Related Experiment Videos
A class of exact classical solutions to string theory.
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Physical Review Letters
|January 7, 2003
Summary
Newly discovered spacetimes, generalizing pp-wave solutions, are exact string theory solutions. These spacetimes offer insights into superstrings and quantum gravity without quantum corrections.
Area of Science:
- Theoretical Physics
- String Theory
- Quantum Gravity
Background:
- Scalar curvature invariants vanishing spacetimes generalize pp-wave solutions.
- These spacetimes are relevant for studying superstrings on complex backgrounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate that spacetimes with vanishing scalar curvature invariants are exact string theory solutions.
- To analyze the spectrum of the theory on these backgrounds.
- To explore their implications for quantum gravity.
Main Methods:
- Perturbative string theory calculations.
- Analysis of scalar curvature invariants.
- Derivation of exact solutions.
Main Results:
- The identified spacetimes are exact solutions in string theory to all perturbative orders.
- The spectrum of the theory on these spacetimes can be explicitly obtained.
- These solutions are free from quantum corrections at all loop orders.
Conclusions:
- These findings validate the identified spacetimes as significant in string theory.
- They provide a tractable framework for investigating superstrings on general backgrounds.
- The absence of quantum corrections offers unique insights into quantum gravity.