Strings, Branes and Holography

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This award funds the research activities of Professors K. Becker, M. Becker, and E. Sezgin at Texas A&M University. This research project addresses fundamental aspects of string theory and also explores connections to other areas of physics such as high temperature superconductivity. The first set of projects deals with string perturbation theory and the construction of D-brane effective actions. The results of such work could also be used to check the consistency of models of particle physics obtained from string theory. Another topic to be investigated concerns the application of string theory to condensed matter physics, specifically high temperature superconductivity. Other topics to be investigated include conformal field theories beyond two dimensions, as well as the development of remarkable higher-spin extensions of Einstein gravity and their holographic descriptions. The research described in this proposal is envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Beyond the interdisciplinary nature of this research, stretching from high-energy physics to condensed-matter physics, these impacts also include the training of graduate students working towards their Ph.D.'s and the training and mentoring of postdoctoral fellows who will be directly involved with the research funded under this award.