Related papers: Dynamical Topology Change in String Theory
The addition of a topological model to the matter content of a conventional closed-string theory leads to the appearance of many perturbatively-decoupled space-time worlds. We illustrate this by classifying topological vertex models on a…
The interplay between string theory and cosmology is very promising. Since string theory will yield a quantum theory of space-time and unify all forces of nature, it has the potential of addressing many of the conceptual problems of the…
We show, using a theorem of Milnor and Margulis, that string theory on compact negatively curved spaces grows new effective dimensions as the space shrinks, generalizing and contextualizing the results in hep-th/0510044. Milnor's theorem…
We point out that in the first order time-dependent perturbation theory, the transition probability may behave nonsmoothly in time and have kinks periodically. Moreover, the detailed temporal evolution can be sensitive to the exact…
We present a classical conformal field theory on an arbitrary two-dimensional spacetime background. The dynamical object is a space-filling string, and the evolution may be thought as occurring on the manifold of the conformal group. The…
We summarize the results obtained in the last few years about permutation orbifolds in two-dimensional conformal field theories, their application to string theory and their use in the construction of four-dimensional heterotic string…
We study the couplings of discrete states that appear in the string theory embedded in two dimensions, and show that they are given by the structure constants of the group of area preserving diffeomorphisms. We propose an effective action…
String Quantum Gravity is motivated and introduced. Advances in the study of the classical and quantum string dynamics in curved spacetime are reported: 1-New Classes of Exact Multistring solutions in curved spacetimes. 2-Mass spectrum of…
In these lectures, we review the physics of time-dependent orbifolds of string theory, with particular attention to orbifolds of three-dimensional Minkowski space. We discuss the propagation of free particles in the orbifold geometries,…
In string theory the coupling ``constants'' appearing in the low-energy effective Lagrangian are determined by the vacuum expectation values of some (a priori) massless scalar fields (dilaton, moduli). This naturally leads one to expect a…
We study string theory on orbifolds in the presence of an antisymmetric constant background field and discuss some of new aspects of the theory. It is shown that the term with the antisymmetric field has a topological nature like a…
We study a topological obstruction of a very stringy nature concerned with deforming the target space of an $N=2$ non-linear \sm. This target space has a singularity which may be smoothed away according to the conventional rules of geometry…
The role of integrable systems in string theory is discussed. We remind old examples of the correspondence between stringy partition functions or effective actions and integrable equations, based on effective application of the matrix model…
String gas cosmology is an approach towards studying the effects of superstring theory on early universe cosmology which is based on new symmetries and new degrees of freedom of string theory. Within this context, it appears possible to…
String field theories exhibit exponential suppression of interactions among the component fields at high energies due to infinite-derivative factors such as $e^{\ell^2 \Box / 2}$ in the vertices. This nonlocality has hindered the…
We start from a quantum computational principle suggested for string theory in a previous paper and discuss how it might lead to a dynamical principle implying the correct classical gravitational limit. Besides this, we briefly look at some…
A brief discussion is presented assessing the achievements and challenges of string phenomenology: the subfield dedicated to study the potential for string theory to make contact with particle physics and cosmology. Building from the well…
We discuss some aspects of string cosmology with an emphasis on the role played by the dilaton. A cosmological scenario based on the assumption that all spatial dimensions are periodic so that winding modes play an important role is…
This is the text of my habilitation thesis defended at the \'Ecole Normale Sup\'erieure. The topological string presents an arena in which many features of string theory proper, such as the interplay between worldsheet and target space…
String theory has already motivated, suggested, and sometimes well-nigh proved a number of interesting and sometimes unexpected mathematical results, such as mirror symmetry. A careful examination of the behavior of string propagation on…