Related papers: Three-Dimensional Gravity and String Ghosts
The observation that spacetime and quantum fields on it have to be dynamically produced in any theory of quantum gravity implies that quantum gravity should be defined on the configuration space of fields rather than spacetime. Such a…
We introduce a new two-dimensional string theory defined by coupling two copies of Liouville CFT with complex central charge $c=13\pm i \lambda$ on the worldsheet. This string theory defines a novel, consistent and controllable model of…
We discuss an aspect of string theory which has been tackled from many different perspectives, but incompletely: the role of nonlocality in the theory and its relation to the geometric shape of the string. In particular, we will describe in…
A direct derivation of the string field theory action in the Witten's background independent open string theory for the case when ghosts and matter are decoupled is given and consequences are discussed.
We continue to explore the possibility that the graviton in two dimensions is related to a quadratic differential that appears in the anomalous contribution of the gravitational effective action for chiral fermions. A higher dimensional…
String theory implies a relatively modest growth in computational complexity for perturbative gravity calculations as compared to gauge theory calculations, contrary to field theory expectations. An explicit string-based calculation, which…
An example of a consistent theory with massive higher spin fields is constructed in flat space-time of dimension three. The action is written in the light-cone gauge. The theory has certain stringy features, e.g. its spectrum is unbounded…
In three spacetime dimensions, general relativity becomes a topological field theory, whose dynamics can be largely described holographically by a two-dimensional conformal field theory at the ``boundary'' of spacetime. I review what is…
In these introductory notes I explain some basic ideas in string field theory. These include: the concept of a string field, the issue of background independence, the reason why minimal area metrics solve the problem of generating all…
Although General Relativity (GR) is a very successful theory of gravity, it cannot explain every observational phenomenon. People have tried many kinds of modified gravity theory to explain these phenomena which GR cannot explain very well,…
Making use of the wealth of new observational data coming from the sky it is possible to constrain particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model. One way to do this is illustrated in this article: a subset of theories admits cosmic…
The strong coupling dynamics of string theories in dimension $d\geq 4$ are studied. It is argued, among other things, that eleven-dimensional supergravity arises as a low energy limit of the ten-dimensional Type IIA superstring, and that a…
The topic of cosmic strings provides a bridge between the physics of the very small and the very large. They are predicted by some unified theories of particle interactions. If they exist, they may help to explain some of the largest-scale…
It is well known that gravity in 2+1 dimensions can be recast as Chern-Simons theory, with the gauge group given by the local isometry group, depending on the metric signature and the cosmological constant. Point particles are added into…
Ghosts have been a stumbling block in the development of a UV complete quantum field theory for gravity. We discuss how difficulties associated with ghosts are overcome in the context of 0+1d QFT. Obtaining a probability interpretation is…
A string-theoretic structure of the standard model is defined having a 4-D quantum gravity metric consistent with topological and algebraic first principles. Unique topological diagrams of string states, strong and weak interactions and…
We construct new multi-field realisations of the $N=2$ super-$W_3$ algebra, which are important for building super-$W_3$ string theories. We derive the structure of the ghost vacuum for such theories, and use the result to calculate the…
We present a review of some of the recent developments in the study of the $W_3$ string. One of the interesting features of the theory is that the physical spectrum includes states with non-standard ghost structure, such as excitations of…
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 covariant-gauge two-dimensional quantum gravity, various derivations of the critical dimension D=26 of the bosonic string are critically reviewed, and their interrelations are clarified. It is shown that the string theory is not…