Related papers: Large N Field Theories, String Theory and Gravity
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…
We discuss the possible realisation in string/M theory of the recently discovered family of four-dimensional maximal $SO(8)$ gauged supergravities, and of an analogous family of seven-dimensional half-maximal $SO(4)$ gauged supergravities.…
The well known N=2 string theory describes self-dual gravity, as was shown by Ooguri and Vafa sometime ago. In search of a variant of this theory which would describe self-dual supergravity in 2+2 dimensions, we have constructed two new N=2…
The physical motivations and the basic construction rules for Type I strings and M-theory compactifications are reviewed in light of the recent developments. The first part contains the basic theoretical ingredients needed for building…
These lectures begin by reviewing the evidence for S duality of the toroidally compactified heterotic string in 4d that was obtained in the period 1992--94. Next they review recently discovered dualities that relate all five of the 10d…
Open string theories can be decoupled from closed strings and gravity by scaling to the critical electric field. We propose dual descriptions for the strong coupling limit of these NCOS (Non-Commutative Open String) theories in six or fewer…
String theory contains sources like orientifold planes that support higher derivative interactions. These interactions make possible static flux compactifications which are forbidden in supergravity. They can also lead to violations of the…
There are at present two known string theories in $(2,2)$ dimensions. One of them is the well known $N=2$ string, and the other one is a more recently constructed $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetric string. They are both based on certain…
We study the physics of multiple M5-branes compactified on a hyperbolic 3-manifold. On the one hand, it leads to the 3d-3d correspondence which maps an $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theory to a pure Chern-Simons theory on the…
Supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions have taught us many important physics lessons. These can both inform and be informed by future work on the lattice. I focus on three issues: the properties of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory…
Scale invariant but non-conformal field theories are forbidden in (1+1) dimension, and so should be the corresponding holographic dual gravity theories. We conjecture that such scale invariant but non-conformal field configurations do not…
It is shown that two dimensional (2d) topological gravity in the conformal gauge has a larger symmetry than has been hitherto recognized; in the formulation of Labastida, Pernici and Witten it contains a twisted ``small'' N=4 superconformal…
We use solvable two-dimensional gauge theories to illustrate the issues in relating large N gauge theory to string theory. We also give an introduction to recent mathematical work which allows constructing master fields for higher…
In the recent times a lot of effort has been devoted to improve our knowledge about the space of string theory vacua (``the landscape'') to find statistical grounds to justify how and why the theory selects its vacuum. Particularly…
A holographic conformal field theory is dual to semi-classical general relativity in Anti-de Sitter space coupled to matter fields. If the CFT factorizes in the large-$N$ limit, then all couplings in its dual are suppressed by the Planck…
In this thesis, we explore two approaches to string phenomenology. In the first half of the work, we investigate M-theory compactifications on spaces with co-dimension four, orbifold singularities. We construct M-theory on C^2/Z_N by…
The assumptions behind the recently conjectured relation between gauge theory and supergravity are elaborated on. It is pointed out that the scaling limit that preserves supergravity solutions, gives the entire DBI action on the gauge…
In a recent essay, we discussed the possibility of using polymer sizing to model the collapse of a single, long excited string to a black hole. In this letter, we apply this idea to bring further support to string/black hole correspondence.…
We revisit the four-dimensional theory of gravity that arises from string theory with higher-derivative corrections. By compactifying and truncating the ten-dimensional effective action of heterotic string theory at first order in…
Products of large-N conformal field theories coupled by multi-trace interactions in diverse dimensions are used to define quantum multi-gravity (multi-string theory) on a union of (asymptotically) AdS spaces. One-loop effects generate a…