Related papers: Closed strings in Misner space: a toy model for a …
Compactification of the heterotic string on toroidal orbifolds is a promising set-up for the construction of realistic unified models of particle physics. The target space dynamics of such models, however, drives them slightly away from the…
We generalize to the case of compactified superstrings a construction given previously for critical superstrings of finite one loop amplitudes that are well-defined for all external momenta. The novel issues that arise for compactified…
We use recently obtained 2-loop string coupling constants to analyze a class of string models based on orbifold compactification. Assuming weak coupling at the string scale and single-scale unification leads to restrictions on the spectrum…
We describe exact cosmological solutions with rotation and expansion in the low-energy effective string theory. These models are spatially homogeneous (closed Bianchi type IX) and they belong to the family of shear-free metrics which are…
We consider, in a string theory framework, physical processes of phenomenological interest in models with a low string scale. The amplitudes we study involve tree-level virtual gravitational exchange, divergent in a field-theoretical…
The conical singularity in flat spacetime is mostly known as a model of the cosmic string or the wedge disclination in solids. Its another, equally important, function is to be a representative of quasiregular singularities. From all these…
In string theory, there are various physical situations where the world-sheet fields have a shifted moding. For instance, this is the case for the twisted closed string in Z_N orbifold or for the charged open string in a constant…
In this note we observe that, contrary to the usual lore, string orbifolds do not describe strings on quotient spaces, but rather seem to describe strings on objects called quotient stacks, a result that follows from simply unraveling…
We develop a suitable generalization of Almgren's theory of varifolds in a lorentzian setting, focusing on area, first variation, rectifiability, compactness and closure issues. Motivated by the asymptotic behaviour of the scaled hyperbolic…
We study BPS bound states of little strings in a limit where they realise monopole strings in five dimensional gauge theories. The latter have gauge group $U(M)^N$ and arise from compactification of $(1,0)$ little string theories of type…
We study aspects of the propagation of strings on BTZ black holes. After performing a careful analysis of the global spacetime structure of generic BTZ black holes, and its relation to the geometry of the SL(2,R) group manifold, we focus on…
We construct cosmological spacetimes with null Kasner-like singularities as purely gravitational solutions with no other background fields turned on. These can be recast as anisotropic plane-wave spacetimes by coordinate transformations. We…
This thesis is almost entirely devoted to studying string theory backgrounds characterized by simple geometrical and integrability properties. The archetype of this type of system is given by Wess-Zumino-Witten models, describing string…
Analysing closed string tachyon condensation will improve our understanding of spacetime in string theory. We study the string spectrum on a BTZ black hole spacetime supported by NS-NS flux, which provides a calculable example where we…
The target space theory of the N=(2,1) heterotic string may be interpreted as a theory of gravity coupled to matter in either $1+1$ or $2+1$ dimensions. Among the target space theories in $1+1$ dimensions are the bosonic, type II, and…
It is argued that the complete S-matrix of string theory at tree level in a flat background can be obtained from a small set of target space properties, without recourse to the worldsheet description. The main non-standard inputs are…
This review is devoted to open strings, and in particular to the often surprising features of their spectra. It follows and summarizes developments that took place mainly at the University of Rome ``Tor Vergata'' over the last decade, and…
Perturbative spectra and related factorization properties of one-loop open string amplitudes in the presence of a constant external background B are analysed in detail. While the pattern of the closed string spectrum, obtained after a…
Ever since its birth, up until its present development, the major role of string theory involves being the best candidate for the theory of quantum gravity and other species of interactions. In the present work, we would like to accomplish…
Superstring scattering from orientifold planes requires considering string amplitudes on world-sheets with crosscaps with the lowest order case (in string coupling constant) having the topology of the real projective plane. While amplitudes…