Introduction to Superstrings and M-Theory

ISBN-13: 9781461268116 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 587 str.

Opis

Called by some "the theory of everything," superstrings may solve a problem which has eluded physicists for the past 50 years -- the final unification of the two great theories of the twentieth century, general relativity and quantum field theory. This is a course-tested comprehensive introductory graduate text on superstrings which stresses the most current areas of interest, not covered in other presentation, including: string field theory, multi loops, Teichmueller spaces, conformal field theory, and four-dimensional strings. The book begins with a simple discussion of point particle theory, and uses the Feynman path integral technique to unify the presentation of superstrings. Prerequisites are an aquaintance with quantum mechanics and relativity. This second edition has been revised and updated throughout.

Recenzje

From the reviews
Foundations of Physics, on the first edition:
"... the dedicated reader...will be well versed in this fascinating area of theoretical physics."
Physics Today, on the first edition:
"...presents a pedagogical survey on string theory. It covers material from early developments to present-day research ... divided into three parts ... results of quantization, string field theory, and phenomenology ... an impressive effort..."

FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICS
"Kaku's book, at 568 pages, is a comprehensive, self-contained text on string theory...[It] contains useful summaries of mathematical topics such as index theory, cohomology, and Kahler manifolds. This is a book for the really serious student of string theory; the dedicated reader who emerges after page 568 will be well versed in this fascinating area of theoretical physics."

Spis treści

I. First Quantization and Path Integrals; 1. Path Integrals and Point Particles; 2. Nambu-Goto Strings; 3. Superstrings; 4. Conformal Field Theory and Kac-Moody Algebras; 5. Multiloops and Teichmüller Spaces; II. Second Quantization and the Search for Geometry; 6. Light Cone Field Theory; 7. BRST Field Theory; 8. Anomalies and the Atiyah-Singer Theorem; 9. Heterotic Strings and Compactification; 10. Calabi-Yau Spaces and Orbifolds; 11.M-theory and Duality; 12. Compatifications and BPS States 13. Solitons, D-branes, and Black Holes; Appendices; Index

O autorze

Called by some, "the theory of everything," superstring theory may lead to the unification of the two great theories of the twentieth century, general relativity and quantum field theory; it is one of the most active areas of research in theoretical physics. This course- tested comprehensive introductory graduate text stresses current areas of interest, including: string field theory, multi loops, Teichmueller spaces, conformal field theory, and four-dimensional strings. Prerequisites are an aquaintance with quantum mechanics and relativity. The second edition will be revised and updated throughout.