Related papers: Problematic aspects of string theories and their p…
Popular multiverse models such as the one based on the string theory landscape require an underlying set of unexplained laws containing many specific features and highly restrictive prerequisites. I explore the consequences of relaxing some…
Cosmic (super)strings offer promising ways to test ideas about the early universe and physics at high energies. While in field theory constructions their tension is usually assumed to be constant (or at most slowly-varying), this is often…
We present the first calculation of the bispectrum of the matter perturbations induced by cosmic strings. The calculation is performed in two different ways: the first uses the unequal time correlators (UETCs) of the string network -…
It is pointed out that various types of cosmic string solutions that exist in nonsupersymmetric and globally supersymmetric theories, such as D-type gauge strings, F-type global and gauge strings, and superconducting Witten strings, also…
These lectures intend to give a pedagogical introduction into some of the developments in string theory during the last years. They include perturbative T-duality and non perturbative S- and U-dualities, their unavoidable demand for…
The heterotic string theory, compactified to four dimensions, has been conjectured to have a duality symmetry (S duality) that transforms the dilaton nonlinearly. If valid, this symmetry could provide an important means of obtaining…
We show that the ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity theories in ten dimensions with gauge groups $U(1)^{496}$ and $E_8 \times U(1)^{248}$ are not consistent quantum theories. Cancellation of anomalies cannot be made compatible with supersymmetry and…
Critical String Theory is by definition an $S$-matrix theory. In this sense, (quantum) gravity situations where a unitary $S$-matrix may not be a well-defined concept, as a consequence of the existence of macroscopic (global) or microscopic…
Stabilizing a heterotic string vacuum with a large expectation value of the dilaton and simultaneously breaking low-energy supersymmetry is a long-standing problem of string phenomenology. We reconsider these issues in light of the recent…
We study the structure of cosmic strings produced at the breaking of an anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry present in many superstring compactification models. We show that their coupling with the axion necessary in order to cancel the anomalies…
The mathematical idea of resurgence allows one to obtain nonperturbative information from the large-order behavior of perturbative expansions. This idea can be very fruitful in physics applications, in particular if one does not have access…
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 discuss three separate types of infinities that occur in non-supersymmetric canonical gravity and string theory. We consider UV perturbative singularities in non-supersymmetric gravity coupled to matter and how these are related to loop…
Two new effects of interaction of the gauge string with a homogeneous density of fermions are considered in a gauge model with an anomalous coupling of vector fields with fermions. First, the presence of an induced nonzero magnetic-like…
We argue that string theory should have a formulation for which stability and causality are evident. Rather than regard strings as fundamental objects, we suggest they should be regarded as composite systems of more fundamental point-like…
We study relativistic particle, string and membrane theories as defining field theories containing gravity in (0+1), (1+1) and (2+1) spacetime dimensions respectively. We show how an off shell invariance of the massless particle action…
We study the evolution of non-linear spherically symmetric inhomogeneities in string cosmology. Friedmann solutions of different spatial curvature are matched to produce solutions which describe the evolution of non-linear density and…
We attempt to understand the fate of spacelike gravitational singularities in string theory via the quantum stress tensor for string matter in a fixed background. We first approximate the singularity with a homogeneous anisotropic…
We recently proposed a chameleonic solution to the cosmological constant problem - Phys. Rev. D82 (2010) 044006. We further elaborate on our proposal discussing also some new results. The basic ingredients of the model are A) a chameleonic…
By using zero-norm states in the spectrum, we explicitly demonstrate the existence of an infinite number of high energy symmetry structures of the closed bosonic string theory. Each symmetry transformation (except those generated by…