Related papers: Spacelike Singularities and String Theory
This article reviews recent developments in the study of universes with a positive cosmological constant in string theory.
The target space theory of the N=(2,1) heterotic string may be interpreted as a theory of gravity coupled to matter in either $1+1$ or $2+1$ dimensions. Among the target space theories in $1+1$ dimensions are the bosonic, type II, and…
We consider an exotic `compactification' of spacetime in which there are two infinite extra dimensions, using a global string instead of a domain wall. By having a negative cosmological constant we prove the existence of a nonsingular…
String theories should reduce to ordinary four-dimensional field theories at low energies. Yet the formulation of the two are so different that such a connection, if it exists, is not immediately obvious. With the Schwinger proper-time…
The past year has seen enormous progress in string theory. It has become clear that all of the different string theories are different limits of a single theory. Moreover, in certain limits, one obtains a new, eleven-dimensional structure…
This lecture surveys a few loosely related topics, ranging from the scarcity of quantum field theories -- and the role that this has played, and still plays, in physics -- to paradoxes involving black holes in soluble two dimensional string…
We study the perturbative unitarity of noncommutative scalar field theories. Field theories with space-time noncommutativity do not have a unitary S-matrix. Field theories with only space noncommutativity are perturbatively unitary. This…
Flat directions are a generic feature of the scalar potential in supersymmetric gauge field theories. They can arise, for example, from D-terms associated with an extra abelian gauge symmetry. Even when supersymmetry is broken softly, there…
The existence of non-singular string cosmologies is established in a class of two-dimensional supersymmetric Hybrid models at finite temperature. The left-moving sector of the Hybrid models gives rise to 16 real (N_4=4) spacetime…
We examine the structure of spacetime symmetries of toroidally compactified string theory within the framework of noncommutative geometry. Following a proposal of Frohlich and Gawedzki, we describe the noncommutative string spacetime using…
Realizing dark energy and the observed de Sitter spacetime in quantum gravity has proven to be obstructed in most every usual approach. We argue that additional degrees of freedom of the left- and right-movers in string theory and a…
A family of exact conformal field theories is constructed which describe charged black strings in three dimensions. Unlike previous charged black hole or extended black hole solutions in string theory, the low energy spacetime metric has a…
Two strands of observational gravitation, one the search for astrophysical evidence of primordial black holes and the other the search for gravitational waves, may combine to provide strong evidence in favour of cosmological models based on…
Attempts to connect string theory with astrophysical observation are hampered by a jargon barrier, where an intimidating profusion of orientifolds, Kahler potentials, etc. dissuades cosmologists from attempting to work out the astrophysical…
This is a short account, based on a talk given at the 2024 Moriond Cosmology Conference, of where and why string theory matters in early universe cosmology. It is written for a cosmology audience predisposed to be at best sceptical, and at…
We propose a new method for identifying new physics imprints on present observational data in cosmology whereby signatures of string theory are clearly distinguished from imprints of possible features on the inflaton potential. Our method…
A brief review of the status of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The evidence is accumulating rapidly that an enormous group of duality symmetries, including perturbative T dualities and non-perturbative S-dualities,…
Brane inflation is a specific realization of the inflationary universe scenario in the early universe within the brane world framework in string theory. The naturalness and robustness of this realistic scenario is explained. Its predictions…
We continue our study of the Lorentz breaking string theories. These theories are defined as string theory with modified Hamiltonian constraint which breaks the Lorentz symmetry of target space-time. We analyze properties of this theory in…
The theory of cosmological perturbations is the main tool which connects theories of the early universe (based on new fundamental physics such as string theory) with cosmological observations. In these lectures, I will provide an…