Related papers: Truly Strong Coupling and Large Radius in String T…
We discuss general properties of classical string field theories with symmetric vertices in the context of deformation theory. For a given conformal background there are many string field theories corresponding to different decomposition of…
In this paper we study duality properties of the M(atrix) theory compactified on a circle. We establish the equivalence of this theory to the strong coupling limit of type IIB string theory compactified on a circle. In the M(atrix) theory…
We examine bounds on accelerated expansion in asymptotic regions of the moduli space in string theory compactifications to four spacetime dimensions. While there are conjectures that forbid or constrain accelerated expansion in such…
In these lectures we review the properties of holomorphic couplings in the effective action of four-dimensional N=1 and N=2 closed string vacua. We briefly outline their role in establishing a duality among (classes of) different string…
In this article we review four-dimensional string vacua with N=2 space-time supersymmetry. In particular, we will discuss several aspects of the string-string duality between the heterotic string, compactified on $K3\times T^2$, and the…
We study the R -> 0 limit for heterotic strings of either kind (Spin(32)/Z_2 or E_8 x E_8) compactified on a circle, in the presence of an arbitrary Wilson line. Though for generic Wilson line this limit leads to chaotic behaviour, there…
The perturbative analysis of models of open and closed superstrings presents a number of surprises. For instance, variable numbers of antisymmetric tensors ensure their consistency via generalized Green-Schwarz cancellations and a novel…
Twistor string models have been known for more than a decade now but have come back under the spotlight recently with the advent of the scattering equation formalism which has greatly generalized the scope of these models. A striking…
A double scaling limit can be defined in string theory on a Calabi-Yau (CY) manifold by approaching a point in moduli space where the CY space develops an isolated singularity and at the same time taking the string coupling to zero, while…
Closed string tachyons have long been somewhat mysterious. We note that there is often a regime in the classical moduli space in which one can systematically compute the effective action for such fields. In this regime, the tachyon is…
Recent developments in string theory suggest that string theory landscape of vacua is vast. It is natural to ask if this landscape is as vast as allowed by consistent-looking effective field theories. We use universality ideas from string…
We use mirror symmetry to establish the first concrete arena of spacetime topology change in string theory. In particular, we establish that the {\it quantum theories} based on certain nonlinear sigma models with topologically distinct…
The effective string describing the large distance behaviour of the quark sources of gauge field theories in the confining phase in D=3 or D=4 space-time dimensions can be formulated, in the infrared limit, as a suitable 2D conformal field…
String theory is accused by some of its critics to be a purely abstract mathematical discipline, having lost the contact to the simple yet deeply rooted questions which physics provided until the beginning of this century. We argue that, in…
We critically assess the twin prospects of describing the observed universe in string theory, and using cosmological experiments to probe string theory. For the purposes of this short review, we focus on the limitations imposed by our…
I present a new class of topological string theories, and discuss them in two dimensions as candidates for the string description of large-$N$ QCD. The starting point is a new class of topological sigma models, whose path integral is…
We study towers of light particles that appear in infinite-distance limits of moduli spaces of 9-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ string theories, some of which notably feature decompactification limits with running string coupling. The lightest…
We will show how the study of randomly triangulated surfaces merges with the study of open/closed string dualities. In particular we will discuss the Conformal Field Theory which arises in the open string sector and its implications.
A brief discussion is presented assessing the achievements and challenges of string phenomenology: the subfield dedicated to study the potential for string theory to make contact with particle physics and cosmology. Building from the well…
Infinite distance limits in the moduli space of a quantum gravity theory are characterized by having infinite towers of states becoming light, as dictated by the Distance Conjecture in the Swampland program. These towers imply a drastic…