String theory deconstructed

Abstract

This essay presents a critical evaluation of the concepts of string theory and its impact on particle physics. The point of departure is a historical review of four decades of ST within the broader context of six decades of failed attempts at an autonomous S-matrix approach to particle theory. The central message, contained in sections 5 and 6, is that string theory is not what its name suggests, namely a theory of of objects in spacetime whose localization is string- instead of point-like. The result is corroborated by the failure of the conformal embedding view: whereas the "target space" of the chiral theory (higher dimensional vector or spinor indices of currents) becomes string theories spacetime, the one-dimensional source space does not describe a string embedded in the target spacetime but rather enriches the "inner" space over each point (spin, masses). Hence string theory solves a problem which enjoyed some popularity in the 60s namely the construction of infinite component fields.

79 pages, updated and expanded

References in corpus (8)

• Quantum Field Theory: Where We Are
• Jorge A. Swieca's contributions to quantum field theory in the 60s and 70s and their relevance in present research
• The Internal and External Problems of String Theory - A Philosophical View
• Shut up and calculate
• Towards a Background Independent Formulation of Perturbative Quantum Gravity
• QFT Lectures on AdS-CFT
• Localization and the interface between quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and quantum gravity
• The power of AQFT: the area law for entropy of localized quantum matter

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Jorge A. Swieca's contributions to quantum field theory in the 60s and 70s and their relevance in present research
• In Search of the (Minimal Supersymmetric) Standard Model String
• AP Theory II:Intrinsic 4D Quantum YM Theory with Mass Gap