相关论文: The Second Superstring Revolution

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…

A global superalgebra with 32 supercharges and all possible central extensions is studied in order to extract some general properties of duality and hidden dimensions in a theory that treats $p$-branes democratically. The maximal number of…

By exploiting recent arguments about stable nonsupersymmetric D-brane states, we argue that D-brane charge takes values in the K-theory of spacetime, as has been suspected before. In the process, we gain a new understanding of some novel…

The strong coupling dynamics of string theories in dimension $d\geq 4$ are studied. It is argued, among other things, that eleven-dimensional supergravity arises as a low energy limit of the ten-dimensional Type IIA superstring, and that a…

We review the status of duality symmetries in superstring theories. These discrete symmetries mark the striking differences between theories of pointlike objects and theories of extended objects. They prove to be very helpful in…

String theory in two-dimensional spacetime illuminates two main threads of recent development in string theory: (1) Open/closed string duality, and (2) Tachyon condensation. In two dimensions, many aspects of these phenomena can be explored…

The purpose of this short review is to present progresses in string theory in the recent past. There have been very important developments in our understanding of string dynamics, especially in the nonperturbative aspects. In this context,…

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…

This review is devoted to strings and branes. Firstly, perturbative string theory is introduced. The appearance of various types of branes is discussed. These include orbifold fixed planes, D-branes and orientifold planes. The connection to…

U duality transformations must act on a basis of states that form complete multiplets of the U group, at any coupling, even though the states may not be mass degenerate, as for a broken symmetry. Similarly, if superstring theory is related…

In this note we discuss the theory of super-threebranes in a spacetime of signature (10,2). Upon reduction, the threebrane provides us with the classical representations of the M-2-brane and the type IIB superstring. Many features of the…

We provide a detailed analysis of the problems and prospects of superstring theory c. 1986, anticipating much of the progress of the decades to follow.

Cosmic strings are predicted by many field-theory models, and may have been formed at a symmetry-breaking transition early in the history of the universe, such as that associated with grand unification. They could have important…

Dualities between certain supersymmetric gauge field theories in three and four dimensions have been studied in considerable detail recently, by realizing them as geometric manipulations of configurations of extended objects in type II…

We will report on recent advances in the understanding of non-perturbative interconnections between different string dualities. Weak-strong coupling duality (S-duality) and T-duality (symmetry under compactification on dual tori) allows one…

In these notes, based on a talk given at the Rencontres de Moriond, I give a simple introduction to the tremendous progress that has been made during the last few years towards the understanding of strong-coupling phenomena in quantum gauge…

The T-dual formulation of Type I superstring theory, sometimes called Type I' theory, has a number of interesting features. Here we review some of them including the role of D0-branes and D8-branes in controlling possible gauge symmetry…

The idea of extra-dimensions has recently gone through a renewal with the hypothesis, suggested by recent developments in string theory, that ordinary matter is confined to a sub-space, called brane, embedded in a higher dimensional…

A brief review of the status of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The evidence is accumulating rapidly that an enormous group of duality symmetries, including perturbative T dualities and non-perturbative S-dualities,…

We embed the large N Chern-Simons/topological string duality in ordinary superstrings. This corresponds to a large $N$ duality between generalized gauge systems with N=1 supersymmetry in 4 dimensions and superstrings propagating on…