on a singular Calabi-Yau manifold in the decoupling limit $g_s\to 0$. In two…
After a short introduction to Matrix theory, we explain how can one generalize matrix models to describe toroidal compactifications of M-theory and the heterotic vacua with 16 supercharges. This allows us, for the first time in history, to…
We show the existence of realistic vacua in string theory whose observable sector has exactly the matter content of the MSSM. This is achieved by compactifying the E_8 x E_8 heterotic superstring on a smooth Calabi-Yau threefold with an…
The space of four dimensional string and $M$ theory vacua with non-Abelian gauge symmetry, chiral fermions and unbroken supersymmetry beyond the electroweak scale appears to be a disconnected space whose different components represent…
We study gauge theories which are associated with classical vacua of perturbative Type II string theory that allows for a conformal field theory description. We show that even if we compactify seven spatial dimensions (allowing for one…
We propose correspondences between 4d quantum field theories with N=2,1,0 (super)conformal invariance and Type IIB string theory on various orbifolds. We argue using the spacetime string theory, and check using the beta functions (exactly…
We apply the techniques of the ``universal string theory'' to the ``manifold'' paradigm for superstring/M-theory and come up with a candidate manifold: the manifold of F-theory vacua, defined in conformal field theoretical terms. It…
We investigate $2d$ sigma-models with a $2+N$ dimensional Minkowski signature target space metric and Killing symmetry, specifically supersymmetrized, and see under which conditions they might lead to corresponding exact string vacua. It…
We analyze the moduli spaces near N=4 supersymmetric AdS4 vacua of string theory by combining and comparing various approaches: (a) the known exact solutions of Type IIB string theory with localized 5-brane sourcees, (b) the holographically…
It is shown that four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric QCD with massive flavors in the fundamental representation of the gauge group can be realized in the hidden sector of E8xE8 heterotic string vacua. The number of flavors can be chosen to…
We consider type II string theory compactified on a symmetric T^6/Z_2 orientifold. We study a general class of discrete deformations of the resulting four-dimensional supergravity theory, including gaugings arising from geometric and…
We present a dual formulation of the construction of N=2 nonlinear sigma-model type conformal field theories with c=9 which are mainly used as internal sectors of Calabi-Yau heterotic string compactifications. The supercurrents and the…
Using the embedding tensor formalism we give the general conditions for the existence of N=1 vacua in spontaneously broken N=2 supergravities. Our results confirm the necessity of having both electrically and magnetically charged multiplets…
We study various aspects of N=(4,4) type IIA GS superstring theory in the pp-wave background, which arises as the compactification of maximally supersymmetric eleven-dimensional pp-wave geometry along the spacelike isometry direction. We…