M-Theory and Quantum Geometry

ISBN-13: 9780792364757 / Angielski / Miękka / 2000 / 454 str.

Larus Thorlacius; Thordur Jonsson; Larus Thorlacius

Opis

The fundamental structure of matter and spacetime at the shortest length scales remains an exciting frontier of basic research in theoretical physics. A unifying theme in this area is the quantization of geometrical objects. The majority of lectures at the Advanced Study Institute on Quantum Ge- ometry in Akureyri was on recent advances in superstring theory, which is the leading candidate for a unified description of all known elementary par- ticles and interactions. The geometric concept of one-dimensional extended objects, or strings, has always been at the core of superstring theory but in recent years the focus has shifted to include also higher-dimensional ob- jects, so called D-branes, which play a key role in the non-perturbative dynamics of the theory. A related development has seen the strong coupling regime of a given string theory identified with the weak coupling regime of what was previ- ously believed to be a different theory, and a web of such" dualities" that interrelates all known superstring theories has emerged. The resulting uni- fied theoretical framework, termed M-theory, has evolved at a rapid pace in recent years.

Spis treści

1. D Branes in String Theory, I; P. Di Vecchia, A. Liccardo. 2. Moduli Spaces of Calabi-Yau Compactifications; J. Louis. 3. The M(atrix) Model of M-Theory; W. Taylor. 4. The Holographic Principle; D. Bigatti, L. Susskind. 5. Born-Infeld Actions and D-Brane Physics; C.G. Callan. 6. Lectures on Superconformal Quantum Mechanics and Multi-Black Hole Moduli Spaces; R. Britto-Pacumio, et al. 7. Large-N Gauge Theories; Y. Makeenko. 8. Introduction to Random Surfaces; T. Jonsson. 9. Lorentzian and Euclidean Quantum Gravity - Analytical and Numerical Results; J. Ambjørn, et al. Index.