Related papers: From Weak to Strong Coupling in Two-Dimensional Gr…
We compute and analyse a variety of four-derivative gravitational terms in the effective action of six- and four-dimensional type II string ground states with N=4 supersymmetry. In six dimensions, we compute the relevant perturbative…
Geometric structures and dualities arise naturally in quantum field theories and string theory. In fact, these tools become very useful when studying strong coupling effects, where standard perturbative techniques can no longer be used. In…
In these notes, based on a talk given at the Rencontres de Moriond, I give a simple introduction to the tremendous progress that has been made during the last few years towards the understanding of strong-coupling phenomena in quantum gauge…
An overview of matter-coupled ${\cal N}=2$ supergravity theories with 8 real supercharges, in 4,5 and 6 dimensions is given. The construction of the theories by superconformal methods is explained from basic principles. Special geometry is…
We study gauge coupling unification in the presence of extra dimensions compactified at a few TeV. Achieving unification requires a large number of gauge boson Kaluza-Klein excitations lighter than the string scale, such that the…
We relate duality mappings to the "Babbage equation" F(F(z)) = z, with F a map linking weak- to strong-coupling theories. Under fairly general conditions F may only be a specific conformal transformation of the fractional linear type. This…
A recent result concerning interacting theories of self-dual tensor gauge fields in six dimensions is generalized to include coupling to gravity. The formalism makes five of the six general coordinate invariances manifest, whereas the sixth…
We study the strong coupling dynamics of the heterotic E_8 x E_8 string theory on the orbifolds T^6/Z_3 and C^3/Z_3 using the duality with the Horava-Witten M-theory picture. This leads us to a conjecture about the low energy description of…
Sine-square deformation, a recently found modulation of the coupling strength in certain statistical models, is discussed in the context of two-dimensional conformal field theories, with particular attention to open/closed string duality.…
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…
We study the configuration of a typical highly excited string as one slowly increases the string coupling. The dominant interactions are the long range dilaton and gravitational attraction. In four spacetime dimensions, the string slowly…
This is the second paper of a series of three. We construct effective open-closed superstring couplings by classically integrating out massive fields from open superstring field theories coupled to an elementary gauge invariant tadpole…
While most fundamental interactions in nature are known to be mediated by quantized fields, the possibility has been raised that gravity may behave differently. Making this concept precise enough to test requires consistent models. Here we…
Based on our generalization of the Goulian-Li continuation in the power of the 2D cosmological term we construct the two and three-point correlation functions for Liouville exponentials with generic real coefficients. As a strong argument…
We classify all the first-order vertices of gravity consistently coupled to a system of 2-form gauge fields by computing the local BRST cohomology H(s|d) in ghost number 0 and form degree n. The consistent deformations are at most linear in…
We study the constraints on gravity scale $M_P$ in extra-dimension gravitational theory, obtained from gravity-induced processes. The obtained constraints are subdivided into strong (though not robust) and reliable (though less strong). The…
We consider the scenario where all the couplings in the theory are strong at the cut-off scale, in the context of higher dimensional grand unified field theories where the unified gauge symmetry is broken by an orbifold compactification. In…
The strongly coupled limit of string scattering and the automorphic construction of the graviton S-matrix is compared with the eleven dimensional formulation of M-theory. In a particular scaling limit at strong string coupling, M-theory is…
Understanding the strong coupling limit of massive type IIA string theory is a longstanding problem. We argue that perhaps this problem does not exist; namely, there may be no strongly coupled solutions of the massive theory. We show…
In the covariant-gauge two-dimensional quantum gravity, various derivations of the critical dimension D=26 of the bosonic string are critically reviewed, and their interrelations are clarified. It is shown that the string theory is not…