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Superstring theory and its successor, M-theory, hold promises of a deeper understanding of the Standard Model of particle physics, the unification of the four fundamental forces, the quantum theory of gravity, the mysteries of quantum black holes, Big Bang cosmology and, ultimately, their complete synthesis in a final theory of physics. This volume records the proceedings of the major annual international conference on the subject, "Strings 2000", which involved 42 talks by the world's leading experts on string theory and M-theory. It should be of interest not only to researchers in the field but also to all those who wish to keep abreast of the latest developments and breakthroughs in this exciting area of theoretical physics.
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Proceedings of the 2000 International Superstrings Conference, University of Michigan STRINGS MICHIGAN | 1 THEORY University of Michigan edited by Michael J Duff James T Liu Jianxin Lu T R I N u S PI SHE University of Michigan STRINGS MM July 10-15,2000 A^SrfMichigan International Advisory Committee Sir Michael Atiyah, Edinburgh L. Brink, Chalmers A. Chamseddine, AUB M. Cvetic, Pennsylvania A. Dabholkar, TIFR S. Deser, Brandeis M.K. Gaillard, LBL M. Green, Cambridge D. Gross, ITP J. Harvey, Chicago T. Inami, Chuo J. Maldacena, Harvard H. Nicolai, Potsdam D. Olive, Swansea A. Polyakov, Princeton E. Rabinovici, Hebrew University P. Ramond, Florida J. Schwarz, Caltech N. Seiberg, IAS A. Sen, MRI S. Shenker, Stanford /~1 i ; * Local Organizing Committee R. Akhoury M. Brhlik D. Chung M. Duff M. Einhorn L. Everett K. Freese G. Kane J. Liu J.X. Lu E. Myers L. Pando Zayas S. Rigolin Y. Tomozawa 0 . Yakovlev E. Yao Conference Secretaries /^T7'TT»'\T G. Veneziano, CERN S. Weinberg, Texas E. Witten, IAS & Caltech T. Wells A. Yerks Proceedings of the 2000 International Superstrings Conference, University of Michigan THING University of Michigan University of Michigan, Ann Arbor July 10-15, 2000 edited by Michael J Duff James T Liu Jianxin Lu University of Michigan V f e World Scientific wb Singapore*•New Jersey »L Singapore • London • Hong Kong Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. P O Box 128, Farrer Road, Singapore 912805 USA office: Suite IB, 1060 Main Street, River Edge, NJ 07661 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover illustration: Pencil drawing by Michael Duff of the University of Michigan Union Building. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTRINGS CONFERENCE Copyright © 2001 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 981-02-4509-2 Printed in Singapore by Uto-Print V PREFACE The Strings 2000 Conference was held at the University of Michigan from July 10 through July 15, 2000. This conference brought together nearly 300 participants from around the world, and provided a successful forum for presenting the latest advances in the field. With the many recent developments in M-theory, a wide ranging array of topics were covere