Modern String Theory and Particle Physics

Abstract

String theory, as the prime candidate for quantum unification of particle physics and gravity, sheds light on important fundamental questions such as the microscopic structure of black holes and the geometric origin of particle physics. We review these developments such as the introduction of extended objects - Dirichlet branes - and highlight the important geometric role of these objects in deriving particle physics from string theory. We also highlight recent progress made in deriving particle physics from F-theory, a geometric framework of string theory at finite string coupling.