Related papers: A brief review of "little string theories"
In this thesis we investigate the microphysics of cosmic strings in non-minimal quantum field theories. In particular we consider theories in which fermion fields couple to the strings, and those with larger symmetry groups, such as grand…
We discuss the connection between Matrix string theory and the DLCQ of string theory. Using this connection we describe the sense in which perturbative string amplitudes are reproduced in the Matrix string theory. Using recent realization…
This talk considers possible lessons of string theory for low energy physics. These are of two types. First, assuming that string theory is the correct underlying theory of all interactions, we ask whether there are any generic predictions…
Recent work has made clear that we have far more control over the dynamics of supersymmetric than non-supersymmetric theories. Here, I discuss some issues in dynamical supersymmetry breaking both in ordinary field theory and in string…
Little String Theory (LST) is a still somewhat mysterious theory that describes the dynamics near a certain class of time-like singularities in string theory. In this paper we discuss the topological version of LST, which describes…
Little string theories (LSTs) are UV complete non-local 6D theories decoupled from gravity in which there is an intrinsic string scale. In this paper we present a systematic approach to the construction of supersymmetric LSTs via the…
In this work we present the minimal supersymmetric extension of the five-dimensional dilaton-gravity theory that captures the main properties of the holographic dual of little string theory. It is described by a particular gauging of…
At the present time, string theory (and its generalizations) remain relatively abstruse subjects to the particle phenomenologist and experimentalist. Yet, striking developments of the last two years offer hope that a fundamental…
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.
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
We describe some of the novel 6d quantum field theories which have been discovered in studies of string duality. The role these theories (and their 4d descendants) may play in alleviating the vacuum degeneracy problem in string theory is…
It has been conjectured that Little String Theories in six dimensions are holographic to critical string theory in a linear dilaton background. We test this conjecture for theories arising on the worldvolume of heterotic fivebranes. We…
With our current level of understanding, the problem of making string theory predictions is not one of "solving" the theory, but rather of trying to determine whether there are any generic expectations. Within this context, we discuss what…
This is the written version of a short talk given at the University of Leipzig in December 1998. It reviews some general aspects of string theory from the viewpoint of the search for an unifying theory. Here, special emphasis lies on the…
String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…
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…
These four lectures, addressed to an audience of graduate students in experimental high energy physics, survey some of the basic concepts in string theory. The purpose is to convey a general sense of what string theory is and what it has…
Fractional superstrings are non-trivial generalizations of ordinary superstrings and heterotic strings, and have critical spacetime dimensions which are less than ten by virtue of a worldsheet fractional supersymmetry relating worldsheet…
We conjecture that the discrete light-cone quantization (DLCQ) of strings on the maximally supersymmetric type IIB plane-wave background in the sector with J units of light-cone momentum is a supersymmetric 0+1 dimensional U(J) gauge theory…
These notes discuss the emergence of the Polyakov action from the low-energy limit of an array of relativistic particles with harmonic interactions, which is suggestive of a ``microscopic'' description of string theory.