Related papers: String Theory and Quark Confinement

String theory is the leading candidate for a unified theory of the standard model and gravity. In the last few years theorists have realized that there is a unique structure underlying string theory. In this unification a prominent role is…

Generalizing a covariant framework previously developed, it is shown that confinement insures that meson $\to q+\bar{q}$ decay amplitudes vanish when both quarks are on-shell. Regularization of singularities in a covariant linear potential…

These proceedings are based on lectures delivered at the "RTN Winter School on Strings, Supergravity and Gauge Theories", CERN, January 16 - January 20, 2006. The school was mainly aimed at Ph.D. students and young postdocs. The lectures…

Following Dyson's analogy between the quantum field theory and the 19th-century chemistry-both explain how but not why-one could also establish an analogy between atomic physics and string theory. Atomic physics was needed to answer the…

A self-consistent string field theory with interaction is formulated. The symmetry algebra of this theory includes, in the low-energy limit, local space-time symmetries, and the Brans-Dicke equation describes a class of low-energy…

String theory has long ago been initiated by the quest for a theoretical explanation of the observed high-energy ``Reggeization'' of strong interaction amplitudes. In terms of quantum field theory, it is the so-called ``soft'' regime, where…

We consider a quantum field theory on a spherically symmetric quantum space time described by loop quantum gravity. The spin network description of space time in such a theory leads to equations for the quantum field that are discrete. We…

Quantization of closed string proceeds with a suitable choice of worldsheet vacuum. A priori, the vacuum may be chosen independently for left-moving and right-moving sectors. We construct {\sl ab initio} quantized bosonic string theory with…

In these lectures I review the progress made over the last few years in the subject of string and string-inspired phenomenology. I take a practical approach, thereby concentrating more on explicit examples rather than on formal…

We simulate five different systems belonging to the universality class of the gauge dual of three-dimensional random percolation to study the underlying effective string theory at finite temperature. All the data for the finite temperature…

String breaking, the process by which flux tubes fragment into hadronic states, is a hallmark of confinement in strongly-interacting quantum field theories. A suite of quantum complexity measures is examined using Matrix Product States to…

I present arguments to the affect that the topological phase of string theory must be event-symmetric. This motivates a search for a universal string group for discrete strings in event-symmetric space-time which unifies space-time symmetry…

Some problems in finding a complete quantum theory incorporating gravity are discussed. One is that of giving a consistent unitary description of high-energy scattering. Another is that of giving a consistent quantum description of…

We consider N=1 supersymmetric U(N), SO(N), and Sp(N) gauge theories, with two-index tensor matter and added tree-level superpotential, for general breaking patterns of the gauge group. By considering the string theory realization and…

We discuss different formulations and approaches to string theory and $ 2d$ quantum gravity. The generic idea to get a unique description of {\it many} different string vacua altogether is demonstrated on the examples in $ 2d$ conformal,…

We study the relation of confinement and chiral symmetry breaking in gauge theories with non-trivial center, such as SU(N) gauge theories. To this end, we deform these gauge theories by introducing an additional control parameter into the…

I describe how the gluon chain model of QCD string formation meets a number of criteria which are required of any theory of the confining force, including: the correct center dependence and (at large-N) Casimir scaling of the string…

There have been many remarkable developments in our understanding of superstring theory in the past few years, a period that has been described as ``the second superstring revolution.'' Several of them are discussed here. The presentation…

A polemical article evaluating string theory from the point of view of a quantum field theorist working in a mathematics department. Comments to the author are encouraged.

The formalism of matrix product states is used to perform a numerical study of 1+1 dimensional QED -- also known as the (massive) Schwinger model -- in the presence of an external static `quark' and `antiquark'. We obtain a detailed picture…