Related papers: The Maximum Tension Principle in General Relativit…
General Relativity can be reformulated as a diffeomorphism invariant gauge theory of the Lorentz group, with Lagrangian of the type $f(F\wedge F)$, where $F$ is the curvature 2-form of the spin connection. A theory from this class with a…
In this thesis, two aspects of string theory are discussed, tensionless strings and supersymmetric sigma models. The equivalent to a massless particle in string theory is a tensionless string. Even almost 30 years after it was first…
We present a self-contained introduction to the classical theory of spacetime and fields. This exposition is based on the most general principles: the principle of general covariance (relativity) and the principle of least action. The order…
String theory, if it describes nature, is probably strongly coupled. As a result, one might despair of making any statements about the theory. In the framework of a set of clearly spelled out assumptions, we show that this is not…
The modification to four--dimensional Einstein gravity at low energy in two brane models is investigated within supergravity in singular spaces. Using perturbation theory around a static BPS background, we study the effective…
Following the basic idea expressed in [1], we assume that for any particle or body with mass M its own time t depends on therelative change \frac{\Delta M}{M} of that mass. Based on this assumption, one discusses possible existence of a…
We show that $4$-dimensional Robertson-Walker spacetimes can be constructed for which all of the beta functions vanish to leading order, yielding consistent string theory without extra dimensions. We find that there is a unique static…
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…
Cosmic (super)strings offer promising ways to test ideas about the early universe and physics at high energies. While in field theory constructions their tension is usually assumed to be constant (or at most slowly-varying), this is often…
The strong coupling dynamics of string theories in dimension $d\geq 4$ are studied. It is argued, among other things, that eleven-dimensional supergravity arises as a low energy limit of the ten-dimensional Type IIA superstring, and that a…
This is a set of lectures on the gauge/string duality and non-critical strings, with a particular emphasis on the discretized, or matrix model, approach. After a general discussion of various points of view, I describe the recent…
An instructive paradox concerning classical description of energy and momentum of extended physical systems in special relativity theory is explained using an elementary example of two point-like massive bodies rotating on a circle in their…
The origin of the string conformal anomaly is studied in detail. We use a reformulated string Lagrangian which allows to consider the string tension $T_{0}$ as a small perturbation. The expansion parameter is the worldsheet speed of light…
This talk considers possible lessons of string theory for low energy physics. These are of two types. First, assuming that string theory is the correct underlying theory of all interactions, we ask whether there are any generic predictions…
A possible generalisation is given to the meaning of maximal symmetry in the presence of torsion
In a very recent paper [1], we have proposed a novel $4$-dimensional gravitational theory with two dynamical degrees of freedom, which serves as a consistent realization of $D\to4$ Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with the rescaled…
The notion of ``fundamental constant'' is heavily theory-laden. A natural, fairly precise formulation is possible in the context of the standard model (here defined to include gravity). Some fundamental constants have profound geometric…
We consider the possibility that the basic space of physics is not spacetime, but configuration space. We illustrate this on the example with a system of gravitationally interacting point particles. It turns out that such system can be…
In this work we raise the question whether nonsymmetric gravity and string theory are related. We start making the observation, that the gravitational field $ g_{\mu\nu}$ and the nonsymmetric gauge field $ A_{\mu\nu}$ arising in the low…
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…