Related papers: Matrix Big Brunch
We describe how cosmology has converged towards a beautiful model of the Universe: the Big Bang Universe. We praise this model, but show there is a dark side to it. This dark side is usually called ``the cosmological problems'': a set of…
The intersection of string theory with cosmology is unavoidable in the early universe, and its exploration may shine light on both fields. In this thesis, three papers at this intersection are presented and reviewed, with the aim of…
We consider the set of controlled time-dependent backgrounds of general relativity and string theory describing ``bubbles of nothing'', obtained via double analytic continuation of black hole solutions. We analyze their quantum stability,…
In this paper we point out that the spacetime uncertainty relation proposed for string theory has strong cosmological implications that can solve the flatness problem and the horizon problem without the need of inflation. We make minimal…
Recently it has been suggested that non-gaussian inflationary perturbations can be usefully analysed in terms of a putative dual gauge theory defined on the future conformal infinity generated by an accelerating cosmology. The problem is…
We briefly overview how, historically, string theory led theoretical physics first to precise problems in algebraic and differential geometry, and thence to computational geometry in the last decade or so, and now, in the last few years, to…
The early stages of the universe evolution are discussed according to the hot big bang model and the grand unified theories. The shortcomings of big bang are summarized and their resolution by inflationary cosmology is sketched.…
We briefly review some modern developments in higher spin field theory and their links with superstring theory. The analysis is based on various BRST constructions allowing to derive the Lagrangians for massive and massless higher spin…
The beautiful scenario of pre-big-bang cosmology is appealling not only because it is more or less derived from string theory, but also because it separates clearly the problem of the initial conditions for the universe from that of high…
A family of exact conformal field theories is constructed which describe charged black strings in three dimensions. Unlike previous charged black hole or extended black hole solutions in string theory, the low energy spacetime metric has a…
We present a general algorithm which permits to construct solutions in string cosmology for heterotic and type-IIB superstrings in four dimensions. Using a chain of transformations applied in sequence: conformal, T-duality and SL(2,R)…
We propose a string-inspired model which correlates several aspects of particle physics and cosmology. Inspired by the flat directions and the absence of adjoint Higgs representations found in typical string models, we consider a no-scale…
In string theory, the brane world scenario, where the Standard Model gauge and matter fields live inside some branes while gravitons live in the bulk, can be a viable description of our universe. In this note we argue that the brane world…
String theory on $AdS_3$ has a solvable single-trace irrelevant deformation that is closely related to $T\bar T$. For one sign of the coupling, it leads to an asymptotically linear dilaton spacetime, and a corresponding Hagedorn spectrum.…
The four six-dimensional ``little string'' theories are all described in the infinite momentum frame (IMF) as matrix theories by non-trivial 1+1 dimensional infra-red fixed points. We characterize these fixed points using supergravity.…
We consider a late-time cosmological model based on a recent proposal that the infinite-bare-coupling limit of superstring/M-theory exists and has good phenomenological properties, including a vanishing cosmological constant, and a…
For the purpose of better understanding the AdS/CFT correspondence it is useful to have a description of the theory for all values of the 't Hooft coupling, and for all $N$. We discuss such a description in the framework of Matrix theory…
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…
Recent astronomical observations indicate that the universe is accelerating. We argue that generic quintessence models that accommodate the present day acceleration tend to accelerate eternally. As a consequence the resulting spacetimes…
In discussing the construction of a consistent theory of quantum gravity unified with the gauge interactions we are naturally led to a string theory. We review its properties and the five consistent supersymmetric string theories in ten…