Superstrings, Unifications and dualities
Abstract
Description
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 limits of suitably chosen U(N) gauge theories associated to the asymptotic boundary of spacetime.
31 pages, 9 figures. This conference is the first part of two lectures treating the geometric principle lying behind superstring theory. It is an introductory one
31 pages, 9 figures. This conference is the first part of two lectures treating the geometric principle lying behind superstring theory. It is an introductory one