Related papers: Perturbative Gauge Theory and Closed String Tachyo…

M(atrix) theory on an orbifold and classical two-branes therein are studied with particular emphasis to heterotic M(atrix) theory on $S_1/Z_2$ relevant to strongly coupled heterotic and dual Type IA string theories. By analyzing orbifold…

It is well-known that three-family supersymmetric Pati-Salam models from intersecting D6-branes, where either one or both of the ${\rm U}(2)$ gauge factors are replaced by a ${\rm USp}(2)$ group, are quite scarce. In order to construct all…

A new family of $D=4$ $\mathcal{N}=8$ gauged supergravities is introduced, consisting in a mixture of Scherk-Schwarz and dyonic CSO gaugings that involves the trombone scaling symmetry. A specific theory in this class is shown to admit…

We propose an exotic geometric M-theory dual for the weak coupling Type 0A string: compactification on a sub-Planckian $S^1\vee S^1$ (two circles connected at a point), where strong quantum effects lead to fields living on distinct…

We consider M-theory in the presence of M parallel M5-branes probing a transverse A_{N-1} singularity. This leads to a superconformal theory with (1,0) supersymmetry in six dimensions. We compute the supersymmetric partition function of…

We study the N=1 Sp(2N+2M)xSp(2N) cascading gauge theory on a stack of N physical and M fractional (half) D3-branes at the singularity of an orientifolded conifold. In addition to the D3-branes and an O7-plane, the background contains eight…

Geometrically non-Higgsable seven-branes carry gauge sectors that cannot be broken by complex structure deformation, and there is growing evidence that such configurations are typical in F-theory. We study strongly coupled physics…

We construct novel $7d$ supersymmetric gauge theories which include a Chern-Simons-like term on curved spaces. In order to so, we examine the supersymmetry constraints for E7-branes in type IIA$^*$ theory, rather than making use of an…

We consider topological closed string theories on Calabi-Yau manifolds which compute superpotential terms in the corresponding compactified type II effective action. In particular, near certain singularities we compare the partition…

In the context of gauge/gravity duality, we try to understand better the proposed duality between the fractional D2-brane supergravity solutions of (Nucl. Phys. B 606 (2001) 18, hep-th/0101096) and a confining 2+1 dimensional gauge theory.…

We consider a wide class of cascading gauge theories which usually lead to runaway behaviour in the IR, and discuss possible deformations of the superpotential at the bottom of the cascade which stabilize the runaway direction and provide…

We consider Type IIB superstring theory with the addition of n 9-branes and n anti-9-branes (and no orientifolds). The result is a ten-dimensional chiral theory of open and closed oriented strings with gauge group U(n) \times U(n). There…

Superstring/M-theory compactified on compact Ricci flat manifolds have recently been conjectured to exhibit instabilities whenever the metrics do not have special holonomy. We use worldsheet conformal field theory to investigate…

Baryon number violation is discussed in gauge unified orbifold models of type II string theory with intersecting Dirichlet branes. We consider setups of D6-branes which extend along the flat Minkowski space-time directions and wrap around…

We conjecture that the end point of bulk closed string tachyon decay at any non-zero coupling, is the annihilation of space time by Witten's bubble of nothing, resulting in a topological phase of the theory. In support of this we present a…

We investigate deformations of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold singularities on the toroidal orbifold $T^6/(\mathbb{Z}_2\times\mathbb{Z}_6)$ with discrete torsion in the framework of Type IIA orientifold model building with intersecting D6-branes…

We extend the proposal of Berenstein, Maldacena and Nastase to Type IIB superstring propagating on pp-wave over ${\bf R}^4/{\bf Z}_k$ orbifold. We show that first-quantized free string theory is described correctly by the large $N$, fixed…

We obtain the supergravity solution which describes a bound state of D-string/anti-D-string pairs attached to different fixed planes of an orbifold, in type IIB string theory compactified on T^4/Z_2. For parameters at which the conformal…

We consider the N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories with product gauge groups. The two kinds of D6-branes in the electric theory are both displaced and rotated respectively where these deformations are interpreted as the mass terms and…

It has recently been argued that the symmetric orbifold theory of T4 is dual to string theory on AdS3 x S3 x T4 at the tensionless point. At this point in moduli space, the theory possesses a very large symmetry algebra that includes, in…