Related papers: Duality in Quantum Field Theory (and String Theory…
This thesis discusses various aspects of duality in quantum field theory and string theory. In the first part we consider duality in topological quantum field theories, concentrating on the Donaldson and Seiberg-Witten theories as (dual)…
Supersymmetric gauge theories have had a significant impact on our understanding of QCD and of field theory in general. The phases of N=1 supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) are discussed, and the possibility of similar phases in non-supersymmetric…
Lectures presented at the 33rd Karpacz Winter School ``Duality: Strings and Fields'' briefly introducing dualities in four-dimensional quantum field theory, and summarizing results found in supersymmetric field theories. The first lecture…
In this paper we make further refinements to the duality proposed between N=1 SQCD and certain string (supergravity plus branes) backgrounds, working in the regime of comparable large number of colors and flavors. Using the string theory…
We discuss a number of exact results in N=1 supersymmetric field theories. We review the results obtained by Seiberg in Super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theories with matter in fundamental representation. We then consider Kutasov-type SYM theories,…
These lectures provide an introduction to the behavior of strongly-coupled supersymmetric gauge theories. After a discussion of the effective Lagrangian in nonsupersymmetric and supersymmetric field theories, I analyze the qualitative…
The aim of this talk is to give a brief introduction to the problem of confinement in QCD and to N=2 globally supersymmetric Yang-Mills gauge theories (SYM). While avoiding technicalities as much as possible I will try to emphasize the…
Recent discoveries in supersymmetric gauge theories have significant implications for our understanding for QCD and of field theory in general. The phases of N=1 supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) are discussed, and the possibility of similar phases…
We analyze the Coulomb phase of theories of $N=2$ SQCD with $SU(N_c)$ gauge groups which are conjectured to have exact electric-magnetic duality. We discuss the duality transformation of the particle spectrum, emphasizing the differences…
We consider duality transformations in N=2 Yang--Mills theory coupled to N=2 supergravity, in a manifestly symplectic and coordinate covariant setting. We give the essential of the geometrical framework which allows one to discuss stringy…
We present a summary of the applications of duality to Donaldson-Witten theory and its generalizations. Special emphasis is made on the computation of Donaldson invariants in terms of Seiberg-Witten invariants using recent results in N=2…
We present a summary of the progress made in the last few years on topological quantum field theory in four dimensions. In particular, we describe the role played by duality in the developments which led to the Seiberg-Witten invariants and…
Recently the vacuum structure of a large class of four dimensional (supersymmetric) quantum field theories was determined exactly. These theories exhibit a wide range of interesting new physical phenomena. One of the main new insights is…
We examine various properties of double field theory and the doubled string sigma model in the context of geometric quantisation. In particular we look at T-duality as the symplectic transformation related to an alternative choice of…
The main principles of two-dimensional quantum field theories, in particular two-dimensional QCD and gravity are reviewed. We study non-perturbative aspects of these theories which make them particularly valuable for testing ideas of…
During the last ten years, intriguing dualities between gauge and string theory have been found and explored. They provide a novel window on strongly coupled gauge physics, including QCD-like models. Based on a short historical review of…
Results about the phase structure of certain N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories, which have been obtained as a consequence of holomorphy and `electric-magnetic' duality, are shown to be in quantitative agreement with corresponding…
The strongest version of the gauge/gravity duality conjecture relates the 1/N correction in super Yang-Mills theory and the quantum correction in superstring theory. We perform a quantitative test of this conjecture at finite temperature,…
Compact U(1) lattice gauge theory in four dimensions is studied by means of an efficient algorithm which exploits the duality transformation properties of the model. We focus our attention onto the confining regime, considering the…
String theories should reduce to ordinary four-dimensional field theories at low energies. Yet the formulation of the two are so different that such a connection, if it exists, is not immediately obvious. With the Schwinger proper-time…