Gravity from strings: personal reminiscence on early developments

TL;DR

This paper reflects on the early development of string theory from 1969 to 1974, highlighting its connection to gauge theory and gravity, and offers personal insights into its evolution as a quantum gravity framework.

Contribution

The paper provides a personal historical perspective on the initial recognition of string theory as an extended quantum theory of gravity and its relation to gauge theories.

Findings

String theory evolved from dual models in the late 1960s.

Early work indicated string theory's potential as a quantum gravity theory.

Retrospective insights connect past developments to later advancements.

Abstract

I discuss the early developments of string theory with respect to its connection with gauge theory and general relativity from my own perspective. The period covered is mainly from 1969 to 1974, during which I became involved in research on dual string models as a graduate student. My thinking towards the recognition of string theory as an extended quantum theory of gravity is described. Some retrospective remarks on my later works related to this subject are also given.