String Phenomenology ∗

These lectures present some topics of string phenomenology and contain two parts. In the first part, I review the possibility of lowering the string scale in the TeV region, that provides a theoretical framework for solving the mass hierarchy problem and unifying all interactions. The apparent weakness of gravity can then be accounted by the existence of large internal dimensions, in the sub-millimeter region, and transverse to a braneworld where our universe must be confined. I review the main properties of this scenario and its implications for observations at both particle colliders, and in non-accelerator gravity experiments. In the second part, I discuss a simple framework of toroidal string models with magnetized branes, that offers an interesting self-consistent setup for string phenomenology. I will present an algorithm for fixing the geometric parameters of the compactification, build calculable particle physics models such as a supersymmetric SU (5) Grand Unified Theory with three generations of quarks and leptons, and implement low energy supersymmetry breaking with gauge mediation that can be studied directly at the string level.