Recent Developments in String Theory: A Brief Review for Particle Physicists

Abstract

At the present time, string theory (and its generalizations) remain relatively abstruse subjects to the particle phenomenologist and experimentalist. Yet, striking developments of the last two years offer hope that a fundamental non-perturbative formulation of this theory will be found, and that this formulation will permit us to make contact with supersymmetric standard-model physics. This article is based on a talk which attempted to convey the essence of these recent developments in string theory, in a non-technical manner, to an audience of particle theorists, phenomenologists and experimentalists.