Related papers: Introduction to M Theory and AdS/CFT Duality
We consider non-Abelian T-duality on N=1 supergravity backgrounds possessing well understood field theory duals. For the case of D3-branes at the tip of the conifold, we dualise along an SU(2) isometry. The result is a type-IIA geometry…
The aim of this report is to give an overview of the duality between type IIB string theory on the maximally supersymmetric PP-wave and the BMN sector of N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory. The general features of the string and the field theory…
We show there exist smooth asymptotically anti-de Sitter initial data which evolve to a big crunch singularity in a low energy supergravity limit of string theory. This opens up the possibility of using the dual conformal field theory to…
We investigate the connections between four-dimensional, N=2 M-theory vacua constructed as orbifolds of type II, heterotic, and type I strings. All these models have the same massless spectrum, which contains an equal number of vector…
The issue of justifying the matrix-theory proposal is revisited. We first discuss how the matrix-string theory is derived directly starting from the eleven dimensional supermembrane wrapped around a circle of radius $R=g_s\ell_s$, without…
In some recent theories including Quantum SuperString theory we encounter duality - it arises due to a non commutative geometry which in effect adds an extra term to the Heiserberg Uncertainity Principle. The result is that the micro world…
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…
We apply the techniques of the ``universal string theory'' to the ``manifold'' paradigm for superstring/M-theory and come up with a candidate manifold: the manifold of F-theory vacua, defined in conformal field theoretical terms. It…
We consider, at the linearized level, the superspace formulation of lower-dimensional F-theory. In particular, we describe the embedding of 3D Type II supergravity of the superstring, or 4D, N=1 supergravity of M-theory, into the…
A global superalgebra with 32 supercharges and all possible central extensions is studied in order to extract some general properties of duality and hidden dimensions in a theory that treats $p$-branes democratically. The maximal number of…
The light-like linear dilaton background represents a particularly simple time-dependent 1/2 BPS solution of critical type IIA superstring theory in ten dimensions. Its lift to M-theory, as well as its Einstein frame metric, are singular in…
This is a brief introductory review of the AdS/CFT correspondence and of the ideas that led to its formulation. Emphasis is placed on dualities between conformal large $N$ gauge theories in 4 dimensions and string backgrounds of the form…
Orientifolds of the type IIB superstring that descend from F theory and M theory orbifolds are studied perturbatively. One finds strong evidence that a previously ignored twisted open string is required in these models. An attempt is made…
N=2 heterotic strings may provide a window into the physics of M-theory radically different than that found via the other supersymmetric string theories. In addition to their supersymmetric structure, these strings carry a four-dimensional…
We present a new duality between the F-terms of supersymmetric field theories defined in two- and four-dimensions respectively. The duality relates N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions, deformed by an Omega-background in one…
These notes present an introduction to branes in ten and eleven dimensional supergravity and string/M-theory which is geared to an audience of traditional relativists, especially graduate students and others with little background in…
We study supersymmetric compactifications of type II strings on eightfolds to two dimensions. It is demonstrated that the type IIB string on an eightfold is free of gravitational anomalies. T-duality requires that this theory when further…
The purpose of this short review is to present progresses in string theory in the recent past. There have been very important developments in our understanding of string dynamics, especially in the nonperturbative aspects. In this context,…
According to the AdS/CFT correspondence, the maximally supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in 4 dimensions is dual to the type IIB string theory compactified on AdS_5 x S^5. Most of the tests performed so far are confined to the leading…
This is a comprehensive review of the worldsheet techniques for the quantization of type IIB superstring theory on the AdS_5 x S^5 background, using the pure spinor formalism. Particular emphasis is devoted to AdS/CFT applications, with…