Related papers: On A Stringy Singular Cohomology
This is a very brief survey of some results in the geometry of string duality delivered at a lecture given at ICM 1998, Berlin. String Duality is the statement that one kind of string theory compactified on one space is equivalent in some…
These are notes of a series of lectures on mirror symmetry and topological string theory given at the Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University. The N=2 superconformal algebra, its deformations and its chiral ring are reviewed. A…
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…
Mirror symmetry of the type II string has a beautiful generalization to the heterotic string. This generalization, known as (0,2) mirror symmetry, is a field still largely in its infancy. We describe recent developments including the ideas…
A brief review of the status of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The evidence is accumulating rapidly that an enormous group of duality symmetries, including perturbative T dualities and non-perturbative S-dualities,…
String theory is a quantum theory that reproduces the results of General Relativity at long distances but is completely different at short distances. Mathematically, string theory is based on a very new -- and little understood -- framework…
All known string theory models may be obtained as partial fermionization, projection and background Ans\"atze from the original, purely bosonic string theory. The latter theory in turn has been recently shown to describe a chirally and…
Aspects of duality and mirror symmetry in string theory are discussed. We emphasize, through examples, the importance of loop spaces for a deeper understanding of the geometrical origin of dualities in string theory. Moreover we show that…
The possible tensor constructions of open string theories are analyzed from first principles. To this end the algebraic framework of open string field theory is clarified, including the role of the homotopy associative A_\infty algebra, the…
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…
We study string theory on orbifolds in the presence of an antisymmetric constant background field and discuss some of new aspects of the theory. It is shown that the term with the antisymmetric field has a topological nature like a…
Twenty years ago, Mumford initiated the systematic study of the cohomology ring of moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces. Around the same time, Harer proved that the homology of the mapping class groups of oriented surfaces is independent of…
We review the status of duality symmetries in superstring theories. These discrete symmetries mark the striking differences between theories of pointlike objects and theories of extended objects. They prove to be very helpful in…
Free string theory on the plane-wave background displays a discrete Z2 symmetry exchanging the two transverse SO(4) rotation groups. This symmetry should be respected also at the interacting level. We show that the zero mode structure…
The dominance of string theory in the research landscape of quantum gravity physics (despite any direct experimental evidence) can, I think, be justified in a variety of ways. Here I focus on an argument from mathematical fertility, broadly…
A discrete symmetry of the four-dimensional string effective action is employed to derive spatially homogeneous and inhomogeneous string cosmologies from vacuum solutions of general relativity that admit two commuting spacelike Killing…
We describe some recent progress in understanding and formulating string theory which is based on extensive studies of strings in lower (D=2) dimension. At the center is a large $W_{\infty}$ symmetry that appears most simply in the matrix…
Active feedback between geometry and physics is woven throughout the study of Nature at its fundamental level, and is of key importance in string theory. Methods of complex algebraic geometry in particular have brought about an unrivaled…
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…
We define string geometry: spaces of superstrings including the interactions, their topologies, charts, and metrics. Trajectories in asymptotic processes on a space of strings reproduce the right moduli space of the super Riemann surfaces…