Studies in string theory on curved spacetime
In order to investigate quantum gravity effects and shed some light into physics at Planck scale, we examine the propagation of strings in curved space-time manifolds. We concentrate on Wess-Zumino-Witten models, or equivalently on current algebra G{sub -k}/H{sub -k} cosets, based on non-compact groups with a single time coordinate. For these models conformal invariance is an exact symmetry and they are, in principle, completely solvable due to their current algebra formulation. We develop techniques and obtain the conformally exact - to all orders in the 1/k expansion - metric, antisymmetric tensor and dilation in the {sigma}-model arising from a general gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten model. General results that we have obtained include a global analysis of the geometry, a general solution of the classical string geodesics and a general solution of the exact particle geodesics, for any gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten model. We explicitly give results for most of the models with space-time dimensional d {le} 4. By performing a global analysis in the entire manifold we interpret them. The resulting geometries describe gravitational backgrounds such as black holes, black strings, and more intricate gravitational singularities, or they have a cosmological interpretation. All models have large-small duality symmetries which we reformulate as an inversion in group parameter space. Finally, we outline some of the open problems in the physics and mathematics areas and we indicate the future directions this work may expand to.
- Research Organization:
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 111269
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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