Related papers: Some Comments On String Dynamics
As a most promising candidate for quantum theory of the gravity, the superstring theory has attracted many researchers including cosmologists. It is expected that the cosmological initial singularity is avoided within the context of the…
A general family of charge-current carrying cosmic string models is investigated. In the special case of circular configurations in arbitrary axially symmetric gravitational and electromagnetic backgrounds the dynamics is determined by…
The purpose of this short review is to present progresses in string theory in the recent past. There have been very important developments in our understanding of string dynamics, especially in the nonperturbative aspects. In this context,…
String theory, as a theory containing quantum gravity, is usually thought to require more dimensions of spacetime than the usual 3+1. Here I argue on physical grounds that needing extra dimensions for strings may well be an artefact of…
This work is devoted to a study of some of the non-perturbative aspects of superstring theory that have come within reach thanks to dualities. The first chapter gives a non-technical zero-equation introduction to these developments intended…
In order to consider non-perturbative effects of superstrings, we try to apply dynamical triangulations to the type IIB superstrings. The discretized action is constructed from the type IIB matrix model proposed as a constructive definition…
We study string compactifications with sixteen supersymmetries. The moduli space for these compactifications becomes quite intricate in lower dimensions, partly because there are many different irreducible components. We focus primarily,…
In these lectures, we review the main properties of the topological theory obtained by twisting the N=2 two-dimensional superconformal algebra, associated to supersymmetric string compactifications. In particular, we describe a set of…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
An explicitly exact superconformal description is provided to some classes of Type II string theories in non constant RR backgrounds. This is done by applying the manifest (2,2) approach of Berkovits and Maldacena to Type II strings and by…
It has recently been proposed that certain nonsupersymmetric type II orbifolds have vanishing perturbative contributions to the cosmological constant. We show that techniques of Sen and Vafa allow one to construct dual type II descriptions…
I review recent progress on the connection between string theory and quantum chromodynamics in the context of the gauge/gravity duality. Emphasis is placed on conciseness and conceptual aspects rather than on technical details. Topics…
Time-dependent solutions of supergravity and string theory are studied. The examples are obtained from de Sitter deformation of gauge/gravity dualities, analytical continuation of static solutions, and ``exactly solvable'' worldsheet…
String theory provides the only consistent framework so far that unifies all interactions including gravity. We discuss gravity and cosmology in string theory. Conventional notions from general relativity like geometry, topology etc. are…
String theory contains sources like orientifold planes that support higher derivative interactions. These interactions make possible static flux compactifications which are forbidden in supergravity. They can also lead to violations of the…
We present a pedagogical overview of flux compactifications in string theory, from the basic ideas to the most recent developments. We concentrate on closed string fluxes in type II theories. We start by reviewing the supersymmetric flux…
The recent developments in string theory suggest that the space-time coordinates should be generalized to non-commuting matrices. Postulating this suggestion as the fundamental geometrical principle, we formulate a candidate for covariant…
The goal of these lectures is to present an informal but precise introduction to a body of concepts and methods of interest in number theory and string theory revolving around modular forms and their generalizations. Modular invariance lies…
Generically, string models with $N=1$ supersymmetry are not expected to have moduli beyond perturbation theory; stringy non-perturbative effects as well as low energy field-theoretic phenomena such as gluino condensation will lift any flat…
We review recent work which has significantly sharpened our geometric understanding and interpretation of the moduli space of certain $N$=2 superconformal field theories. This has resolved some important issues in mirror symmetry and has…