New Developments in Open - String Theories

TL;DR

This paper reviews new features of open-string models, including gauge symmetry breaking and anomaly cancellation mechanisms, highlighting differences from traditional oriented closed-string models.

Contribution

It introduces novel aspects of open-string theories, focusing on gauge symmetry breaking and anomaly cancellation in lower-dimensional models.

Findings

Open-string models exhibit unique gauge symmetry breaking mechanisms.

Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation has peculiar properties in lower dimensions.

New features distinguish open-string theories from traditional closed-string models.

Abstract

The study of string models including both unoriented closed strings and open strings presents a number of new features when compared to the standard case of models of oriented closed strings only. We review some basic features of the construction of these models, describing in particular how gauge symmetry breaking can be achieved in this case. We also review some peculiar properties of the Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism that present themselves in lower-dimensional open-string models.(Figures not included) (Talk presented at the Tenth National General Relativity Conference, Bardonecchia, September 1992)