Related papers: A proposal on the topological sector of 2d string
The low-energy limit of string theory contains additional gravitational degrees of freedom, a skew-symmetric tensor $B$-field and a scalar dilaton, that are not present in general relativity. Together with the metric, these three fields are…
An interpretation of spacelike singularities in string theory uses target space duality to relate the collapsing Schwarzschild geometry near the singularity to an inflationary cosmology in dual variables. An appealing picture thus results…
In this thesis the recently developed duality covariant approach to string and M-theory is investigated. In this formalism the U-duality symmetry of M-theory or T-duality symmetry of Type II string theory becomes manifest upon extending…
We derive a model of constrained topological gravity, a theory recently introduced by us through the twist of N=2 Liouville theory, starting from the general BRST algebra and imposing the moduli space constraint as a gauge fixing. To do…
We quantize pure 2d Yang-Mills theory on an arbitrary Riemann surface in the gauge where the field strength is diagonal. Twisted sectors originate, as in Matrix string theory, from permutations of the eigenvalues around homotopically…
We elaborated the gravitational collapse of a self-gravitating complex charged scalar field in the context of the low-energy limit of the string theory, the so-called dilaton gravity. We begin with the regular spacetime and follow the…
We present a brief overview of 2-dim. string theory and its connection to the theory of non-relativistic fermions in one dimension. We emphasize (i) the role of $W_\infty$ algebra and (ii) the modelling of some aspects of 2-dim. black hole…
In recent work Kachru, Kumar and Silverstein introduced a special class of non-supersymmetric type II string theories in which the cosmological constant vanishes at the first two orders of perturbation theory. Heuristic arguments suggest…
The cosmology of the fully $\alpha'$-corrected duality-invariant action for the Neveu-Schwarz sector of string theory is revisited, with special emphasis on its coupling to matter sources. The role of the duality covariant pressure and…
Two dimensional gauge theories with charged matter fields are useful toy models for studying gauge theory dynamics, and in particular for studying the duality of large $N$ gauge theories to perturbative string theories. A useful starting…
String theory is the most promising candidate for the theory unifying all interactions including gravity. It has an extremely difficult dynamics. Therefore, it is useful to study some its simplifications. One of them is non-critical string…
The heterotic string theory, compactified to four dimensions, has been conjectured to have a duality symmetry (S duality) that transforms the dilaton nonlinearly. If valid, this symmetry could provide an important means of obtaining…
Quantum theory of 2d gravity for $c>1$ is examined as a non-critical string theory by taking account of the loop-correction of open strings whose end points are on the 2d world surface of the closed string. This loop-correction leads to a…
We investigate the effective dynamics of an arbitrary Dirichlet p-brane, in a path-integral formalism, by incorporating the massless excitations of closed string modes in open bosonic string theory. It is shown that the closed string…
I briefly summarize a recent research program aiming to probe the landscape of low-energy phases of string theory from a global perspective. Borrowing conceptual lessons from the swampland program, I will discuss how the effective theories…
The unique spherically symmetric metric which has vanishing weyl tensor, is asymptotically desitter, and can model constant galactic rotation curves is presented. Two types of field equations are shown to have this metric as an exact…
We present simple models which exhibit some of the remarkable features expected to hold for the as yet unknown non-perturbative formulation of string theories. Among these are: (a) the absence of a background or embedding space for the full…
We show how the topological string partition function, which is known to capture the degeneracies of a gas of BPS spinning M2-branes in M-theory compactified to 5 dimensions, is related to a 4-dimensional D-brane system that consists of…
After reviewing the $\beta$-function equations for consistent string backgrounds in the $\sigma$-model approach, including metric and antisymmetric tensor, dilaton and tachyon potential, we apply this formalism to WZW models. We…
Nonperturbative terms in the free energy of Chern-Simons gauge theory play a key role in its duality to the closed topological string. We show that these terms are reproduced by performing a double scaling limit near the point where the…