Related papers: Closed String Field Theory: An Introduction
A string field theory including open string fields is constructed in the temporal gauge. It consists of string interaction vertices similar to the light-cone gauge string field theory. A slight modification of the definition of the time…
Closed string field theory is constructed by stochastically quantizing a matrix model for Polyakov loops that describes phases of a large N gauge theory at finite temperature. Coherent states in this string field theory describes winding…
A review of various aspects of superstrings in background electromagnetic fields is presented. Topics covered include the Born-Infeld action, spectrum of open strings in background gauge fields, the Schwinger mechanism, finite-temperature…
In these lectures we give a brief introduction to perturbative and non-perturbative string theory. The outline is the following: 1. Introduction to perturbative string theory 1.1 From point particle to extended objects 1.2 Free closed and…
In this paper we develop the covariant string field theory approach to open 2d strings. Upon constructing the vertices, we apply the formalism to calculate the lowest order contributions to the 4- and 5- point tachyon--tachyon tree…
We study Witten's open string field theory in the presence of a constant B field. We construct the string field theory in the operator formalism and find that, compared to the ordinary theory with no B field, the vertices in the resulting…
We present an exact solution of open bosonic string field theory which can be used to describe any time-independent open string background. The solution generalizes an earlier construction of Kiermaier, Okawa, and Soler, and assumes the…
Much of the recent progress in String Theory can be traced to a precise strategy: a careful study of the few models known since the beginnings of the subject, and the abstraction from them of basic properties that one would like to demand…
We consider Witten's open string field theory in the presence of a non-trivial boundary of spacetime. For the kinetic term, we derive a Gibbons-Hawking-type contribution that has to be added to the action to guarantee a well-defined…
Witten's cubic open string field theory is expanded around the perturbatively stable vacuum, including all scalar fields at levels 0, 2, 4 and 6. The (approximate) BRST cohomology of the theory is computed, giving strong evidence for the…
This is a brief review of vacuum string field theory, a new approach to open string field theory based on the stable vacuum of the tachyon. We discuss the sliver state explaining its role as a projector in the space of half-string…
We elucidate some exact relations between light-cone and covariant string field theories on the basis of the homological perturbation lemma for $A_{\infty }$. The covariant string field splits into the light-cone string field and trivial…
This thesis is almost entirely devoted to studying string theory backgrounds characterized by simple geometrical and integrability properties. The archetype of this type of system is given by Wess-Zumino-Witten models, describing string…
This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory and its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical review of four decades of ST within the broader context of six decades of failed attempts…
Given a family of world-sheet superconformal field theories related by marginal deformation, we can formulate superstring field theory based on any of these world-sheet theories. Background independence is the statement that these different…
These notes on string theory are based on a series of talks I gave during my graduate studies. As the talks, this introductory essay is intended for young students and non-string theory physicists.
We consider a class of conformal models describing closed strings in axially symmetric stationary magnetic flux tube backgrounds. These models are closed string analogs of the Landau model of a particle in a magnetic field or the model of…
We study general properties of the classical solutions in non-polynomial closed string field theory and their relationship with two dimensional conformal field theories. In particular we discuss how different conformal field theories which…
In this short talk we review basic ideas of string field theory with the emphasis on the recent developments. We show how without too much technicality one can look for analytic solutions to Witten's open string field theory. This is an…
We describe some recent progress in understanding and formulating string theory which is based on extensive studies of strings in lower (D=2) dimension. At the center is a large $W_{\infty}$ symmetry that appears most simply in the matrix…