<p>This thesis deals with different aspects of string and /p/-brane theories. One of the motivations for string theory is to unify the forces in nature and produce a quantum theory of gravity. /p/-branes and related objects arise in string theory and are related to a non-perturbative definition of the theory. The results of this thesis might help in understanding string theory better. The first part of the thesis introduces and discusses relevant topics for the second part of the thesis which consists of five papers.</p><p>In the three first papers we develop and treat a perturbative approach to relativistic /p/-branes around stretched geometries. The unperturbed theory is described by a string- or particle-like theory. The theory is solved, within perturbation theory, by constructing successive canonical transformations which map the theory to the unperturbed one order by order. The result is used to define a quantum theory which requires for consistency d = 25 + p dimensions for the bosonic /p/-branes and d = 11 for the supermembrane. This is one of the first quantum results for extended objects beyond string theory and is a confirmation of the expectation of an eleven-dimensional quantum membrane.</p><p>The two last papers deal with a gauged WZNW-approach to strings moving on non-trivial space-times. The groups used in the formulation of these models are connected to Hermitian symmetric spaces of non-compact type. We have found that the GKO-construction does not yield a unitary spectrum. We will show that there exists, however, a different approach, the BRST approach, which gives unitarity under certain conditions. This is the first example of a difference between the GKO- and BRST construction. This is one of the first proofs of unitarity of a string theory in a non-trivial non-compact space-time. Furthermore, new critical string theories in dimensions less then 26 or 10 is found for the bosonic and supersymmetric string, respectively.</p>

This thesis deals with different aspects of string and /p/-brane theories. One of the motivations for string theory is to unify the forces in nature and produce a quantum theory of gravity. /p/-branes and related objects arise in string theory and are related to a non-perturbative definition of the theory. The results of this thesis might help in understanding string theory better. The first part of the thesis introduces and discusses relevant topics for the second part of the thesis which consists of five papers. In the three first papers we develop and treat a perturbative approach to relativistic /p/-branes around stretched geometries. The unperturbed theory is described by a string- or particle-like theory. The theory is solved, within perturbation theory, by constructing successive canonical transformations which map the theory to the unperturbed one order by order. The result is used to define a quantum theory which requires for consistency d = 25 + p dimensions for the bosonic /p/-branes and d = 11 for the supermembrane. This is one of the first quantum results for extended objects beyond string theory and is a confirmation of the expectation of an eleven-dimensional quantum membrane. The two last papers deal with a gauged WZNW-approach to strings moving on non-trivial space-times. The groups used in the formulation of these models are connected to Hermitian symmetric spaces of non-compact type. We have found that the GKO-construction does not yield a unitary spectrum. We will show that there exists, however, a different approach, the BRST approach, which gives unitarity under certain conditions. This is the first example of a difference between the GKO- and BRST construction. This is one of the first proofs of unitarity of a string theory in a non-trivial non-compact space-time. Furthermore, new critical string theories in dimensions less then 26 or 10 is found for the bosonic and supersymmetric string, respectively.

Orbits of charged particles under the effect of a magnetic field are mathematically described by magnetic geodesics. They appear as solutions to a system of (nonlinear) ordinary differential equations of second order. But we are only interested in periodic solutions. To this end, we study the corresponding system of (nonlinear) parabolic equations for closed magnetic geodesics and, as a main result, eventually prove the existence of long time solutions. As generalization one can consider a system of elliptic nonlinear partial differential equations whose solutions describe the orbits of closed p-branes under the effect of a "generalized physical force". For the corresponding evolution equation, which is a system of parabolic nonlinear partial differential equations associated to the elliptic PDE, we can establish existence of short time solutions. / Bahnen von geladenen Teilchen, die sich unter dem Einfluss eines Magnetfeldes bewegen, werden in der Mathematik durch magnetische Geodäten beschrieben. Sie ergeben sich als Lösungen eines Systems (nichtlinearer) gewöhnlicher Differentialgleichungen zweiter Ordnung. Wir interessieren uns ausschließich für periodische Lösungen. Dazu studieren wir das zugehörige System (nichtlinearer) parabolischer Differentialgleichungen für geschlossene magnetische Geodäten. Als Hauptresultat beweisen wir die Existenz von Langzeitlösungen. Verallgemeinernd betrachten wir noch ein System von elliptischen nichtlinearen partiellen Differentialgleichungen, dessen Lösungen die Orbiten von geschlossenen p-Branen unter dem Einfluss einer verallgemeinerten physikalischen Kraft beschreiben. Für die entsprechende Evolutionsgleichung, welche ein System von parabolischen nichtlinearen partiellen Differentialgleichungen ist, das dem elliptischen Problem zugeordnet ist, können wir die Existenz von Kurzzeitlösungen beweisen.

Les théories de supercordes sont à l'heure actuelle le seul candidat à l'unification quantique des interactions de jauge et de la gravité. Ces théories n'etaient jusqu'à récemment définies que dans le régime de {\it faible couplage} par leur série de perturbation. La découverte récente des symétries de dualité, prolongeant la dualité électrique-magnétique des équations de Maxwell, permet maintenant d'identifier ces théories perturbatives comme {\it différentes approximations} d'une théorie fondamentale, la {\it M-théorie}. Les symétries de dualités donnent accès aux effets {\it non perturbatifs} d'une théorie des cordes donnée à partir de calculs {\it perturbatifs} dans une théorie duale. Le premier chapitre de ce mémoire fournit une introduction non technique à ces développements. Le second introduit les dualités non perturbatives observées en théories de jauge et de supergravité, le spectre BPS non-perturbatif dans ces théories, et présente une nouvelle dualité reliant les branches de Higgs de certaines théories de jauge supersymétriques $N=2$. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous introduisons brièvement les théories des cordes perturbatives et vérifions explicitement les conjectures de dualités dans les théories des cordes de supersymétrie $N=4$ à quatre dimensions. Gr{â}ce aux dualités, nous obtenons des résultats {\it exacts} non perturbativement pour certains couplages dans l'action effective de basse énergie, et interprétons dans le chapitre 4 les effets non perturbatifs ainsi obtenus en termes de {\it configurations instantoniques de $p$-branes} enroulées sur les cycles supersymétriques de la variété de compactification. Enfin, nous discutons une proposition récente de définition {\it a priori} de la M-théorie en termes de théories de jauge supersymétriques $U(N)$ à grand $N$, l'étendons à des compactifications toro{\"\i}{}dales en présence de champs de fond constants, et interprétons le spectre d'états BPS en termes d'excitations de la théorie de jauge. Les publications originales décrivant ces travaux sont reproduites en appendice.

This thesis is concerned with several problems in general relativity and low energy string theory that are pertinent to the time evolution of the gravitational field. We present a formulation of the Einstein field equations in terms of variational techniques borrowed from geometric analysis. These equations yield the evolution equations for the Cauchy problems of both general relativity and low energy string theory. We then proceed to investigate the evolutionary linear stability of Schwarzschild-like solutions in higher dimensional relativity called black strings. These objects are determined to be linearly unstable. This motivates a further stability analysis of the charged p-brane solutions of low energy string theory. We show that one can eliminate linear instabilities in p-branes for sufficiently large values of charge. We also consider the characteristic problem of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD). We compute the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of GRMHD and establish degeneracy conditions. Finally, we consider the initial value problem for axisymmetric GRMHD. We formulate the general Einstein and MHD equations under the assumption of a stationary axisymmetric spacetime without assuming the circularity condition.