String theory dynamics are governed by the Polyakov action and conformal invariance

Geometrical dynamics of complex systems : a unified modelling approach to physics, control, biomechanics, neurodynamics and psycho-socio-economical dynamics. 2006. https://archive.org/details/geometricaldynam0000ivan

see that a conformal Killing 1—form is dual to a conformal vector-field. Coclosed conformal Killing p—forms … space-time. 3° The Polyakov action is the 2D action from conformal field theory, used in string theory to describe … Y(t) = Xe (ye(€)) by left invariance of X¢, so they are equal. Left invariance can be also used to show

A string theory for two dimensional Yang-Mills theory. Part I. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2024)063

Two dimensional gauge theories with charged matter fields are useful toy models for studying gauge theory dynamics, and in particular for studying the duality of large N gauge theories to perturbative string theories. A useful starting point for such studies is the pure Yang-Mills theory, which is exactly solvable. Its 1/N expansion was interpreted as a string theory by Gross and Taylor 30 years ago, but they did not provide a worldsheet action for this string theory, and such an action is useful for coupling it to matter fields. The chiral sector of the Yang-Mills theory can be written as a sum over holomorphic maps and has useful worldsheet descriptions, but the full theory includes more general extremal-area maps; a formal worldsheet action including all these maps in a “topological rigid string theory” was written by Hořava many years ago, but various subtleties arise when trying to use it for computations. In this paper we suggest a Polyakov-like generalization of Hořava’s worldsheet action which is well-defined, and we show how it reproduces the free limit of the Yang-Mills theory, both by formal arguments and by explicitly computing its partition function in several cases. In the future we plan to generalize this string theory to the finite-coupling gauge theory, and to analyze it with boundaries, corresponding either to Wilson loops or to dynamical matter fields in the fundamental representation.

Worldsheet formalism for decoupling limits in string theory. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2024)102

We study the bosonic sector of a decoupling limit of type IIA superstring theory, where a background Ramond-Ramond one-form is fined tuned to its critical value, such that it cancels the associated background D0-brane tension. The light excitations in this critical limit are D0-branes, whose dynamics is described by the Banks-Fischler-Shenker-Susskind (BFSS) Matrix theory that corresponds to M-theory in the Discrete Light-Cone Quantization (DLCQ). We develop the worldsheet formalism for the fundamental string in the same critical limit of type IIA superstring theory. We show that the fundamental string develops singularities on its worldsheet, whose topology is described by nodal Riemann spheres as in ambitwistor string theory. We study the T-duality transformations of this string sigma model and provide a worldsheet derivation for the recently revived and expanded duality web that unifies a zoo of decoupling limits in type II superstring theories. By matching the string worldsheet actions, we demonstrate how some of these decoupling limits are related to tensionless (and ambitwistor) string theory, Carrollian string theory, the Spin Matrix limits of the AdS/CFT correspondence, and more.

Trapped string states in AdS$_{5}$ black hole geometry: a path toward Hawking radiation. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP12(2025)053

We investigate the quantum dynamics of a closed bosonic string in the curved spacetime of an AdS$_{5}$-Schwarzschild black hole. Starting from the Polyakov action, we perform a canonical quantization of the string and formulate its quantum mechanical equation of motion in the Schrödinger (string coordinate) representation. This framework facilitates in obtaining quantum mechanical wave equation governing the radial and angular modes of the string. A central result of our analysis is the emergence of a trapping radius in the exterior region of the black hole. Near this radius, the radial motion of the string is governed by an effective potential that supports small, quantized oscillations, akin to a quantum harmonic oscillator. This behavior indicates a localization of the string at the trapping surface, where it becomes dynamically confined. The angular sector of the wave function is found to be governed by the confluent Heun equation, yielding confluent Heun functions as the angular part of the wave function. The emergence of a trapping surface is analogous to the stretched horizon proposed by Susskind in the context of black hole complementarity. The quantized harmonic oscillation of the string at the trapping radius complements with the Planck’s black body whence the string can emit black-body radiation. Thus, the quantum dynamics of strings in black hole spacetimes offers a novel path to probing the quantum origin of Hawking radiation.

arXiv: Conformal Random Geometry. https://arxiv.org/abs/math-ph/0608053

Conformal Random Geometry In these Notes, a comprehensive description of the universal fractal geometry of conformally-invariant scaling curves or interfaces, in the plane or half-plane, is given. The present approach focuses on deriving critical exponents associated with interacting random paths, by exploiting their underlying quantum gravity structure. The latter relates exponents in the plane to those on a random lattice, i.e., in a fluctuating metric, using the so-called Knizhnik, Polyakov and Zamolodchikov (KPZ) map. This is accomplished within the framework of random matrix theory and conformal field theory, with applications to geometrical critical models, like Brownian paths, self-avoiding walks, percolation, and more generally, the O(N) or Q-state Potts models and, last but not least, Schramm's Stochastic Loewner Evolution (SLE_kappa). These Notes can be considered as complementary to those by Wendelin Werner (2006 Fields Medalist!), ``Some Recent Aspects of Random Conformally Invariant Systems,'' arXiv:math.PR/0511268. Published as: Les Houches, Session LXXXIII, 2005, Mathematical Statistical Physics, A. Bovier, F. Dunlop, F. den Hollander, A. van Enter and J.