Recent Developments in String Theory

This is a brief review of the present status, of some recent developments and of the open challenges in string/M theory.

The status of string theory is reviewed, and major recent developments - especially those in going beyond perturbation theory in the string theory and quantum field theory frameworks - are discussed. This analysis helps better understand the role and place of string theory in the modern picture of the physical world. Even though quantum field theory describes a wide range of experimental phenomena, it is emphasized that there are some insurmountable problems inherent in it - ...

We report on recent advances in the understanding of non-perturbative phenomena in the quantum theory of fields and strings.

The aim of these notes is to give recent developments in string theory. In particular, we discuss the string spectrums, compactifications, brane physics and dualities.

These lectures intend to give a pedagogical introduction into some of the developments in string theory during the last years. They include perturbative T-duality and non perturbative S- and U-dualities, their unavoidable demand for D-branes, an example of enhanced gauge symmetry at fixed points of the T-duality group, a review of classical solitonic solutions in general relativity, gauge theories and tendimensional supergravity, a discussion of their BPS nature, Polchinski's...

I describe our understanding of physics near the planck length, in particular the great progress of the last four years in string theory. Superstring theory, and a recent extension called M theory, are leading candidates for a quantum theory that unifies gravity with the other forces. As such, they are certainly not ordinary quantum field theories. However, recent duality conjectures suggest that a more complete definition of these theories can be provided by the large N limi...

This article contains a short review of the current status of string theory.

These are a set of lectures presented at the CERN-La Plata-Santiago de Compostella School of Physics, La Plata, May 1997. A brief introduction to the non-perturbative structure of string theory is presented. Various non-perturbative dualities in ten and six dimensions as well as D-branes are discussed.

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 understanding non-perturbative effects in string theories. We will also briefly discuss the strange role played by open strings and their solitons in the emerging scenario.

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 and other interactions, the role of duality in string theory, and application of string theory to the problem of information loss near a black hole. In the second half of the talk I review the developments of the last two years. This includ...