Related papers: Intersecting Branes, Defect Conformal Field Theori…

We show how two topologically distinct spaces - the Kahler K3 x T^2 and the non-Kahler T^2 bundle over K3 - can be smoothly connected in heterotic string theory. The transition occurs when the base K3 is deformed to the T^4/Z_2 orbifold…

We discuss the relation between M theory and type II string theories. We show that, assuming ``natural'' interactions between membranes and fivebranes in M theory, the known interactions between strings and D-branes in type II string…

We consider Type IIB Neveu-Schwarz five-branes transverse to C^2/Z_n orbifolds and conjecture that string theory on the near horizon geometry is dual to the decoupled theory on the branes. We analyze the conformal field theory describing…

We demonstrate that twisted equivariant differential K-theory of transverse complex curves accommodates exotic charges of the form expected of codimension=2 defect branes, such as of D7-branes in IIB/F-theory on A-type orbifold…

We propose and study a new holographic duality between a non-supersymmetric defect conformal field theory (dCFT) and its gravity dual. On the gravity side, the defect is realised by a novel solution of a D5 probe brane embedded in the…

We study the T duality between a set of type IIB D3 branes atnon-orbifold threefold singularities, and type IIA configurations of D4 branes stretched between relatively rotated NS fivebranes. The four-dimensional N=1 field theories on the…

We examine string-theory orientifold planes of various types including the Sp and SO-odd planes, and deduce the gravitational Chern-Simons couplings on their world-volumes. Consistency checks are carried out in different spacetime…

In these notes we provide a pedagogical introduction to the subject of tachyon condensation in Witten's cubic bosonic open string field theory. We use both the low-energy Yang-Mills description and the language of string field theory to…

We study probe M5-branes in N=1 AdS5 solutions of M-theory that arise from M5-branes wrapped on a Riemann surface. Using the BPS condition from kappa-symmetry, we classify supersymmetric probe M5-branes that extend along all of AdS5 and…

This review is devoted to strings and branes. Firstly, perturbative string theory is introduced. The appearance of various types of branes is discussed. These include orbifold fixed planes, D-branes and orientifold planes. The connection to…

A review of various aspects of superstrings in background electromagnetic fields is presented. Topics covered include the Born-Infeld action, spectrum of open strings in background gauge fields, the Schwinger mechanism, finite-temperature…

We analyze topological mass terms of BF type arising in supersymmetric M-theory compactifications to $AdS_5$. These describe spontaneously broken higher-form gauge symmetries in the bulk. Different choices of boundary conditions for the BF…

We study the strong coupling dynamics of the heterotic E_8 x E_8 string theory on the orbifolds T^6/Z_3 and C^3/Z_3 using the duality with the Horava-Witten M-theory picture. This leads us to a conjecture about the low energy description of…

We discuss general spinning p-branes of string and M-theory and use their thermodynamics along with the correspondence between near-horizon brane solutions and field theories with 16 supercharges to describe the thermodynamic behavior of…

In this paper we consider the gauge theory living on the world-volume of a stack of N D3-branes of Type 0B/\Omega' I_6(-1)^{F_{L}} and of its orbifolds C^2/Z_2 and C^3/(Z_2 x Z_2). The gauge theories obtained in the three cases are a brane…

The D3-D5 probe-brane system is holographically dual to a defect CFT which is known to be integrable. The evidence comes mainly from the study of correlation functions at weak coupling. In the present work we shed light on the emergence of…

In a recent work, Tachikawa and Zhang proved the existence of a discrete topological term in the unique non-supersymmetric heterotic string with no tachyons in ten dimensions. This theory features NS5-branes, whose chiral degrees of freedom…

We use holography to study codimension-2 surface defects in 5d SCFTs engineered by $(p,q)$ 5-brane webs. The three-dimensional defects are realized by D3-branes ending on the brane web. We identify the holographic representation of the…

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…

Starting from an N=1 supersymmetric electric gauge theory with the multiple product gauge group and the bifundamentals, we apply Seiberg dual to each gauge group, obtain the N=1 supersymmetric dual magnetic gauge theories with dual matters…