Related papers: Degrees of freedom in two dimensional string theor…
We revisit the existence, background independence and uniqueness of closed, open and open-closed bosonic- and topological string field theory, using the machinery of homotopy algebra. In a theory of classical open- and closed strings, the…
A low energy string theory should reduce to an ordinary quantum field theory, but in reality the structures of the two are so different as to make the equivalence obscure. The string formalism is more symmetrical between the spacetime and…
This paper, in a sense, completes a series of three papers. In the previous two hep-th/0404013, hep-th/0410293, we have explored the possibility of refining the K-theory partition function in type II string theories using elliptic…
Long strings emerge in many Quantum Field Theories, for example as vortices in Abelian Higgs theories, or flux tubes in Yang-Mills theories. The actions of such objects can be expanded in the number of derivatives, around a long straight…
The relative entropy in two-dimensional field theory is studied on a cylinder geometry, interpreted as finite-temperature field theory. The width of the cylinder provides an infrared scale that allows us to define a dimensionless relative…
It is pointed out that the entanglement entropy of quantum fields near the horizon of a two-dimensional black hole can be derived by means of the conformal field theory. This can be done in a way analogous to the computation of the entropy…
We explore the quantum properties of self-dual gravity formulated as a large $N$ two-dimensional WZW sigma model. Using a non-trivial classical background, we show that a $(2,2)$ space-time is generated. The theory contains an infinite…
Few facts are known about the entanglement entropy for disconnected regions in quantum field theory. We study here the property of extensivity of the mutual information, which holds for free massless fermions in two dimensions. We uncover…
We present a full characterization of the phase transition in U(1) scalar field theory and of the associated vortex string thermodynamics in 3D. We show that phase transitions in the string densities exist and measure their critical…
I discuss various aspects of background independence in the context of string theory, for which so far we have no manifestly background independent formulation. After reviewing the role of background independence in classical Einstein…
Present day physics rests on two main pillars: General relativity and quantum field theory. We discuss the deep and at the same time problematic interplay between these two theories. Based on an argument by Doplicher, Fredenhagen, and…
We review some of the recent progress in the continuum formulation of two-dimensional string theory, i.e. two-dimensional quantum gravity coupled to $c=1$ matter. Special attention is devoted to the discrete states and to the $w_\infty$…
The $2 \times 2$-matrix structure of Green's functions is a common feature for the real-time formalisms of quantum field theory under thermal situations, such as the closed time path formalism and Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD). It has been…
We study the question of how reliably one can distinguish two quantum field theories (QFTs). Each QFT defines a probability distribution on the space of fields. The relative entropy provides a notion of proximity between these distributions…
We analyze the physical (reduced) space of non-local theories, around the fixed points of these systems, by analyzing: i) the Hamiltonian constraints appearing in the 1+1 formulation of those theories, ii) the symplectic two form in the…
The observation that spacetime and quantum fields on it have to be dynamically produced in any theory of quantum gravity implies that quantum gravity should be defined on the configuration space of fields rather than spacetime. Such a…
How many canonical degrees of freedom does a quantum field theory actually use during its Hamiltonian evolution? For a UV/IR-regularised classical scalar field, we address this question directly at the level of phase-space dynamics by…
We make some observations regarding string/black hole correspondence with a view to understanding the nature of the quantum degrees of freedom of a black hole in string theory. In particular, we compare entropy change in analogous string…
As a refinement of the Swampland Distance Conjecture, we propose that a quantum gravitational theory in an infinite distance limit of its moduli space either decompactifies, or reduces to an asymptotically tensionless, weakly coupled string…
We conjecture a general upper bound on the strength of gravity relative to gauge forces in quantum gravity. This implies, in particular, that in a four-dimensional theory with gravity and a U(1) gauge field with gauge coupling g, there is a…