Related papers: Superstring Cosmology
The condition of having an $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetry for heterotic string leads to 4 distinct possibilities for compactifications namely compactifications down to 6,4,3 and 2 dimensions. Compactifications to 6 and 4 dimensions have been…
The actions of the ``$R=T$'' and string-inspired theories of gravity in (1+1) dimensions are generalized into one single action which is characterized by two functions. We discuss differing interpretations of the matter stress-energy…
A four-dimensional universe, arising from a flux compactification of Type IIB string theory, contains scalar fields with a potential determined by topological and geometric parameters of the internal -hidden- dimensions. We show that…
Superstring theories are the most promising theories for unified description of all fundamental interactions including gravity. However, these theories are formulated consistently only in 10 spacetime dimensions. Therefore, to connect to…
The (2,2) world-sheet supersymmetric string theory is discussed from the viewpoint of string/membrane unification. The effective field theory in the closed string target space is known to be the 2+2 dimensional (integrable) theory of…
The static stationary axially symmetric background ("infinite cosmic string") of the $D=4$ string theory provided with an axion charge is studied in the effective theory approach. The most general exact solution is constructed. It is found…
In these lectures, we present cosmological vacuum solutions of Horava-Witten theory and discuss their physical properties. We begin by deriving the five-dimensional effective action of strongly coupled heterotic string theory by performing…
We analyze the U-duality group for the case of a type II superstring compactified to four dimensions on a K3 surface times a torus. The various limits of this theory are considered which have interpretations as type IIA and IIB…
Most current cosmological models of the very early universe are based on local point particle effective field theories coupled to gravity. I will discuss some conceptual limitations of this approach and argue that an improved description of…
It is well-known that Scherk-Schwarz compactifications in string theory have a tachyon in the closed string spectrum appearing for a critical value of a compact radius. The tachyon can be removed by an appropriate orientifold projection in…
We describe a new class of supersymmetric string compactifications to 4d Minkowski space. These solutions involve type II strings propagating on (orientifolds of) non Calabi-Yau spaces in the presence of background NS and RR fluxes. The…
In this article we review four-dimensional string vacua with N=2 space-time supersymmetry. In particular, we will discuss several aspects of the string-string duality between the heterotic string, compactified on $K3\times T^2$, and the…
In this review article, we present a systematic study of large volume type IIB string compactifications that addresses several interesting issues in string cosmology and string phenomenology within a single string compactification scheme.…
Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond type heterotic and type-II superstrings in four dimensional curved space-time are constructed as exact $N=1$ superconformal theories. The tachyon is eliminated with a GSO projection. The theory is based on the N=1…
We study the cosmological implications of the one-loop terms in the string expansion. In particular, we find non-singular solutions which interpolate between a contracting universe and an expanding universe, and show that these solutions…
Symmetries of generalized gravitational actions, yielding field equations which typically involve at most second-order derivatives of the metric, are considered. The field equations for several different higher-derivative theories in the…
In these lecture notes, an introduction to superstring theory is presented. Classical strings, covariant and light-cone quantization, supersymmetric strings, anomaly cancelation, compactification, T-duality, supersymmetry breaking, and…
We study quintessence-driven, spatially flat, expanding FRW cosmologies that arise naturally from string theory formulated in a supercritical number of spacetime dimensions. The tree-level potential of the string theory produces an equation…
We consider new cosmological solutions with a collapsing, an intermediate and an expanding phase. The boundary between the expanding (collapsing) phase and the intermediate phase is seen by comoving observers as a cosmological past (future)…
Recently it was observed that the hyperbolic compactification of M/string theory related to S-branes may lead to a transient period of acceleration of the universe. We study time evolution of the corresponding effective 4d cosmological…