Combinatorial and topological phase structure of non-perturbative n-dimensional quantum gravity

We provide a non-perturbative geometrical characterization of the partition function of $n$-dimensional quantum gravity based on a coarse classification of riemannian geometries. We show that, under natural geometrical constraints, the theory admits a continuum limit with a non-trivial phase structure parametrized by the homotopy types of the class of manifolds considered. The results obtained qualitatively coincide, when specialized to dimension two, with those of two-dimensional quantum gravity models based on random triangulations of surfaces.Comment: 13 page

On the Black-Hole Conformal Field Theory Coupled to the Polyakov's String Theory. A Non Perturbative Analysis

We couple the 2D black-hole conformal field theory discovered by Witten to a $D-1$ dimensional Euclidean bosonic string. We demonstrate that the resulting planar (=zero genus) string susceptibility is real for any $0\leq D \leq 4$.Comment: 5 page

On the Stability of a Stringy Black Hole

We study the stability under perturbations of a charged four dimensional stringy black hole arising from gauging a previously studied WZW model. We find that the black hole is stable only in the extremal case $Q=M$.Comment: 14 pages + 1 figure (not included but available on request

Insights and Puzzles from Branes: 4d SUSY Yang-Mills from 6d Models

5-branes of nontrivial topology are associated in the Diaconescu-Hanany-Witten-Witten (DHWW) approach with the Seiberg-Witten (SW) theory of low-energy effective actions. There are two different "pictures", related to the IIA and IIB phases of M-theory. They differ by the choice of $6d$ theory on the 5-brane world volume. In the IIB picture it is just the 6d SUSY Yang-Mills, while in the IIA picture it is a theory of SUSY self-dual 2-form. These two pictures appear capable to describe the (non-abelian) Lax operator and (abelian) low-energy effective action respectively. Thus IIB-IIA duality is related to the duality between Hitchin and Whitham integrable structures.Comment: LaTeX, 12pp, 4 figs in ps-format requiring psfig.te