Related papers: M Theory Fivebrane and SQCD
The aim of these notes is to give recent developments in string theory. In particular, we discuss the string spectrums, compactifications, brane physics and dualities.
In a recent paper, Polchinski and Strassler found a string theory dual of a gauge theory with reduced supersymmetry. Motivated by their approach, we perturb the $\N=8$ theory living on a set of N M2 branes to $\N=2$, by adding fermion mass…
We discuss, in the context of M(atrix) theory, the creation of a membrane suspendend between two longitudinal five-branes when they cross each other. It is shown that the membrane creation is closely related to the degrees of freedom in the…
In this note it is demonstrated how the Seiberg-Witten solutions and related integrable systems may arise from certain brane configurations in M-theory. Some subtleties of the formulation of the Seiberg-Witten theory via integrable systems…
After reviewing how M-theory subsumes string theory, I report on some new and interesting developments, focusing on the ``brane-world'': circumventing no-go theorems for supersymmetric brane-worlds, complementarity of the Maldacena and…
We engineer a large new set of four-dimensional N=1 superconformal field theories by wrapping M5-branes on complex curves. We present new supersymmetric AdS_5 M-theory backgrounds which describe these fixed points at large N, and then…
We construct vacua of heterotic M-theory with general gauge bundles and five-branes. Some aspects of the resulting low-energy effective theories are discussed.
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…
In these lectures, two different aspects of brane world scenarios in 5d gravity or string theory are discussed. In the first two lectures, work on how warped compactifications of 5d gravity theories can change the guise of the hierarchy…
We study both the direct and the double dimensional reduction of space-like branes of M-theory and point out some peculiarities in the process unlike their time-like counterpart. In particular, we show how starting from SM2 and SM5-brane…
A particular two-parameter class of little string theories can be described by $M$ parallel M5-branes probing a transverse affine $A_{N-1}$ singularity. We previously discussed the duality between the theories labelled by $(N,M)$ and…
This is an introduction to some recent developments in string theory and M theory. We try to concentrate on the main physical aspects, and often leave more technical details to the original literature.
We embed the supersymmetry breaking mechanism in N=1 SQCD of hep-th/0602239 in a smooth superstring theory using D-branes in the background R^4 \times SL(2)_{k=1}/U(1) which smoothly captures the throat region of an intersecting NS5-brane…
We analyze how string theory dualities may be described in M theory. T dualities arise from scalar-vector dualities in the worldvolume of the membrane of M theory. ``Electric-magnetic'' dualities arise from a duality transformation in M…
Superstring theory has continued to develop at a rapid clip in the past few years. Following a quick review of some of the major discoveries prior to 1998, this talk focuses on a few of the more recent developments. The topics I have chosen…
We describe the worldvolume for the bosonic sector of the lower-dimensional F-theory that embeds 5D, N=1 M-theory and the 4D type II superstring. This theory is a complexification of the fundamental 5-brane theory that embeds the 4D, N=1…
We study the new ``gauge'' theories in 5+1 dimensions, and their non-commutative generalizations. We argue that the $\theta$-term and the non-commutative torus parameters appear on an equal footing in the non-critical string theories which…
Under certain conditions some solutions to five-dimensional heterotic M-theory can be accurately described by the four-dimensional action of the theory - they have a four-dimensional limit. We consider the connection between solutions of…
We describe a way to compute scattering amplitudes in M(atrix) quantum mechanics, that involve the transverse five-brane. We then compute certain scattering processes and show that they have the expected SO(5) invariance, give the correct…
An overview is presented of some cosmological aspects of string theory. Recent developments are emphasised, especially the attempts to derive inflation or alternatives to inflation from the dynamics of branes in string theory. Time…