Related papers: Lectures on 2D gravity and 2D string theory (TASI …
This paper is based on a series of talks given at the ESI program on 'Mathematical Perspectives of Gravitation Beyond the Vacuum Regime' in February 2022. It is meant to be an introduction to the field of relativistic elasticity for readers…
Notes of my 14 `lectures on everything' given at the 1995 Les Houches school. An introductory course in topological and conformal field theory, strings, gauge fields, supersymmetry and more. The presentation is more mathematical then usual…
It is well known that string theory can be formulated as two dimensional gravity coupled to matter. In the 2d gravity formulation the central charge of the matter together with a hidden dimension from the conformal factor or Liouville mode…
These lectures begin by reviewing the evidence for S duality of the toroidally compactified heterotic string in 4d that was obtained in the period 1992--94. Next they review recently discovered dualities that relate all five of the 10d…
An assessment is offered of the progress that the major approaches to quantum gravity have made towards the goal of constructing a complete and satisfactory theory. The emphasis is on loop quantum gravity and string theory, although other…
It is hoped that these lectures will give a point of entry into that vast web of related ideas that go under the name "string theory". I start with a more or less qualitative introduction to gravity as a field theory and sketch how one…
This is an extended and corrected version of lecture notes originally written for a one semester course at Leibniz University Hannover. The main aim of the notes is to give an introduction to the mathematical methods used in describing…
In these lecture proceedings, we describe some of the fundamental mathematical concepts that underlie supersymmetric string theory and field theory, and their role in describing and testing dualities. In particular, we provide a pedagogical…
A very quick introduction to the bosonic string, conformal field theory, the superstring and geometry. No background in quantum field theory is assumed and the omissions are vast. Based on four lectures at the 2024 Physical Mathematics of…
The first part of these lectures provides a brief introduction to the concepts and techniques of effective field theory. The second part reviews precision electroweak constraints using effective theory methods. Several simple extensions of…
These notes are an expanded version of lectures given at the 2022 TASI summer school in Boulder, Colorado. One goal of these lecture notes is to (partially) bridge the gap between what one learns in typical introductory quantum field theory…
You may have seen the words "topological recursion" mentioned in papers on matrix models, Hurwitz theory, Gromov-Witten theory, topological string theory, knot theory, topological field theory, JT gravity, cohomological field theory, free…
We review some of the recent progress in the continuum formulation of two-dimensional string theory, i.e. two-dimensional quantum gravity coupled to $c=1$ matter. Special attention is devoted to the discrete states and to the $w_\infty$…
The Ward identities of the $W_{\infty}$ symmetry in 2D string theory in the tachyon background are studied in the continuum approach. Comparing the solutions with the matrix model results, it is verified that 2D string amplitudes are…
An introduction to loop quantum gravity is given, focussing on the fundamental aspects of the theory, different approaches to the dynamics, as well as possible future directions. It is structured in five lectures, including exercises, and…
We review in a pedagogical manner some of the efforts aiming to extend the gauge/gravity correspondence to non-conformal supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions. After giving a general overview, we discuss in detail two specific…
The continuum (Liouville) approach to the two-dimensional (2-D) quantum gravity is reviewed with particular attention to the $c=1$ conformal matter coupling, and new results on a related problem of dilaton gravity are reported. After…
We give a standard introduction to loop quantum gravity, from the ADM variables to spin network states. We include a discussion on quantum geometry on a fixed graph and its relation to a discrete approximation of general relativity.
The aim of these lectures is to give an introduction to several topics which lie at the intersection of string theory, gravity theory and gravity phenomenology. One successively reviews: (i) the "membrane" approach to the dissipative…
In these lectures I review the progress made over the last few years in the subject of string and string-inspired phenomenology. I take a practical approach, thereby concentrating more on explicit examples rather than on formal…