Related papers: A Layman's Guide to M-theory
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.
Nature's attraction to unique mathematical structures provides powerful hints for unraveling her mysteries. None is at present as intriguing as eleven-dimensional M-theory. The search for exceptional structures specific to eleven dimensions…
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…
I suggest the possibility of a new string in ten dimensions. Evidence for this string is presented both from orientifold physics and from K-theory, along with a mystery concerning the M-theory description. Motivated by this possibility,…
We suggest and motivate a precise equivalence between uncompactified eleven dimensional M-theory and the N = infinity limit of the supersymmetric matrix quantum mechanics describing D0-branes. The evidence for the conjecture consists of…
We discuss the possible applications of string theory for the construction of generalizations of the $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ standard model of strong and electroweak interactions. This includes an investigation of effective $d=4$…
The equations of motion and the Bianchi identity of the C-field in M-theory are encoded in terms of the signature operator. We then reformulate the topological part of the action in M-theory using the signature, which leads to connections…
These lectures intend to give a pedagogical introduction into some of the developments in string theory during the last years. They include perturbative T-duality and non perturbative S- and U-dualities, their unavoidable demand for…
The construction of effective field theories describing M-theory compactified on $S^1/{\bf Z}_2$ is revisited, and new insights into the parameters of the theory are explained. Particularly, the web of constraints which follow from…
This is an expanded version of talks given by the author at the Trieste Spring School on Supergravity and Superstrings in April of 1997 and at the accompanying workshop. The manuscript is intended to be a mini-review of Matrix Theory. The…
In light of G\"{o}del's undecidability results (incomplete theorems) for math, quantum indeterminism indicates that physics and the Universe may be indeterministic, incomplete, and open in nature, and therefore demand no single unification…
In the first part of the talk, I explain what empirical evidence points to the need for having an effective grand unification-like symmetry possessing the symmetry SU(4)-color in 4D. If one assumes the premises of a future predictive theory…
The target space theory of the N=(2,1) heterotic string may be interpreted as a theory of gravity coupled to matter in either $1+1$ or $2+1$ dimensions. Among the target space theories in $1+1$ dimensions are the bosonic, type II, and…
This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory and its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical review of four decades of string theory within the broader context of six decades of…
The supersymmetric flipped $SU(6)\times U(1)$ gauge symmetry can arise through compactification of the ten dimensional $E_8\times E_8$ superstring theory. We show how realistic phenomenology can emerge from this theory by supplementing it…
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…
This thesis explores an exotic class of M-theory compactifications in which the compact manifold is taken to be a Calabi-Yau five-fold. The resulting effective theory is a one-dimensional N=2 super-mechanics model that exhibits peculiar…
Recent work on the use of dimensional reduction for the regularisation of non--supersymmetric theories is reviewed. It is then shown that there exists a class of theories for which a universal form of the soft supersymmetry breaking terms…
In addition to being a prime candidate for a fundamental unified theory of all interactions in nature, string theory provides a natural setting to understand gauge field theories. This is linked to the concept of "D-branes": extended,…
Some physicists hope to use string/M-theory to construct a comprehensive underlying theory of our physical world a "final theory". Can such a theory be tested? A quantum theory of gravity must be formulated in 10 dimensions, so obviously…