Related papers: String Theory, Universal Mind, and the Paranormal
In this colloquium-level account, I describe the cosmological constant problem: why is the energy of empty space at least 60 orders of magnitude smaller than several known contributions to it from the Standard Model of particle physics? I…
In a recent paper, Balthazar, Rodriguez and Yin found remarkable agreement between the one instanton contribution to the scattering amplitudes of two dimensional string theory and those in the matrix model to the first subleading order. The…
Extensions (modifications) of the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle are derived within the framework of the theory of Special Scale-Relativity proposed by Nottale. In particular, generalizations of the Stringy Uncertainty Principle are…
In addition to being a prime candidate for a fundamental unified theory of all interactions in nature, string theory provides a natural setting to understand gauge field theories. This is linked to the concept of "D-branes": extended,…
It is pointed out that string-loop effects may generate matter couplings for the dilaton allowing this scalar partner of the tensorial graviton to stay massless while contributing to macroscopic gravity in a way naturally compatible with…
We investigate the consequences of two assumptions for String (or M) Theory, namely that: 1) all coordinates are compact and bound by the horizon of observation, 2) the ``dynamics'' of compactification is determined by the ``second law of…
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…
I describe how superstring theory may violate spin-statistics in an experimentally observable manner. Reviewing the basics of superstring interactions and how to utilize these to produce a statistical phase, I then apply these ideas to two…
We suggest supersymmetric extension of conformally invariant string theory which is exclusively based on extrinsic curvature action. At the classical level this is a tension-less string theory. The absence of conformal anomaly in quantum…
Rolling tachyon backgrounds, arising from open strings on unstable branes in bosonic string theory, can be related to a simple statistical mechanical model - Coulomb gas of point charges in two dimensions confined to a circle, the Dyson…
String theory has been the dominating research field in theoretical physics during the last decades. Despite the considerable time elapse, no new testable predictions have been derived by string theorists and it is understandable that…
A universal theorem of sensory information, analogous to the second law of thermodynamics, is derived. Beginning from a minimal description of a sensory neuron, a state-space representation of firing rate emerges naturally from Shannon's…
The chapter expounds a theory based on the interpretation of the dark energy as a strain energy of a physical continuum. The theory is based on the analogy that exists between the properties of space-time and the properties of elastic…
We discuss how, in a Universe restricted to the causal region connected to the observer, General Relativity implies the quantum nature of physical phenomena and directly leads to a string theory scenario, whose dynamics is ruled by a…
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…
The main goal of string phenomenology is to find realistic models of particle physics and cosmology within string theory. Dark bubble cosmology is an alternative to string compactifications, where our universe lives on a bubble expanding in…
We critically assess the twin prospects of describing the observed universe in string theory, and using cosmological experiments to probe string theory. For the purposes of this short review, we focus on the limitations imposed by our…
Effective theories based on experimental data provide powerful probes and tests of underlying theories in elementary particle physics. Examples within and beyond the Standard Model are discussed, including a specific model for supersymmetry…
The emphasis in the developmet of theories with more than three spatial dimensions has recently shifted towards ``brane world'' picture, which assumes that ordinary matter (with possible exceptions of gravitons and other, hypothetic,…
Particle physics models where there are large hidden extra dimensions are currently on the focus of an intense activity. The main reason is that these large extra dimensions may come with a TeV scale for quantum gravity (or string theory)…