Related papers: Topological 2D String Theory: Higher-genus Amplitu…
Is string theory uniquely determined by self-consistency? Causality and unitarity seemingly permit a multitude of putative deformations, at least at the level of two-to-two scattering. Motivated by this question, we initiate a systematic…
Beginning with a review of the arguments leading to the so-called c=1 barrier in the continuum formulation of noncritical string theory, the pathology is then exhibited in a discretized version of the theory, formulated through dynamical…
We show that certain heterotic string amplitudes are given in terms of correlators of the twisted topological (2,0) SCFT, corresponding to the internal sector of the N=1 spacetime supersymmetric background. The genus g topological partition…
A large class of D-branes in Calabi-Yau spaces can be constructed at the Gepner points using the techniques of boundary conformal field theory. In this note we develop methods that allow to compute open string amplitudes for such D-branes.…
We investigate a Gepner-like superstring model described by a combination of multiple minimal models and an N=2 Liouville theory. This model is thought to be equivalent to the superstring theory on a singular noncompact Calabi-Yau manifold.…
We discuss the non--perturbative formulation for $c \leq 1$ string theory. The field theory like formulation of topological and non--topological models is presented. The integral representation for arbitrary $(p,q)$ solutions is derived…
We consider a conformal system of a string and a particle defined in D=10+2 space-time dimensions. The extra time-like dimension is a gauge artifact and can be eliminated by choosing a gauge in which the SO(10,1) Lorentz symmetry is…
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…
Correlation functions can be calculated on Riemann surfaces using the operator formalism. The state in the Hilbert space of the free field theory on the punctured disc, corresponding to the Riemann surface, is constructed at infinite genus,…
We present two new backgrounds of type IIA string theory preserving 16 supercharges. One is a Wilson line for (-1) to the left-moving spacetime fermion number, and the other is an orbifold by a reflection of four coordinates, along with the…
A remarkable result at the intersection of number theory and group theory states that the order of a finite group $G$ (denoted $|G|$) is divisible by the dimension $d_R$ of any irreducible complex representation of $G$. We show that the…
Lorentz invariance, unitarity, and causality enforce powerful constraints on the theory space of physical scattering amplitudes. However, virtually all efforts in this direction have centered on the very simplest case of four-point…
We analyze the U-duality group for the case of a type II superstring compactified to four dimensions on a K3 surface times a torus. The various limits of this theory are considered which have interpretations as type IIA and IIB…
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…
We revisit the perturbative S-matrix of c=1 string theory from the worldsheet perspective. We clarify the origin of the leg pole factors, the non-analyticity of the string amplitudes, and the validity as well as limitations of earlier…
In this paper we construct a $(2,2)$ dimensional string theory with manifest $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetry. We use Berkovits' approach of augmenting the spacetime supercoordinates by the conjugate momenta for the fermionic variables. The…
We study difference equations which are obtained from the asymptotic expansion of topological string theory on the deformed and the resolved conifold geometries as well as for topological string theory on arbitrary families of Calabi-Yau…
A general method is presented for deriving on-shell Ward-identities in (2D) string theory. It is shown that all tree-level Ward identities can be summarized in a quadratic differential equation for the generating function of…
We study the correspondence between four-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and two-dimensional conformal field theories in the case of N=2* gauge theory. We emphasize the genus expansion on the gauge theory side, as obtained via…
We study the spectrum of physical states for higher-spin generalisations of string theory, based on two-dimensional theories with local spin-2 and spin-$s$ symmetries. We explore the relation of the resulting effective Virasoro string…