Related papers: Enhanced Symmetries and the Ground State of String…
String theory, if it describes nature, is probably strongly coupled. As a result, one might despair of making any statements about the theory. In the framework of a set of clearly spelled out assumptions, we show that this is not…
Recently, a number of authors have challenged the conventional assumption that the string scale, Planck mass, and unification scale are roughly comparable. It has been suggested that the string scale could be as low as a TeV. The greatest…
One cannot yet point to any firm string prediction. While many approximate string ground states are known with interesting properties, we do not have any argument that one or another describes what we observe around us, and for reasons…
String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
Certain four-dimensional $N=4$ supersymmetric theories have special vacua in which massive charged vector supermultiplets become massless, resulting in an enhanced non-abelian gauge symmetry. We show here that any two $N=4$ theories having…
In this article we examine some points in the moduli space of M-Theory at which there arise enhanced gauge symmetries. In particular, we examine the ``trivial" points of enhanced gauge symmetry in the moduli space of M-Theory on $S^{ 1 }…
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…
This is a pedagogical review article surveying the various approaches towards understanding gauge coupling unification within string theory. As is well known, one of the major problems confronting string phenomenology has been an apparent…
Two different mechanisms exist in non-perturbative String / M- theory for enhanced SU(N) (SO(2N)) gauge symmetries. It can appear in type IIA string theory or M-theory near an $A_{N-1}$ (D_N) type singularity where membrnes wrapped around…
I discuss some current thoughts on how low-energy measurements and consistency constrain theories at high energies with emphasis on string theory. I also discuss some recent work on the dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories.
Supersymmetry plays a main role in all current thinking about superstring theory. Indeed, many remarkable properties of string theory have been explained using supersymmetry as a tool. So far, there has been no unbroken supersymmetry…
String theory avoids the ultraviolet infinities that arise in trying to quantize gravity. It is also more predictive than conventional quantum field theory, one aspect of this being the way that it contributed to the emergence of the…
In string theory the coupling parameters are functions of moduli fields. The actual values of the coupling constants are then dynamically determined through the vacuum expextation values of these fields. We review the attempts to connect…
A class of non-supersymmetric string backgrounds can be constructed using twists that involve space-time fermion parity. We propose a non-perturbative definition of string theory in these backgrounds via gauge theories with supersymmetry…
We extend effective field theory to the case of spontaneous symmetry breaking in genuinely finite quantum systems such as small superfluid systems, molecules or atomic nuclei, and focus on deformed nuclei. In finite superfluids, symmetry…
The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which includes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in constructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that these…
Recent work has made clear that we have far more control over the dynamics of supersymmetric than non-supersymmetric theories. Here, I discuss some issues in dynamical supersymmetry breaking both in ordinary field theory and in string…
Generically, string models with $N=1$ supersymmetry are not expected to have moduli beyond perturbation theory; stringy non-perturbative effects as well as low energy field-theoretic phenomena such as gluino condensation will lift any flat…
We review some aspects of moduli in string theory. We argue that one should focus on {\it approximate moduli spaces}, and that there is evidence that such spaces exist non-perturbatively. We ask what it would mean for string theory to…