Related papers: Problems of Naturalness: Some Lessons from String …
One common way to define spontaneous symmetry breaking involves explicit symmetry breaking. This definition can be used in any approach to Effective Field Theory, from perturbation theory to lattice simulations. It allows us to study the…
On the basis of allowed local gauge symmetries, the QCD Lagrangian admits a CP-violating term proportional to the topological charge density, commonly referred to as the $\theta$ term. A priori, any value of $\theta$ is consistent with the…
This is a brief overview on the current status of string theory for non-specialists. The purpose is to give an aspect on the nature of string theory as a unified theory of all interactions including quantum gravity and to discuss future…
Key issues of classical and quantum strings in gravitational plane waves, shock waves and spacetime singularities are synthetically understood. This includes the string mass and mode number excitations, energy-momentum tensor, scattering…
Discrete and global symmetries play an essential role in many extensions of the Standard Model, for example, to preserve the proton lifetime, to prevent flavor changing neutral currents, etc. An important question is how can such symmetries…
Our current best guess for a unified theory of gravitation and quantum field theory (string theory) generically predicts a set of requirements for a consistently quantized theory, the Swampland criteria. Refined versions of these criteria…
It is presented an exact solution of straight spinning cosmic strings in Brans-Dicke theory of gravitation. The possibility of the existence of closed timelike curves around these cosmic strings is analyzed. Furthermore, the stability about…
We review the current status of the singularity problem in string theory for non-experts. After the problem is discussed from the point of view of supergravity, we discuss classic examples and recent examples of singularity resolution in…
String theory relies on spacetime supersymmetry to guarantee the existence of stable vacua. In this review, we survey two features of non-supersymmetric strings that challenge both aspects: the appearance of tachyons and worldsheet…
This is the written version of a short talk given at the University of Leipzig in December 1998. It reviews some general aspects of string theory from the viewpoint of the search for an unifying theory. Here, special emphasis lies on the…
The QCD axion stands as one of the most promising candidates for resolving the strong CP problem. However, the value of the axion's decay constant $f_a$ and, by extension, its mass $m_a$, remain uncertain within the framework of effective…
The unique, conical spacetime created by cosmic strings brings about distinctive gravitational lensing phenomena. The variety of these distinctive phenomena is increased when the strings have non-trivial mutual interactions. In particular,…
We examine the possibility that the strong CP problem is solved by string-theoretic axions in strong-coupling limit of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory (M-theory). We first discuss some generic features of gauge kinetic functions in…
Flat directions are a generic feature of the scalar potential in supersymmetric gauge field theories. They can arise, for example, from D-terms associated with an extra abelian gauge symmetry. Even when supersymmetry is broken softly, there…
We demonstrate a first-principle analysis of the string theory landscapes in the framework of non-critical string/matrix models. In particular, we discuss non-perturbative instability, decay rate and the true vacuum of perturbative string…
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…
Consensus problems for strings and sequences appear in numerous application contexts, ranging from bioinformatics over data mining to machine learning. Closing some gaps in the literature, we show that several fundamental problems in this…
String geometry theory is a candidate of the non-perturvative formulation of string theory. In this theory, strings constitute not only particles but also the space-time. In this review, we identify perturbative vacua, and derive the…
We review recent work in which compactifications of string and M theory are constructed in which all scalar fields (moduli) are massive, and supersymmetry is broken with a small positive cosmological constant, features needed to reproduce…
The theories of brane world and multidimensional gravity are widely discussed in the literature in connection with problems of evolution of early Universe, including dark matter and energy. A natural physical concept is that a distinguished…