Related papers: Couplings and Scales in Strongly Coupled Heterotic…
This is the text of a talk given at the Inaugural Conference of the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Seoul, Korea, June 9, 1996. If nature is described by string theory, and if the compactification radius is large (as suggested…
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 posesses numerous axion candidates. The recent realization that the compactification radius in string theory might be large means that these states can solve the strong CP problem. This still leaves the question of the…
We use recently obtained 2-loop string coupling constants to analyze a class of string models based on orbifold compactification. Assuming weak coupling at the string scale and single-scale unification leads to restrictions on the spectrum…
Landscape analyses often assume the existence of large numbers of fields, $N$, with all of the many couplings among these fields (subject to constraints such as local supersymmetry) selected independently and randomly from simple (say…
The region of moduli space of string theories which is most likely to describe the "real world" is where the string coupling is about unity and the volume of extra compact dimensions is about the same size as the string volume. Here we map…
We consider the scenario where all the couplings in the theory are strong at the cut-off scale, in the context of higher dimensional grand unified field theories where the unified gauge symmetry is broken by an orbifold compactification. In…
We examine the possibility that the strong CP problem is solved by string-theoretic axions in strong-coupling limit of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory (M-theory). We first discuss some generic features of gauge kinetic functions in…
String theory axions appear to be promising candidates for explaining cosmological constant via quintessence. In this paper, we study conditions on the string compactifications under which axion quintessence can happen. For sufficiently…
The dynamics of superstring, supergravity and M theories and their compactifications are probed by studying the various perturbation theories that emerge in the strong and weak coupling limits for various directions in coupling constant…
The weakly coupled vacuum of $E_8\otimes E_8$ heterotic string theory remains an attractive scenario for phenomenolgy and cosmology. The particle spectrum is reviewed and the issues of gauge coupling unification, dilaton stabilization and…
Some recent developments in the weakly-coupled heterotic string phenomenology are reviewed. We discuss several important issues such as dilaton/moduli stabilization, supersymmetry breaking (by hidden-sector gaugino condensation), gauge…
In recent years it has been realized that in string/$M$ theories compactified to four dimensions which satisfy cosmological constraints, it is possible to make some generic predictions for particle physics and dark matter: a non-thermal…
Within two specific string cosmology scenarios --differing in the way the pre- and post-big bang phases are joined-- we compute the size and spectral slope of various types of cosmologically amplified quantum fluctuations that arise in…
In the present thesis I studied the phenomenology arising from a class of string models called sequestered compactifications, which were born with the aim of getting low-energy SUSY from strings. This is not an easy task if combined with…
I discuss several aspects of strings as unified theories. After recalling the difficulties of the simplest supersymmetric grand unification schemes I emphasize the distinct features of string unification. An important role in constraining…
In string theory the coupling ``constants'' appearing in the low-energy effective Lagrangian are determined by the vacuum expectation values of some (a priori) massless scalar fields (dilaton, moduli). This naturally leads one to expect a…
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…
Light moduli fields in string compactifications can have interesting implications for particle physics and cosmology. Fifth force bounds impose stringent constraints on the interactions of such moduli with the visible sector. To be…