Related papers: Matrix Models and 2D String Theory
It is generally accepted that the double-scaled 1D matrix model is equivalent to the $c=1$ string theory with tachyon condensation. There remain however puzzles that are to be clarified in order to utilize this connection for our quest…
We describe some recent progress in understanding and formulating string theory which is based on extensive studies of strings in lower (D=2) dimension. At the center is a large $W_{\infty}$ symmetry that appears most simply in the matrix…
In the Matrix Quantum Mechanical formulation of 2D string theory it is possible to introduce arbitrary tachyonic perturbations. In the case when the tachyonic momenta form a lattice, the theory is known to be integrable and, therefore, it…
We find the precise relationship between the loop gas method and the matrix quantum mechanics approach to two-dimensional string theory. The two systems are distinguished by different target spaces ($\Z$ and $\R$, respectively) as far as…
We discuss condensations of closed string tachyons localized in compact spaces. Time evolution of an on-shell condensation is naturally related to the worldsheet RG flow. Some explicit tachyonic compactifications of Type II string theory is…
Over the last few years, string theory has changed profoundly. Most importantly, novel duality relations have emerged which involve gauge theories of brane excitations on one side and various closed string backgrounds on the other. In this…
Superstring theories in the critical dimension D=10 are connected to one another by a well-explored web of dualities. In this paper we use closed-string tachyon condensation to connect the supersymmetric moduli space of the critical…
We show that the $c=1$ bosonic string theory at finite temperature has two matrix-model realizations related by a kind of duality transformation. The first realization is the standard one given by the compactified matrix quantum mechanics…
We suggest that the universe filled with unstable D-branes in their rolling tachyon vacuum state, described by periodic arrays of D-instantons along the imaginary time direction, may be a natural background for formulating string theory.…
Recent investigations involving the decay of unstable D-branes in string theory suggest that the tree level open string theory which describes the dynamics of the D-brane already knows about the closed string states produced in the decay of…
We present an exact representation for decaying ZZ-branes within the dual matrix model formulation of c=1 string theory. It is shown how to trade the insertion of decaying ZZ-branes for a shift of the closed string background. Our formlaism…
The Ward identities of the $W_{\infty}$ symmetry in 2D string theory in the tachyon background are studied in the continuum approach. Comparing the solutions with the matrix model results, it is verified that 2D string amplitudes are…
I review some of the recent progress in two-dimensional string theory, which is formulated as a sum over surfaces embedded in one dimension.
The spacetime physics of bulk closed string tachyon condensation is studied at the level of a two-derivative effective action. We derive the unique perturbative tachyon potential consistent with a full class of linearized tachyonic…
A review is given of recent research on two-dimensional gauge theories, with particular emphasis on the equivalence between these theories and certain string theories with a two-dimensional target space. Some related open problems are…
The first massive level of closed bosonic string theory is studied. Free-field equations are derived by imposing Weyl invariance on the world sheet. A two-parameter solution to the equation of motion and constraints is found in two…
We review the recent studies of tachyon condensation in string field theory. After introducing the open string field theory both for bosonic string and for superstring, we use them to examine the conjecture that the unstable configurations…
The study of open string tachyon condensation in string field theory can be drastically simplified by making an appropriate choice of coordinates on the space of string fields. We show that a very natural coordinate system is suggested by…
The N=2 string is examined in dimensions above the critical dimension (D=4) in a linear dilaton background. We demonstrate that string states in this background propagate in a single physical time dimension, as opposed to two such…
This is a very brief survey of some results in the geometry of string duality delivered at a lecture given at ICM 1998, Berlin. String Duality is the statement that one kind of string theory compactified on one space is equivalent in some…