Related papers: Introduction to M Theory
We give an overview of the status of string cosmology. We explain the motivation for the subject, outline the main problems, and assess some of the proposed solutions. Our focus is on those aspects of cosmology that benefit from the…
This is a broad-brush review of how string theory addresses several important questions of gravitational physics. The problem of non-renormalizability is first reviewed, followed by introduction of string theory as an ultraviolet-finite…
String theory provides the only consistent framework so far that unifies all interactions including gravity. We discuss gravity and cosmology in string theory. Conventional notions from general relativity like geometry, topology etc. are…
It is hoped that these lectures will give a point of entry into that vast web of related ideas that go under the name "string theory". I start with a more or less qualitative introduction to gravity as a field theory and sketch how one…
String theory has not even come close to a complete formulation after half a century of intense research. On the other hand, a number of features of the theory suggest that the theory, once completed, may be a final theory. It is argued in…
String (membrane) theory could be considered as degenerate case of relativistic continuous media theory. The paper presents models of media, which are continuous distributions of interacting membranes, strings or particles.
We give a brief history of the passage from strings to branes and we review some aspects of the following topics in M-theory: (a) an extended brane scan, (b) superembedding approach to the dynamics of superbranes and (c) supermembranes in…
This article is a concise review of covariant string field theory prepared for the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, Elsevier (2006). Referencing follows the publisher's guidelines.
We start from a quantum computational principle suggested for string theory in a previous paper and discuss how it might lead to a dynamical principle implying the correct classical gravitational limit. Besides this, we briefly look at some…
In the past three years our views on how the standard model of particle physics could be embedded into string theory have dramatically changed. The heterotic string is no longer the only possibility for such an embedding and other…
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.
Recent progress on the physical states and scattering amplitudes of the $W_3$ string is reviewed with particular emphasis on the relation between this string theory and the Ising model.
Brane actions with chiral bosons present special challenges. Recent progress in the description of the two main examples -- the M theory five-brane and the heterotic string -- is described. Also, double dimensional reduction of the M theory…
This elementary introduction to string field theory highlights the features and the limitations of this approach to quantum gravity as it is currently understood. String field theory is a formulation of string theory as a field theory in…
An overview is given of the way in which the unification program of particle physics has evolved into the proposal of superstring theory as a prime candidate for unifying quantum gravity with the other forces and particles of nature. A key…
These notes provide a brief introduction to modern cosmology, focusing primarily on theoretical issues. Some attention is paid to aspects of potential interest to students of string theory, on both sides of the two-way street of…
We give a lightning introduction to critical string theory, including the 26-dimensional bosonic string, the 10-dimensional superstrings and heterotic strings with and without spacetime supersymmetry. We also discuss open strings and…
In these lectures we present a few topics in Quantum Field Theory in detail. Some of them are conceptual and some more practical. They have been selected because they appear frequently in current applications to Particle Physics and String…
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…
The search for a theory of quantum gravity faces two great challenges: the incredibly small scales of the Planck length and time, and the possibility that the observed constants of nature are in part the result of random processes. A…