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We discuss superstring theory based on the reader's intuition and her college knowledge of general physics and calculus. Nowadays, superstring theory is considered the best candidate to explain physical phenomena that involve all of the…

The role of integrable systems in string theory is discussed. We remind old examples of the correspondence between stringy partition functions or effective actions and integrable equations, based on effective application of the matrix model…

String configurations have been identified in compactified Matrix theory at vanishing string coupling. We show how the interactions of these strings are determined by the Yang-Mills gauge field on the worldsheet. At finite string coupling,…

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…

This is the written version of a short talk given at the University of Leipzig in December 1998. It reviews some general aspects of string theory from the viewpoint of the search for an unifying theory. Here, special emphasis lies on the…

We calculate the potential between various configurations of membranes and gravitons in M(atrix) theory. The computed potentials agree with the short distance potentials between corresponding 2-branes and 0-brane configurations in Type IIA…

We study and extend the duality web unifying different decoupling limits of type II superstring theories and M-theory. We systematically build connections to different corners, such as Matrix theories, nonrelativistic string and M-theory,…

We complete the proof of unitarity of (compactified) heterotic and type II string field theories by showing that in the cut diagrams only physical states appear in the sum over intermediate states. This analysis takes into account the…

In this paper, which is a revised version of the author's PhD thesis, we analyze two different applications of string theory. In the first part, we focus on four dimensional compactifications of Type II string theories preserving N=1…

Certain one-loop processes in eleven-dimensional supergravity compactified on T**2 determine exact, non-perturbative, terms in the effective action of type II string theories compactified on a circle. One example is the modular invariant…

We formulate matrix string models on a class of exact string backgrounds with non constant RR-flux parameterized by a holomorphic prepotential function and with manifest (2,2) supersymmetry. This lifts these string theories to M-theory…

These lectures present some topics of string phenomenology and contain two parts. In the first part, I review the possibility of lowering the string scale in the TeV region, that provides a theoretical framework for solving the mass…

The behaviour of matrix string theory in the background of a type IIA pp wave at small string coupling, g_s << 1, is determined by the combination M g_s where M is a dimensionless parameter proportional to the strength of the Ramond-Ramond…

It is shown that many of the conjectured dualities involving orbifold compactification of M-theory follow from the known dualities involving M-theory and string theory in ten dimensions, and the ansatz that orbifolding procedure commutes…

We write down charged macroscopic string solutions in type II string theories, compactified on torii, and present an explicit solution of the spinor Killing equations to show that they preserve 1/2 of the type II supersymmetries. The…

In the Matrix Quantum Mechanical formulation of 2D string theory it is possible to introduce arbitrary tachyonic perturbations. In the case when the tachyonic momenta form a lattice, the theory is known to be integrable and, therefore, it…

1. Preliminaries. 2. Heterotic string and motivations for large volume compactifications; 2.1 Gauge coupling unification; 2.2 Supersymmetry breaking by compactification. 3. M-theory on S^1/Z_2 \times Calabi-Yau. 4. Type I/I' string theory…

Twistor string models have been known for more than a decade now but have come back under the spotlight recently with the advent of the scattering equation formalism which has greatly generalized the scope of these models. A striking…

The strong coupling dynamics of string theories in dimension $d\geq 4$ are studied. It is argued, among other things, that eleven-dimensional supergravity arises as a low energy limit of the ten-dimensional Type IIA superstring, and that a…

We find a new family of exact solutions in membrane theory, representing toroidal membranes spinning in several planes. They have energy square proportional to the sum of the different angular momenta, generalizing Regge-type string…