M‐strings,elliptic genera and N = 4 string amplitudes

We study mass‐deformed N = 2 gauge theories from various points of view. Their partition functions can be computed via three dual approaches: firstly, (p,q)‐brane webs in type II string theory using Nekrasov's instanton calculus, secondly, the (refined) topological string using the topological vertex formalism and thirdly, M theory via the elliptic genus of certain M‐strings configurations. We argue for a large class of theories that these approaches yield the same gauge theory partition function which we study in detail. To make their modular properties more tangible, we consider a fourth approach by connecting the partition function to the equivariant elliptic genus of ℂ² through a (singular) theta‐transform. This form appears naturally as a specific class of one‐loop scattering amplitudes in type II string theory on T², which we calculate explicitly.     

Superstring theory

Dual string theories, initially developed as phenomenological models of hadrons, now appear more promising as candidates for a unified theory of fundamental interactions. Type I superstring theory (SST I), is a ten-dimensional theory of interacting open and closed strings, with one supersymmetry, that is free from ghosts and tachyons. It requires that an SO(n) or Sp(2n) gauge group be used. A light-cone-gauge string action with space-time supersymmetry automatically incorporates the superstring restrictions and leads to the discovery of type II superstring theory (SST II). SST II is an interacting theory of closed strings only, with two D = 10 supersymmetries, that is also free from ghosts and tachyons. By taking six of the spatial dimensions to form a compact space, it becomes possible to reconcile the models with our four-dimensional perception of spacetime and to define low-energy limits in which SST I reduces to N = 4, D = 4 super Yang-Mills theory and SST II reduces to N = 8, D = 4 supergravity theory. The superstring theories can be described by a light-cone-gauge action principle based on fields that are functionals of string coordinates. With this formalism any physical quantity should be calculable. There is some evidence that, unlike any conventional field theory, the superstring theories provide perturbatively renormalizable (SST I) or finite (SST II) unifications of gravity with other interactions.     

New principles for string/membrane unification

The target space theory of the N = (2,1) heterotic string may be interpreted as a theory of gravity coupled to matter in either 1 + 1 or 2 + 1 dimensions. Among the target space theories in 1 + 1 dimensions are the bosonic, type II, and heterotic string world-sheet field theories in a physical gauge. The (2 + 1)-dimensional version describes a consistent quantum theory of supermembranes in 10 + 1 dimensions. The unifying framework for all of these vacua is a theory of (2 + 2)-dimensional self-dual geometries embedded in 10 + 2 dimensions. There are also indications that the N = (2,1) string describes the strong-coupling dynamics of compactifications of critical string theories to two dimensions, and may lead to insights about the fundamental degrees of freedom of the theory.     

Rotational invariance in the M(atrix) formulation of type IIB theory

The matrix model formulation of M-theory can be generalized by compactification to ten-dimensional type II string theory, formulated in the infinite momentum frame. Both the type IIA and IIB string theories can be formulated in this way. In the M-theory and type IIA cases, the transverse rotational invariance is manifest, but in the IIB case, one of the transverse dimensions materializes in a completely different way from the other seven. The full O(8) rotational symmetry then follows in a surprising way from the electric-magnetic duality of supersymmetric Yang-Mills field theory.     

An N = 2 dual pair and a phase transition

We carefully analyze the N = 2 dual pair of string theories in four dimensions introduced by Ferrara, Harvey, Strominger and Vafa. The analysis shows that a second discrete degree of freedom must be switched on in addition to the known “Wilson line” to achieve a non-perturbatively consistent theory. We also identify the phase transition this model undergoes into another dual pair via a process analogous to a conifold transition. This provides the first known example of a phase transition which is understood from both the type II and the heterotic string picture.     

Homotopy Classification of Bosonic String Field Theory

We prove the decomposition theorem for the loop homotopy Lie algebra of quantum closed string field theory and use it to show that closed string field theory is unique up to gauge transformations on a given string background and given S-matrix. For the theory of open and closed strings we use results in open-closed homotopy algebra to show that the space of inequivalent open string field theories is isomorphic to the space of classical closed string backgrounds. As a further application of the open-closed homotopy algebra, we show that string field theory is background independent and locally unique in a very precise sense. Finally, we discuss topological string theory in the framework of homotopy algebras and find a generalized correspondence between closed strings and open string field theories.     

Covariant open string field theory on multiple Dp-branes

We study covariant open bosonic string field theories on multiple Dp-branes by using the deformed cubic string field theory, which is equivalent to string field theory in the proper-time gauge. Constructing the Fock space representations of the three-string vertex and the four-string vertex on multiple Dp-branes, we obtain the field theoretical effective action in the zero-slope limit. On multiple D0-branes, the effective action reduces to the Banks-Fishler-Shenker-Susskind(BFSS) matrix model. We also discuss the relation between open string field theory on multiple D-instantons in the zero-slope limit and the Ishibashi-Kawai-Kitazawa-Tsuchiya(IKKT) matrix model.The covariant open string field theory on multiple Dp-branes could be useful to study the non-perturbative properties of quantum field theories in(p+1)-dimensions in the framework of the string theory. The non-zero-slope corrections may be evaluated systematically by using covariant string field theory.     

Topology and Flux of T-Dual Manifolds with Circle Actions

We present an explicit formula for the topology and H-flux of the T-dual of a general type II, compactification, significantly generalizing earlier results. Our results apply to T-dualities with respect to any circle action on spacetime X. As before, T-duality exchanges type IIA and type IIB string theories. A new consequence is that the T-dual spacetime is a singular space when the fixed point set ${X^\mathbb{T}}$ is non-empty; the singularities correspond to Kaluza-Klein monopoles. We propose that the Ramond-Ramond charges of type II string theories on the singular dual are classified by twisted equivariant cohomology groups. We also discuss the K-theory approach.     

Nonsupersymmetric string solitons

We begin a search for nonsupersymmetric/supersymmetric dual string pairs by constructing candidate critical nonsupersymmetric strings as solitons in supersymmetric string theories. Using orbifold techniques, one can construct cosmic string solutions which lie in supersymmetric vacua but which do not fall in supermultiplets. We discuss two three-dimensional examples in detail. The effective worldsheet actions for the soliton strings have (0,2) and (1,1) supersymmetry and the correct numbers of massless bosons and fermions to be critical heterotic and type II strings, respectively.     

Charting the landscape of supercritical string theory

Special solutions of string theory in supercritical dimensions can interpolate in time between theories with different numbers of spacetime dimensions and different amounts of world sheet supersymmetry. These solutions connect supercritical string theories to the more familiar string duality web in ten dimensions and provide a precise link between supersymmetric and purely bosonic string theories. Dimension quenching and c duality appear to be natural concepts in string theory, giving rise to large networks of interconnected theories.     

Nonlattice simulation for supersymmetric gauge theories in one dimension

Lattice simulation of supersymmetric gauge theories is not straightforward. In some cases the lack of manifest supersymmetry just necessitates cumbersome fine-tuning, but in the worse cases the chiral and/or Majorana nature of fermions makes it difficult to even formulate an appropriate lattice theory. We propose circumventing all these problems inherent in the lattice approach by adopting a nonlattice approach for one-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories, which are important in the string or M theory context. In particular, our method can be used to investigate the gauge-gravity duality from first principles, and to simulate M theory based on the matrix theory conjecture.     

$ \mathcal{Z} $ extremization in chiral-like Chern-Simons theories

Journal of High Energy Physics - We construct 1/4 BPS, threshold F-Dp bound states (with 0 ≤ p ≤ 5) of type II string theories by applying S- and T-dualities to...     

Hadronic density of states from string theory

We present an exact calculation of the finite temperature partition function for the hadronic states corresponding to a Penrose-Güven limit of the Maldacena-Nù?ez embedding of the N=1 super Yang-Mills (SYM) into string theory. It is established that the theory exhibits a Hagedorn density of states. We propose a semiclassical string approximation to the finite temperature partition function for confining gauge theories admitting a supergravity dual, by performing an expansion around classical solutions characterized by temporal windings. This semiclassical approximation reveals a hadronic energy density of states of a Hagedorn type, with the coefficient determined by the gauge theory string tension as expected for confining theories. We argue that our proposal captures primarily information about states of pure N=1 SYM theory, given that this semiclassical approximation does not entail a projection onto states of large U(1) charge.     

Duality and orbifolds

We construct several examples where duality transformation commutes with the orbifolding procedure even when the orbifolding group does not act freely, and there are massless states from the twisted sector at a generic point in the moduli space. Often the matching of spectrum in the dual theories is a result of nontrivial identities satisfied by the coefficients on one loop tadpoles in the heterotic, type II and type I string theories.     

The Large-N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories and Supergravity

We show that the large-N limits of certainconformal field theories in various dimensions includein their Hilbert space a sector describing supergravityon the product of anti-de Sitter spacetimes, spheres, and other compact manifolds. This is shown bytaking some branes in the full M/string theory and thentaking a low-energy limit where the field theory on thebrane decouples from the bulk. We observe that, in this limit, we can still trust thenear-horizon geometry for large N. The enhancedsupersymmetries of the near-horizon geometry correspondto the extra supersymmetry generators present in thesuperconformal group (as opposed to just the super-Poincaregroup). The 't Hooft limit of 3 + 1 N = 4 super-Yang–Mills at the conformal pointis shown to contain strings: they are IIB strings. Weconjecture that compactifications of M/string theory on various anti-de Sitterspacetimes is dual to various conformal field theories.This leads to a new proposal for a definition ofM-theory which could be extended to include fivenoncompact dimensions.     

Matrix string theory

Via compactification on a circle, the matrix mode] of M-theory proposed by Banks et a]. suggests a concrete identification between the large N limit of two-dimensional N = 8 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and type IIA string theory. In this paper we collect evidence that supports this identification. We explicitly identify the perturbative string states and their interactions, and describe the appearance of D-particle and D-membrane states.     

T-duality for string in Hořava–Lifshitz gravity

We continue our study of the Lorentz-breaking string theories. These theories are defined as string theory with modified Hamiltonian constraint which breaks the Lorentz symmetry of target space-time. We analyze the properties of this theory in the target space-time that possesses isometry along one direction. We also derive the T-duality rules for Lorentz-breaking string theories and show that they are the same as that of Buscher’s T-duality for the relativistic strings.     

The incredible shrinking torus

Using M(atrix) theory, the dualities of toroidally compactified M-theory can be formulated as properties of super Yang Mills theories in various dimensions. We consider the cases of compactification on 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-dimensional tori. The dualities required by string theory lead to conjectures of remarkable symmetries and relations between field theories as well as extremely unusual dynamical properties. By studying the theories in the limit of vanishingly small tori, a wealth of information is obtained about strongly coupled fixed points of super Yang-Mills theory in various dimensions. Perhaps the most striking behavior, as noted by Rozali in this context, is the emergence of an additional dimension of space in the case of a 4-torus.