相关论文: Discrete Torsion, Quotient Stacks, and String Orbi…

We propose the mechanism to disentangle the decay constant of closed string axion from the string scale in the framework of type II string theory on Calabi-Yau manifold. We find that the quantum and geometrical corrections in the…

We summarize the results obtained in the last few years about permutation orbifolds in two-dimensional conformal field theories, their application to string theory and their use in the construction of four-dimensional heterotic string…

The aim of these lectures is to give an introduction to several topics which lie at the intersection of string theory, gravity theory and gravity phenomenology. One successively reviews: (i) the "membrane" approach to the dissipative…

In this talk I review recent developments in superstring theory. In the first half of the talk I discuss some of the earlier developments in this subject. This includes a review of the status of string theory as a unified theory of gravity…

We provide the first explicit example of Type IIB string theory compactification on a globally defined Calabi-Yau threefold with torsion which results in a four-dimensional effective theory with a non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetry. Our…

We study the couplings of discrete states that appear in the string theory embedded in two dimensions, and show that they are given by the structure constants of the group of area preserving diffeomorphisms. We propose an effective action…

Orbifolding two-dimensional quantum field theories by a symmetry group can involve a choice of discrete torsion. We apply the general formalism of `orbifolding defects' to study and elucidate discrete torsion for topological field theories.…

I explore the possibility of finding an equivalent string representation of two dimensional QCD. I develop the large N expansion of the ${\rm QCD_2}$ partition function on an arbitrary two dimensional Euclidean manifold. If this is related…

Recent work has provided a direct string calculation of the internal coordinate dependence of gauge field tadpoles on the orbifold C^3/Z_3. We investigate the structure of these profiles in momentum and coordinate space representations…

String theory one-loop threshold corrections are studied in a background field approach due to Kiritsis and Kounnas which uses space-time curvature as an infrared regulator. We review the conformal field theory aspects using the…

This is a report on a talk to high school mathematics students. It gives some combinatorial connections for the entries of the boustrophedon triangle whose sides are the Taylor coefficients for the tangent and secant functions.

These notes describe how perturbative on-shell and off-shell string amplitudes can be computed using string field theory. Computational methods for approximating arbitrary amplitudes are discussed, and compared with standard world-sheet…

These notes are a writeup of lectures given at the twelfth Oporto meeting on ``Geometry, Topology, and Physics,'' and at the Adelaide workshop ``Strings and Mathematics 2003,'' primarily geared towards a physics audience. We review current…

A very brief review is given of some of the developments leading to our current understanding of black holes in string theory. This is followed by a discussion of two possible misconceptions in this subject - one involving the stability of…

This thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter discusses the relationship between stacks on a site and groupoids internal to the site. It includes a rigorous proof of the folklore result that there is an equivalence between…

This is the text of my habilitation thesis defended at the \'Ecole Normale Sup\'erieure. The topological string presents an arena in which many features of string theory proper, such as the interplay between worldsheet and target space…

We consider string theory in a time dependent orbifold with a null singularity. The singularity separates a contracting universe from an expanding universe, thus constituting a big crunch followed by a big bang. We quantize the theory both…

This presentation is intended to give a flavour of the physics to be studied and discovered by exploiting the interface between string theory, M-theory and field theory provided by the dynamics of extended objects called `branes', and their…

We recently studied two large but disjoint classes of twisted open WZW strings: the open-string sectors of the WZW orientation orbifolds and the so-called basic class of twisted open WZW strings. In this paper, we discuss {\it all…

One cannot yet point to any firm string prediction. While many approximate string ground states are known with interesting properties, we do not have any argument that one or another describes what we observe around us, and for reasons…