Paper detail

TeV-Scale strings

This article discusses the status of string physics where the string tension is around the TeV scale. The article covers model building basics for perturbative strings, based on D-brane configurations. The effective low energy physics description of such string constructions is analyzed: how anomaly cancellation is implemented, how fast proton decay is avoided and how D-brane models lead to additional $Z'$ particles. This review also discusses direct search bounds for strings at the TeV scale, as well as theoretical issues with model building related to flavor physics and axions.