Related papers: Weak Scale Superstrings
We investigate the possibility of lowering the string scale in four dimensional heterotic models possessing a non-perturbative extension of the gauge group. In particular, we consider a class of compactifications in which the perturbative…
We present explicit examples of semi-realistic heterotic models with spontaneously broken supersymmetry, which dynamically lead to breaking scales much smaller than $M_{\rm Planck}$ and exponentially small positive values for the…
These four lectures, addressed to an audience of graduate students in experimental high energy physics, survey some of the basic concepts in string theory. The purpose is to convey a general sense of what string theory is and what it has…
We investigate the low energy physics implications of a prototype quasi-realistic superstring model with an anomalous U(1). First, we present the techniques utilized to compute the mass spectrum and superpotential couplings at the string…
We motivate a relation between dark energy and the scale of new physics in weakly coupled string theory. This mixing between infrared and ultraviolet physics leads to a unique corner for real-world phenomenology: barring fine-tunings, we…
We suggest that some of the remarkable results on stringy dynamics which have been found recently indicate the existence of another dynamical length scale in string theory that, at weak coupling, is much shorter than the string scale. This…
Models with large extra dimensions offer the possibility of the Planck scale being of order the electroweak scale, thus alleviating the gauge hierarchy problem. We show that these models suffer from a breakdown of unitarity at around three…
We consider heterotic string compactifications to four dimensions when instantons shrink to zero size. If the standard model gauge group originates from the new gauge symmetry associated with the small instantons singularity, then the…
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge…
String theory, if it describes nature, is probably strongly coupled. In light of recent developments in string duality, this means that the ``real world'' should correspond to a region of the classical moduli space which admits no weak…
String theory, if it describes nature, is probably strongly coupled. As a result, one might despair of making any statements about the theory. In the framework of a set of clearly spelled out assumptions, we show that this is not…
String theory suggests the existence of a minimum length scale. An exciting quantum mechanical implication of this feature is a modification of the uncertainty principle. In contrast to the conventional approach, this generalised…
String and field theory ideas have greatly influenced each other since the so called second string revolution. We review this interrelation paying particular attention to its phenomenological implications. Our guiding principle is the…
A particle spectrum below the string scale in accordance with predictions from heterotic string theory yields a Planck mass $m_{Pl}=(8\pi G_N)^{-1/2}$ which exceeds the string scale by a factor $\simeq 61.9$. A Planck mass…
The strong coupling limit of a quantum system is in general quite complicated, but in some cases a great simplification occurs: the strongly coupled limit is equivalent to the weakly coupled limit of some other system. In string theory…
In the presence of large extra dimensions, the fundamental Planck scale can be much lower than the apparent four-dimensional Planck scale. In this setup, the weak gravity conjecture implies a much more stringent constraint on the UV cutoff…
A strong-weak coupling duality symmetry of the string equations of motion has been suggested in the literature. This symmetry implies that vacua occur in pairs. Since the coupling constant is a dynamical variable in string theory, tunneling…
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 argued that singlet extensions of the MSSM at the weak scale are indicative of either gauged-$R$ symmetry or target space duality in a string effective action at the Planck scale. The criteria used are satisfactory primordial…
I review the relations between mass scales in various string theories and in M-theory. I discuss physical motivations and possible consistent realizations of large volume compactifications and low string scale. Large longitudinal…