4d fermionic superstrings with arbitrary twists

We present the rules for systematically constructing all consistent four-dimensional string theories, using free world-sheet fermions which pick up arbitrary phases when parallel transported around the string. These rules are necessary and sufficient for multi-loop modular invariance. They lead to theories with general Z_N (GSO-type) projections, whose merits for model-building we discuss. We classify all boundary conditions yielding massless space-time spinors. We show that, in contrast to the case of only real 2d fermions, all possible realizations of world-sheet supersymmetry are now allowed. This opens the way for the construction of a new class of supersymmetric string models.     

Classical dynamics of the rigid string from the Willmore functional

A new approach for investigating the classical dynamics of the relativistic string model with rigidity is proposed. It is based on the embedding of the string world surface into a space of constant curvature. It is shown that the rigid string in flat space-time is described by the Euler-Lagrange equation for the Willmore functional in a space-time of constant curvature K = −γ/(2α), where γ and α are constants in front of the Nambu-Goto term and the curvature term in the rigid string action, respectively. For simplicity the Euclidean version of the rigid string in three-dimensional space-time is considered. The Willmore functional (the action for the “Willmore string”) is obtained by dropping the Nambu-Goto term in the Polyakov-Kleinert action for the rigid string. Such a “reduction” of the rigid string model would be useful, for example, by applying some results about the Nambu-Goto string dynamics in the de Sitter universe to the rigid string model in the Minkowski space-time. It also allows us to use numerous mathematical results about Willmore surfaces in the context of the physical problem.     

Tensor constructions of open string theories (I) foundations

The possible tensor constructions of open string theories are analyzed from first principles. To this end the algebraic framework of open string field theory is clarified, including the role of the homotopy associative A_∞ algebra, the odd symplectic structure, cyclicity, star conjugation, and twist. It is also shown that two string theories are off-shell equivalent if the corresponding homotopy associative algebras are homotopy equivalent in a strict sense.It is demonstrated that a homotopy associative star algebra with a compatible even bilinear form can be attached to an open string theory. If this algebra does not have a space-time interpretation, positivity and the existence of a conserved ghost number require that its cohomology is at degree zero, and that it has the structure of a direct sum of full matrix algebras. The resulting string theory is shown to be physically equivalent to a string theory with a familiar open string gauge group.     

Superstrings from Hamiltonian reduction

In any string theory there is a hidden, twisted superconformal symmetry algebra, part of which is made up by the BRST current and the anti-ghost. We investigate how this algebra can be systematically constructed for strings with N − 2 supersymmetries, via quantum Hamiltonian reduction of the Lie superalgebras osp(N|2). The motivation is to understand how one could systematically construct generalized string theories from superalgebras. We also briefly discuss the BRST algebra of the topological string, which is a doubly twisted N = 4 superconformal algebra.     

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.     

Kähler spinning particles

We construct the U(N) spinning particle theories, which describe particles moving on Kähler spaces. These particles have the same relation to the N = 2 string as usual spinning particles have to the NSR string. We find the restrictions on the target space of the theories coming from supersymmetry and from global anomalies. Finally, we show that the partition functions of the theories agree with what is expected from their spectra, unlike that of the N = 2 string in which there is an anomalous dependence on the proper time.     

Hadron potentials within the gauge/string correspondence

It is known, since the 70s, that the large N 't Hooft limit of gauge theories is related to string theories. In 1998, J. M. Maldacena identified precisely such a relation: the so-called AdS/CFT correspondence which speculates a duality between a large N strongly-coupled supersymmetric and conformal Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions and a weakly-coupled string theory defined in a five-dimensional anti-de Sitter AdS₅ space-time. This review aims at introducing concepts and methods used to derive, in the framework of the gauge/string correspondence, the interaction potentials of mesons and baryons at zero and finite temperature. The dual string configurations associated with the different kinds of hadrons are described and their behaviours at short and large distances are understood. Although the application of Maldacena's AdS/CFT conjecture to QCD is not straightforward, QCD being neither supersymmetric nor conformal, the AdS/QCD correspondence approach attempts to identify the dual theory of QCD. Especially, the study of heavy quark-antiquark bound-states leads to establish general dual criteria for the confinement.     

Bulk Deformations of Open Topological String Theory

We present a general method to construct bulk-deformed open topological string theories from Landau-Ginzburg models. To this end we obtain a weak version of deformation quantisation, and we show how this together with the technique of homological perturbation allows to explicitly compute all bulk-deformed open topological string amplitudes at tree-level before tadpole-cancellation. Our approach is based on a coherent treatment of the problem in terms of the fundamental A _??- and L _??-structures involved.     

Infinite number of conservation laws in two-dimensional superconformal models

Superconformal theories in two-dimensional space-time are considered. Noether's theorem and the Belinfante improvement procedure are extended to superspace where they are used to construct the supercurrent. With its aid, an infinite number of classical conservation laws are derived. These laws are shown to survive quantization in the supersymmetric, non-linear, O(N) sigma model.     

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.     

Chiral symmetry and functional integral

The change in the fermionic functional integral measure under chiral rotations is analyzed. Using the ζ-function method, the evaluation of chiral Jacobians to theories including nonhermitian Dirac operators D, can be extended in a natural way. (This being of interest, for example, in connection with the Weinberg-Salam model or with the relativistic string theory.) Results are compared with those obtained following other approaches, the possible discrepancies are analyzed and the equivalence of the different methods under certain conditions on D is proved. Also shown is how to compute the Jacobian for the case of a finite chiral transformation and this result is used to develop a sort of path-integral version of bosonization in d = 2 space-time dimensions. This result is used to solve in a very simple and economical way relevant d = 2 fermionic models. Furthermore, some interesting features in connection with the θ-vacuum in d = 2,4 gauge theories are discussed.     

Grand unification at intermediate mass scales through extra dimensions

One of the drawbacks of conventional grand unification scenarios has been that the unification scale is too high to permit direct exploration. In this paper, we show that the unification scale can be significantly lowered (perhaps even to the TeV scale) through the appearance of extra space-time dimensions. Such extra dimensions are a natural consequence of string theories with large-radius compactifications. We show that extra space-time dimensions naturally lead to gauge coupling unification at intermediate mass scales, and moreover may provide a natural mechanism for explaining the fermion mass hierarchy by permitting the fermion masses to evolve with a power-law dependence on the mass scale. We also show that proton-decay constraints may be satisfied in our scenario due to the higher-dimensional cancellation of proton-decay amplitudes to all orders in perturbation theory. Finally, we extend these results by considering theories without supersymmetry; experimental collider signatures; and embeddings into string theory. The latter also enables us to develop several novel methods of explaining the fermion mass hierarchy via D-branes. Our results therefore suggest a new approach towards understanding the physics of grand unification as well as the phenomenology of large-radius string compactifications.     

New heterotic string theories in uncompactified dimensions < 10

It is shown that infinitely many heterotic string theories exist in uncompactified dimensions less than 10, that are one-loop finite (for massless external legs). Tachyons are removed by compactifying into tori (10 − d) and (26 −d) dimensions of the right-moving superstring and left-moving bosonic string sectors, respectively. The condition for modular invariance is shown to be equivalent to self-duality condition on even lorentzian lattices with (10 −d) and (26 −d) timelike and spacelike directions, respectively. The construction results in a (10 −d)(26 −d) parameter family of one-loop finite string theories. The zero mass sector of these theories for d = 4 and 6 correspond to N = 4 and 2 supergravity coupled to super Yang-Mills with many possible groups, some of which cannot be obtained by compactifying d = 10 heterotic string theory.     

Yukawa couplings for Calabi-Yau string compactification

Recently, we have described string theories based on N = 2 superconformal theories. It was argued that all such string theories correspond to string propagation on Calabi-Yau manifolds. We compute here the Yukawa couplings for massless particles in the representation 27 of E₆ (generations), in some examples, and show that the quasi-topological result of the field-theory approximation holds exactly. This is a non-trivial quantitative agreement which further supports the geometric interpretation of these string theories, as well as giving an explicit demonstration of the quasi-topological nature of these couplings.     

Dual-resonance models

Dual-resonance models are treated both as S-matrix theories and as systems of interacting strings. We show how Veneziano was able to construct a dual four-point amplitude with narrow resonances and rising Regge trajectories. The construction is generalized to the N-point amplitude in the manifestly dual manner suggested by Koba and Nielsen. We develop the operator formalism which exhibits the factorization property of the above amplitude. The related questions of ghost elimination and null states are discussed. Models with extra degrees of freedom and, in particular, the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond model with spin, are treated. The latter model has a quark-line spectrum of mesons, but it possesses massless vector mesons and fermions. It is shown how the operator formalism is related to a quantized string. The theory of such a string is developed, with particular emphasis on the ghost-free “Coulomb-gauge” quantization. By constructing theories of interacting strings, we reproduce the dual-model S-matrix. A brief account is given of the theory of loops, in which one attempts to improve on the narrow-resonance model in a perturbative manner.     

Modular invariance in N=2 superconformal field theories

The modular invariance properties of two-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories are studied. It is shown that the character formulae of the central charge c<3 unitary highest weight representation for the untwisted algebras can be written in terms of the string functions and the theta functions of the affine su(2) Kac-Moody algebra. Deriving the modular transformation of the characters we construct the modular invariant partition functions on a torus. The character relation corresponding to the coset space construction of the unitary discrete series in the N=2 algebra is also obtained.     

The heterotic string is a soliton

It is shown that the Type IIA superstring compactified on K3 has a smooth string soliton with the same zero mode structure as the heterotic string compactified on a four-torus, thus providing new evidence for a conjectured exact duality between the two six-dimensional string theories. The chiral worldsheet bosons arise as zero modes of Ramond-Ramond fields of the IIA string theory and live on a signature (20,4) even, self-dual lattice. Stable, finite loops of soliton string provide the charged Ramond-Ramond states necessary for enhanced gauge symmetries at degeneration points of the K3 surface. It is also shown that Type IIB strings toroidally compactified to six dimensions have a multiplet of string solutions with Type II worldsheets.     

Supersymmetric string theories,superconformal algebras and exceptional groups

We study the relation between extended space-time supersymmetry and extended worldsheet symmetries within the context of four-dimensional heterotic string theories. It is shown how these symmetries follow from an underlying E₇ and E₈ symmetry which also explains the appearance of extra U(1) gauge bosons. Supersymmetry transformation aalways act within a given multiplet of E₇ and E₈.     

Einstein Supergravity and New Twistor String Theories

A family of new twistor string theories is constructed and shown to be free from world-sheet anomalies. The spectra in space-time are calculated and shown to give Einstein supergravities with second order field equations instead of the higher derivative conformal supergravities that arose from earlier twistor strings. The theories include one with the spectrum of N = 8 supergravity, another with the spectrum of N = 4 supergravity coupled to N = 4 super-Yang-Mills, and a family with N ≥ 0 supersymmetries with the spectra of self-dual supergravity coupled to self-dual super-Yang-Mills. The non-supersymmetric string with N = 0 gives self-dual gravity coupled to self-dual Yang-Mills and a scalar. A three-graviton amplitude is calculated for the N = 8 and N = 4 theories and shown to give a result consistent with the cubic interaction of Einstein supergravity.