Related papers: Lectures on Superstring Phenomenology
The heterotic string theory, compactified to four dimensions, has been conjectured to have a duality symmetry (S duality) that transforms the dilaton nonlinearly. If valid, this symmetry could provide an important means of obtaining…
It is sometimes said that there may be a unique algebraic theory independent of space-time topologies which underlies superstring and p-brane theories. In this paper, I construct some algebras using knot relations within the framework of…
Superstring theories are very promising theoretically, but the enormous landscape of string vacua and the (likely) very large underlying string scale imply that they may never be tested directly. Nevertheless, concrete constructions…
It is an old speculation that SU(N) gauge theory can alternatively be formulated as a string theory. Recently this subject has been revived, in the wake of the discovery of D-branes. In particular, it has been argued that at least some…
These lectures intend to give a pedagogical introduction into some of the developments in string theory during the last years. They include perturbative T-duality and non perturbative S- and U-dualities, their unavoidable demand for…
This paper provides an overview to three recent papers on the bottom up approach to GUTs in F-theory. We assume only a minimal familiarity with string theory and phenomenology. After explaining the potential for predictive string…
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…
These lectures introduce some of the basic ideas of effective field theories. The topics discussed include: relevant and irrelevant operators and scaling, renormalization in effective field theories, decoupling of heavy particles, power…
I review aspects of string theory on plane wave backgrounds emphasising the connection to gauge theory given by the BMN correspondence. Topics covered include the Penrose limit and its role in deriving the BMN duality from AdS/CFT,…
We consider properties of confining strings in 2+1 dimensional SU(2) nonabelian gauge theory with the Higgs field in adjoint representation. The analysis is carried out in the context of effective dual Lagrangian which describes the…
We discuss duality between Type IIA string theory, eleven-dimensional supergravity, and heterotic string theory in four spacetime dimensions with $N=1$ supersymmetry. We find theories whose infrared limit is trivial at enhanced symmetry…
We propose an explanation via string theory of the correspondence between the Coulomb branch of certain three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories and certain moduli spaces of magnetic monopoles. The same construction also gives an…
These lectures are devoted to introducing some of the basic features of quantum geometry that have been emerging from compactified string theory over the last couple of years. The developments discussed include new geometric features of…
This article surveys some of the highlights in the development of string theory through the first superstring revolution in 1984. The emphasis is on topics in which the author was involved, especially the observation that critical string…
Scattering amplitudes for discrete states in 2D string theory are considered. Pole divergences of tree-level amplitudes are extracted and residues are interpreted as renormalized amplitudes for discrete states. An effective Lagrangian…
We review the status of low-scale string theories and large extra-dimensions. After an overview on different string realizations, we discuss some of the main important problems and we summarize present bounds on the size of possible…
The observation of a scalar resonance at the LHC, compatible with perturbative electroweak symmetry breaking, reinforces the Standard Model parameterisation of all subatomic data. The logarithmic evolution of the SM gauge and matter…
In this review article we study the Minimal Supersymmetric Electro-Weak theory (of leptons). The Lagrangian is constructed step by step in great detail, both in the superfield and component field formalism --- both on and off shell.…
These lectures are intended as an introduction to some of the basic aspects of string solitons, duality and black holes. We begin with a discussion of the role of classical solutions in duality, then focus on string/string duality and…
This dissertation consists of a comprehensive and pedagogical review of Maldacena's original derivation of the AdS/CFT correspondence and the main topics of string theory necessary to understand it. The large $N$ expansion of Yang-Mills…