Lectures on Superstring and M Theory Dualities

Abstract

These lectures begin by reviewing the evidence for S duality of the toroidally compactified heterotic string in 4d that was obtained in the period 1992--94. Next they review recently discovered dualities that relate all five of the 10d superstring theories and a quantum extension of 11d supergravity called M theory. The study of p-branes of various dimensions (some of which are D-branes) plays a central role. The final sections survey supersymmetric string vacua in 6d and some of the dual constructions by which they can be obtained. Special emphasis is given to a class of N=1 models that exhibit ``heterotic-heterotic duality.''