Related papers: Fields and Symmetries of 2D Strings
We show that almost all string theories, including the bosonic string, the superstring and $W$-string theories, possess a twisted N=2 superconformal symmetry. This enables us to establish a connection between topological gravity and the…
The recent discovery of non-perturbatively stable two-dimensional string backgrounds and their dual matrix models allows the study of complete scattering matrices in string theory. In this note we adapt work of Moore, Plesser, and Ramgoolam…
One cannot yet point to any firm string prediction. While many approximate string ground states are known with interesting properties, we do not have any argument that one or another describes what we observe around us, and for reasons…
These are notes of a series of lectures on mirror symmetry and topological string theory given at the Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University. The N=2 superconformal algebra, its deformations and its chiral ring are reviewed. A…
We review recent developments in the construction of heterotic and type II string field theories and their various applications. These include systematic procedures for determining the shifts in the vacuum expectation values of fields under…
In this note we expose some surprising connections between string theory and statistical inference. We consider a large collective of agents sweeping out a family of nearby statistical models for an M-dimensional manifold of statistical…
String theory is the leading candidate for a unified theory of the standard model and gravity. In the last few years theorists have realized that there is a unique structure underlying string theory. In this unification a prominent role is…
We derive the $\sigma$-model tachyon $\beta$-function equation of 2-dimensional string theory, in the background of flat space and linear dilaton, working entirely within the $c=1$ matrix model. The tachyon $\beta$-function equation is…
Recent work has shown that unstable D-branes in two dimensional string theory are represented by eigenvalues in a dual matrix model. We elaborate on this proposal by showing how to systematically include higher order effects in string…
We show that, in string theory, as a result of the $W_{\infty}$-symmetries that preserve quantum coherence in the {\it full} string theory by coupling different mass levels, transitions between initial- and final-state density matrices for…
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 $-1 < w…
In a recent paper, Balthazar, Rodriguez and Yin found remarkable agreement between the one instanton contribution to the scattering amplitudes of two dimensional string theory and those in the matrix model to the first subleading order. The…
I present a new class of topological string theories, and discuss them in two dimensions as candidates for the string description of large-$N$ QCD. The starting point is a new class of topological sigma models, whose path integral is…
The matrix model formulation of two dimensional string theory has been shown to admit time dependent classical solutions whose closed string duals are geodesically incomplete space-times with space-like boundaries. We investigate some…
In this paper, which is a revised version of the author's PhD thesis, we analyze two different applications of string theory. In the first part, we focus on four dimensional compactifications of Type II string theories preserving N=1…
String configurations have been identified in compactified Matrix theory at vanishing string coupling. We show how the interactions of these strings are determined by the Yang-Mills gauge field on the worldsheet. At finite string coupling,…
Beginning with a review of the arguments leading to the so-called c=1 barrier in the continuum formulation of noncritical string theory, the pathology is then exhibited in a discretized version of the theory, formulated through dynamical…
N=2 heterotic strings may provide a window into the physics of M-theory radically different than that found via the other supersymmetric string theories. In addition to their supersymmetric structure, these strings carry a four-dimensional…
We study a configuration of a parallel F- (fundamental) and D- string in IIB string theory by considering its T-dual configuration in the matrix model description of M-theory. We show that certain non-perturbative features of string theory…
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…