Related papers: The Monster Sporadic Group and a Theory Underlying…
The monster sporadic group is the automorphism group of a central charge $c=24$ vertex operator algebra (VOA) or meromorphic conformal field theory (CFT). In addition to its $c=24$ stress tensor $T(z)$, this theory contains many other…
We investigate the connections between four-dimensional, N=2 M-theory vacua constructed as orbifolds of type II, heterotic, and type I strings. All these models have the same massless spectrum, which contains an equal number of vector…
A free superstring with chiral N=2 supersymmetry in six dimensions is proposed. It couples to a two-form gauge field with a self-dual field strength. Compactification to four dimensions on a two-torus gives a strongly coupled N=4…
It is shown that the Type IIA superstring compactified on $K3$ has a smooth string soliton with the same zero mode structure as the heterotic string compactified on a four torus, thus providing new evidence for a conjectured exact duality…
In six dimensions, cancellation of gauge, gravitational, and mixed anomalies strongly constrains the set of quantum field theories which can be coupled consistently to gravity. We show that for some classes of six-dimensional supersymmetric…
We construct heterotic string theories on spacetimes of the form R^{d-1,1} times N=2 linear dilaton, where d=6,4,2,0. There are two lines of supersymmetric theories descending from the two supersymmetric ten-dimensional heterotic theories.…
By studying 2d string compactifications with half-maximal supersymmetry in a variety of duality frames, we find a natural physical setting for understanding Umbral moonshine. Near points in moduli space with enhanced gauge symmetry, we find…
Supersymmetric theories of gravity can exhibit surprising hidden symmetries when considered on manifolds that include a torus. When the torus is of large dimension these symmetries can become infinite-dimensional and of Kac-Moody type. When…
A review of orbifold geometry is given, followed by a review of the construction of four-dimensional heterotic string models by compactification on a six-dimensional Z_3 orbifold. Particular attention is given to the details of the…
We study dilaton stabilization in heterotic string models. By utilizing the asymmetric orbifold construction, we construct an explicit three-generation model whose matter content in the visible sector is the supersymmetric standard model…
We discuss the duality between two type I compactifications to four dimensions and an heterotic construction with spontaneous breaking of the N=4 supersymmetry to N=2. This duality allows us to gain insight into the non-perturbative…
The Beckenstein-Hawking black hole entropy in string theory and its extensions, as expressed in terms of charges that correspond to central extensions of the supersymmetry algebra, has more symmetries than U-duality. It is invariant under…
We illustrate the various ways in which the algebraic framework of noncommutative geometry naturally captures the short-distance spacetime properties of string theory. We describe the noncommutative spacetime constructed from a vertex…
It is well-known that principal chiral models and symmetric space models in two-dimensional Minkowski space have an infinite-dimensional algebra of hidden symmetries. Because of the relevance of symmetric space models to duality symmetries…
This article is devoted to an overview of superstring perturbation theory from the point of view of super Riemann surfaces. We aim to elucidate some of the subtleties of superstring perturbation that caused difficulty in the early…
The recent developments in string theory suggest that the space-time coordinates should be generalized to non-commuting matrices. Postulating this suggestion as the fundamental geometrical principle, we formulate a candidate for covariant…
In recent work Kachru, Kumar and Silverstein introduced a special class of non-supersymmetric type II string theories in which the cosmological constant vanishes at the first two orders of perturbation theory. Heuristic arguments suggest…
This review talk focusses on some of the interesting developments in the area of superstring compactification that have occurred in the last couple of years. These include the discovery that ``mirror symmetric" pairs of Calabi--Yau spaces,…
We review the derivation and the basic properties of the perturbative prepotential in N=2 compactifications of the heterotic superstring. We discuss the structure of the perturbative monodromy group and the embedding of rigidly…
String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…