Related papers: Strong-Weak Coupling Duality in Four Dimensional S…
Geometrically non-Higgsable seven-branes carry gauge sectors that cannot be broken by complex structure deformation, and there is growing evidence that such configurations are typical in F-theory. We study strongly coupled physics…
We consider N=2 supersymmetric QCD with the gauge group SU(N_c)=SU(N+1) and N_f number of quark matter multiplets, being perturbed by a small mass term for the adjoint matter, so that its Coulomb branch shrinks to a number of isolated…
The heterotic string compactified on a six-torus is described by a low-energy effective action consisting of N=4 supergravity coupled to N=4 super Yang-Mills, a theory that was studied in detail many years ago. By explicitly carrying out…
A rich pattern of gauge symmetries is found in the moduli space of heterotic string toroidal compactifications, at fixed points of the T-duality transformations. We analyze this pattern for generic tori, and scrutinize in full detail…
We extend strong/weak coupling duality to string theories without spacetime supersymmetry, and focus on the case of the unique ten-dimensional, nonsupersymmetric, tachyon-free $SO(16)\times SO(16)$ heterotic string. We construct a…
The strong coupling regime of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric vacua of the heterotic string is analyzed from a dual domain wall perspective. Using modular invariance, we compute a closed form for the non-perturbative corrections to the…
In this paper I will further investigate the spectrum of quantum gravity or string theories at large number of dimensions. We will see that volumes of certain orbifolds shrink at large D. It follows that the mass spectra of the leading…
The motivation for Calabi-Yau-like compactifications of the weakly coupled $E_8\otimes E_8$ heterotic string theory, its particle spectrum and the issue of dilaton stabilization are briefly reviewed. Modular invariant models for hidden…
We consider a six-dimensional solitonic string solution described by a conformal chiral null model with non-trivial $N=4$ superconformal transverse part. It can be interpreted as a five-dimensional dyonic solitonic string wound around a…
We consider 4d N=1 theories arising from F-theory compactifications on elliptically-fibered Calabi-Yau four-folds and investigate the non-perturbative structure of their scalar field space beyond the large volume/large complex structure…
Dualities between quantum field theories have proven to be a powerful tool in various areas of physics. In this paper, we introduce a new perspective for obtaining strong coupling expansions based on a well-known technique -- the…
We study a class of extremal transitions between topological distinct Calabi--Yau manifolds which have an interpretation in terms of the special massless states of a type II string compactification. In those cases where a dual heterotic…
In this lecture we summarize some recent work on the understanding of instanton effects in string theories with 16 supersymmetries. In particular, we consider F^4 couplings using the duality between the heterotic string on T^4 and type IIA…
The weakly coupled vacuum of E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory remains a promising candidate for the underlying theory of the Standard Model. The particle spectrum and the issue of dilaton stabilization are reviewed. Specific models for…
In the context of the field theory limit of superstrings, we consider an almost realistic model of supersymmetry breaking by gaugino condensation which includes, through nonperturbative corrections to the K\"ahler potential, dilaton…
We identify the gauge theory dual of a spinning string of minimal energy with spins S_1, S_2 on AdS_5 and charge J on S^5. For this purpose we focus on a certain set of local operators with two different types of covariant derivatives…
We test various conjectures about quantum gravity for six-dimensional string compactifications in the framework of F-theory. Starting with a gauge theory coupled to gravity, we analyze the limit in K\"ahler moduli space where the gauge…
We propose an exotic geometric M-theory dual for the weak coupling Type 0A string: compactification on a sub-Planckian $S^1\vee S^1$ (two circles connected at a point), where strong quantum effects lead to fields living on distinct…
The equations of motion of the massless sector of the two dimensional string theory, obtained by compactifying the heterotic string theory on an eight dimensional torus, is known to have an affine o(8,24) symmetry algebra generating an…
Motivated by the work of Polchinski and Strominger on type IIA theory, where the effect of non-trivial field strengths for p-form potentials on a Calabi-Yau space was discussed, we study four-dimensional heterotic string theory in the…