Recent Developments in String Theory: From Perturbative Dualities to M-Theory

Abstract

These lectures intend to give a pedagogical introduction into some of the developments in string theory during the last years. They include perturbative T-duality and non perturbative S- and U-dualities, their unavoidable demand for D-branes, an example of enhanced gauge symmetry at fixed points of the T-duality group, a review of classical solitonic solutions in general relativity, gauge theories and tendimensional supergravity, a discussion of their BPS nature, Polchinski's observations that allow to view D-branes as RR charged states in the non perturbative string spectrum, the application of all this to the computation of the black hole entropy and Hawking radiation and finally a brief survey of how everything fits together in M-theory.