Related papers: A Closed, Expanding Universe in String Theory
There is a complex conformal transformation, which maps the $D$ - dimensional real Minkowski space on a bounded set in the $D$ - dimensional complex vector space. It generalizes the Cayley map from $D=1$ dimensions to higher space-time…
This is a set of introductory lecture notes on conformal field theory. Unlike most existing reviews on the subject, CFT is presented here from the perspective of a unitary quantum field theory in Minkowski space-time. It begins with a…
We investigate the effect on cosmological evolution of a strongly coupled quantum field that undergoes renormalization group flow from a UV CFT to an IR CFT. The field theory is defined by perturbation of a holographic CFT by a relevant…
A large class of cosmological solutions (of the Einstein equations) in string theory, in the presence of Maxwell fields, is obtained by $O(d,d)$ transformations of simple backgrounds with $d$ toroidal isometries. In all the examples in…
We examine gauge theories on Minkowski space-time times fuzzy coset spaces. This means that the extra space dimensions instead of being a continuous coset space S/R are a corresponding finite matrix approximation. The gauge theory defined…
From higher dimensional theories, e.g. string theory, one expects the presence of non-minimally coupled scalar fields. We review the notion of conformal frames in cosmology and emphasize their physical equivalence, which holds at least at a…
Vacuum structure and global cosmic strings are analyzed in the effective theory of self-interacting O(2) scalar fields on (3+1)-manifolds with conical singularities. In the context of one-loop effective action computed by heat-kernel…
An exact conformal field theory describing a four dimensional singular string background is obtained by chiral gauging a $U(1)$ subgroup along with translations in $R$ of an $SL(2,R)\times R$ Wess-Zumino-Witten model. It is shown that the…
We present a novel theory of the very early universe which addresses the traditional horizon and flatness problems of big bang cosmology and predicts a scale invariant spectrum of perturbations. Unlike inflation, this scenario requires no…
In this paper we construct a $(2,2)$ dimensional string theory with manifest $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetry. We use Berkovits' approach of augmenting the spacetime supercoordinates by the conjugate momenta for the fermionic variables. The…
We return to and refine Zwiebach's formulation of closed string field theory (CSFT) built around non-critical backgrounds [1,2], restricting our attention to genus zero. The structure involves a special string state $F$ that encodes the…
The Verlinde formula computes the dimension of certain vector spaces ("conformal blocks") associated to a Rational Conformal Field Theory. In this paper we show how this can be made rigorous for one particular such theory, the WZW model.…
The physical states of N=4 conformal supergravity in four dimensions occur in twistor-string theory by Berkovits and Witten(hep-th/0406051). We study two alternative versions of twistor-string theory based on the B-model of weighted…
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…
We study cosmological solutions in the effective heterotic string theory with $\alpha'$-correction terms in string frame. It is pointed out that the effective theory has an ambiguity via field redefinition and we analyze generalized…
A unified field theory in ten dimensions, of all interactions, can describe high energy processes occuring in the early universe. In such a theory transitions that give properties of the universe can occur due to the presence of algebraic…
We review recent developments in the context of two-dimensional conformally invariant sigma-models. These quantum field theories play a prominent role in the covariant superstring quantization in flux backgrounds and in the analysis of…
Globally conformal invariant quantum field theories in a D-dimensional space-time (D even) have rational correlation functions and admit an infinite number of conserved (symmetric traceless) tensor currents. In a theory of a scalar field of…
The implications of string theory for understanding the dimension of decompactified spacetime are discussed. Results from a computer model designed to simulate expansion of the early universe during the string dominated phase are presented.…
We discuss the obstacles for defining a set of observable quantities analogous to an S-matrix which are needed to formulate string theory in an accelerating universe. We show that the quintessence models with the equations of state $-1 < w…