The LQG -- String: Loop Quantum Gravity Quantization of String Theory I. Flat Target Space

We give a non-technical description of the differences of quantisation of the bosonic string between the usual Fock-space approach and the treatment inspired by methods of loop quantum gravity termed the LCQ string. We point out the role of covariant states with continuous representations of the Weyl operators versus invariant states leading to discontinuous polymer representations. In the example of the harmonic oscillator we compare the optical absorption spectrum for the t...

The goal of this article is to present a broad perspective on quantum gravity for \emph{non-experts}. After a historical introduction, key physical problems of quantum gravity are illustrated. While there are a number of interesting and insightful approaches to address these issues, over the past two decades sustained progress has primarily occurred in two programs: string theory and loop quantum gravity. The first program is described in Horowitz's contribution while my arti...

This is the written version of a lecture given at the ``VI Mexican School of Gravitation and Mathematical Physics" (Nov 21-27, 2004, Playa del Carmen, Mexico), introducing the basics of Loop Quantum Geometry. The purpose of the written contribution is to provide a Primer version, that is, a first entry into Loop Quantum Gravity and to present at the same time a friendly guide to the existing pedagogical literature on the subject. This account is geared towards graduate studen...

The loop representation of quantum gravity has many formal resemblances to a background-free string theory. In fact, its origins lie in attempts to treat the string theory of hadrons as an approximation to QCD, in which the strings represent flux tubes of the gauge field. A heuristic path-integral approach indicates a duality between background-free string theories and generally covariant gauge theories, with the loop transform relating the two. We review progress towards mak...

These notes on string theory are based on a series of talks I gave during my graduate studies. As the talks, this introductory essay is intended for young students and non-string theory physicists.

A geometric interpretation of quantum self-interacting string field theory is given. Relations between various approaches to the second quantization of an interacting string are described in terms of the geometric quantization. An algorithm to construct a quantum nonperturbative interacting string field theory in the quantum group formalism is proposed. problems of a metric background (in)dependence are discussed.

In the first sections of this paper we give an elementary but rigorous approach to the construction of the quantum Bosonic and supersymmetric string system continuing the analysis of Dimock. This includes the construction of the DDF operators without using the vertex algebras. Next we give a rigorous proof of the equivalence between the light-cone and the covariant quantization methods. Finally, we provide a new and simple proof of the BRST quantization for these string model...

We discuss a covariant functional integral approach to the quantization of the bosonic string. In contrast to approaches relying on non-covariant operator regularizations, interesting operators here are true tensor objects with classical transformation laws, even on target spaces where the theory has a Weyl anomaly. Since no implicit non-covariant gauge choices are involved in the definition of the operators, the anomaly is clearly separated from the issue of operator renorma...

Introductory Notes in Bosonic String Theory and its Canonical Quantization.

Recent years have seen noteworthy progress in the mathematical formulation of quantum field theory and perturbative string theory. We give a brief survey of these developments. It serves as an introduction to the more detailed collection "Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Field Theory and Perturbative String Theory".