Related papers: Symmetry limitations on quantum mechanical observe…
We discuss the continuum field theory limit of the physical scenario described in Ref. [1], the universe arising from the interpretation of the most general collection of logical codes in terms of distributions of units of energy along…
String theory appears to admit a group of discrete field transformations -- called $S$ dualities -- as exact non-perturbative quantum symmetries. Mathematically, they are rather analogous to the better-known $T$ duality symmetries, which…
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…
I describe our understanding of physics near the planck length, in particular the great progress of the last four years in string theory. Superstring theory, and a recent extension called M theory, are leading candidates for a quantum…
Duality symmetries in supergravity theories, together with their implications for string theory, are reviewed.
I discuss some current thoughts on how low-energy measurements and consistency constrain theories at high energies with emphasis on string theory. I also discuss some recent work on the dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories.
The gauging of isometries in general sigma-models which include fermionic terms which represent the interaction of strings with background Yang-Mills fields is considered. Gauging is possible only if certain obstructions are absent. The…
This elementary introduction to string field theory highlights the features and the limitations of this approach to quantum gravity as it is currently understood. String field theory is a formulation of string theory as a field theory in…
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…
String theory is canonically accompanied with a space-time interpretation which determines S-matrix-like observables, and connects to the standard physics at low energies in the guise of local effective field theory. Recently, we have…
From theoretical point of view and not being in contradiction with current observational data, the cosmic strings should have fundamentally different origin and are characterized by wide range of energies. The paper is devoted to search for…
String theories inspire a new formalism for their low-energy limits. In this approach to these field theories, spacetime duality and stringy left/right handedness are manifest. Enlarged tangent-space symmetries allow the different fields…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
Various nonsupersymmetric theories at large but finite $N$ are argued to permit light scalars and large hierarchies without fine-tuning. In a dual string description, the hierarchy results from competition between classical and quantum…
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…
In the context of studying string backgrounds, much work has been devoted to the question of how similar a general quantum field theory (specifically, a two-dimensional superconformal theory) is to a sigma model. Put differently, one would…
String theory is changing the relationship between mathematics and physics. The central role is played by the phenomenon of duality, which is intrinsic to quantum physics and abundant in string theory.
String theory avoids the ultraviolet infinities that arise in trying to quantize gravity. It is also more predictive than conventional quantum field theory, one aspect of this being the way that it contributed to the emergence of the…
String theory provides the only consistent framework so far that unifies all interactions including gravity. We discuss gravity and cosmology in string theory. Conventional notions from general relativity like geometry, topology etc. are…
The duality map between gauge theories and strings suggests that when the gauge theory is in the weak coupling regime the dual string tension effectively tends to zero, $\alpha' \to \infty$. This observation of Sundborg and Witten initiates…