Why superstrings?

Abstract

The standard gange field theory of strong and electroweak interactions is believed to explain all known elementary particle processes up to an energy of at least 1 TeV. It is likely that this model can be enlarged to account for even higher energies, perhaps approaching the Planck scale of 10¹⁹ GeV. However, field theory offers no explanation, even in principle, of the origin of the gauge group(s), of the representations which actually occur in nature, nor of the values of the twenty odd parameters which appear in the theory. In principle, superstrings can answer these questions, and also give a finite quantum theory of gravitation. This article tries to show how this is possible, and to describe the enormity of the task being undertaken.