Phenomenology and cosmology of weakly coupled string theory

Abstract

The weakly coupled vacuum of $E_8\otimes E_8$ heterotic string theory remains an attractive scenario for phenomenolgy and cosmology. The particle spectrum is reviewed and the issues of gauge coupling unification, dilaton stabilization and modular cosmology are discussed. A specific model for condensation and supersymmetry breaking, that respects known constraints from string theory and is phenomenologically viable, is described.

Comments: 24 pages, talk presented at The Richard Arnowitt Fest, April 5-8, 1998, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, to be published in the proceedings, full postscript available from http://phyweb.lbl.gov/theorypapers/preprints.html/41110.ps