Strings and monopoles in strongly interacting gauge theories

Abstract

In this thesis we discuss aspects of strongly coupled gauge theories in two and three dimensions. In three dimensions, we present results for the scaling dimension and transformation properties of monopole operators in gauge theories with large numbers of fermions. In two dimensions, we study (0,2) gauge theories as a tool for constructing string backgrounds with non trivial H-flux. We demonstrate how chiral matter content in the gauge theory allows the construction of infrared fixed points outside of the usual Calabi-Yau framework, and further derive consistency relations for a special class of torsional models.