Related papers: String Duality and Non-supersymmetric Strings
Following Kachru, Kumar and Silverstein, we construct a set of non-supersymmetric Type II string models which have equal numbers of bosons and fermions at each mass level. The models are asymmetric {\bf Z}_2 \otimes {\bf Z}_2^{\prime}…
The heterotic string theory, compactified to four dimensions, has been conjectured to have a duality symmetry (S duality) that transforms the dilaton nonlinearly. If valid, this symmetry could provide an important means of obtaining…
It has recently been proposed that certain nonsupersymmetric type II orbifolds have vanishing perturbative contributions to the cosmological constant. We show that techniques of Sen and Vafa allow one to construct dual type II descriptions…
String theory appears to admit a group of discrete field transformations -- called $S$ dualities -- as exact non-perturbative quantum symmetries. Mathematically, they are rather analogous to the better-known $T$ duality symmetries, which…
Two independent criteria are presented that together guarantee exponential suppression of the two-loop cosmological constant in non-supersymmetric heterotic strings. They are derived by performing calculations in both the full string theory…
A brief review of the status of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The evidence is accumulating rapidly that an enormous group of duality symmetries, including perturbative T dualities and non-perturbative S-dualities,…
It has recently been suggested that in certain special nonsupersymmetric type II string compactifications, at least the first two perturbative contributions to the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ vanish. Support for perturbative vanishing…
We study the effect of higher-curvature terms in the string low-energy effective actions on the cosmological solutions of the theory, up to corrections quartic in the curvatures, for the bosonic and heterotic strings as well as the type II…
We extend strong/weak coupling duality to string theories without spacetime supersymmetry, and focus on the case of the unique ten-dimensional, nonsupersymmetric, tachyon-free $SO(16)\times SO(16)$ heterotic string. We construct a…
A study is made of the implications of heterotic string $T$-duality and extended gauge symmetry for the conjectured equivalence of heterotic and Type I superstrings. While at first sight heterotic string world-sheet dynamics appears to…
The vanishing of the cosmological constant and absence of a massless dilaton might be explained by a duality between a supersymmetric string vacuum in three dimensions and a non-supersymmetric string vacuum in four dimensions.
Three subjects are considered here: a self-dual non-critical string that appears in Type IIB superstring theory at points in ${\rm K3}$ moduli space where the Type IIA theory has extended gauge symmetry; a conformal field theory singularity…
The perturbative analysis of models of open and closed superstrings presents a number of surprises. For instance, variable numbers of antisymmetric tensors ensure their consistency via generalized Green-Schwarz cancellations and a novel…
We construct bosonic string theories, RNS string theories and heterotic string theories on flat supermanifolds. For these string theories, we show cancellations of the central charges and modular invariance. Bosonic string theories on…
We present a nonsupersymmetric orbifold of type II string theory and show that it has vanishing cosmological constant at the one and two loop level. We argue heuristically that the cancellation persists at higher loops.
Supersymmetry breaking in string theory is expected to occur when moduli fields acquire non-trivial expectation values. In the early universe these fields start out displaced from their final destinations. I present some recent ideas about…
We review the status of duality symmetries in superstring theories. These discrete symmetries mark the striking differences between theories of pointlike objects and theories of extended objects. They prove to be very helpful in…
Is perturbative stability intimately tied with the existence of spacetime fermions in string theory in more than two dimensions? Type 0'B string theory in ten-dimensional flat space is a rare example of a non-tachyonic, non-supersymmetric…
We analyze topological string theory on a two dimensional torus, focusing on symmetries in the matter sector. Even before coupling to gravity, the topological torus has an infinite number of point-like physical observables, which give rise…
The weakly-coupled heterotic string is known to have problems of dilaton/moduli stabilization, supersymmetry breaking (by hidden-sector gaugino condensation), gauge coupling unification (or the Newton's constant), QCD axion, as well as…