A First Course in String Theory Second Edition - Assets

1 A First Course in String TheorySecond EditionBarton Zwiebach is once again faithful to his goal of making String Theory accessible toundergraduates. He presents the main concepts of String Theory in a concrete and physicalway to develop intuition before formalism, often through simplified and illustrative exam-ples. Complete and thorough in its coverage, this new Edition now includes the AdS/CFTcorrespondence and introduces superstrings. It is perfectly suited to introductory coursesin String Theory for students with a background in mathematics and new Edition contains completely new chapters on the AdS/CFT correspondence,an introduction to superstrings, and new sections covering strings on orbifolds, cos-mic strings, moduli stabilization, and the String Theory landscape. There are almost 300problems and exercises, with password protected solutions available to instructors Zwiebachis Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of central contributions have been in the area of String field Theory , where he did theearly work on the construction of the field Theory of open strings and then developed thefield Theory of closed strings.

2 He has also made important contributions to the subjects ofD-branes with exceptional symmetry and tachyon the First Edition A refreshingly different approach to String Theory that requires remarkably little previousknowledge of quantum Theory or relativity. This highlights fundamental features of the the-ory that make it so radically different from theories based on point-like particles. This bookmakes the subject amenable to undergraduates but it will also appeal greatly to beginningresearchers who may be overwhelmed by the standard textbooks. Professor Michael Green, University of Cambridge Barton Zwiebach has written a careful and thorough introduction to String Theory that issuitable for a full-year Course at the advanced undergraduate level. There has been muchdemand for a book about String Theory at this level, and this one should go a long waytowards meeting that demand.

3 Professor John Schwarz, California Institute of Technology There is a great curiosity about String Theory , not only among physics undergraduates butalso among professional scientists outside of the field. This audience needs a text that goesmuch further than the popular accounts but without the full technical detail of a in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationii text. Zwiebach s book meets this need in a clear and accessible manner. It is well-groundedin familiar physical concepts, and proceeds through some of the most timely and excitingaspects of the subject. Professor Joseph Polchinski, University of California, Santa Barbara Zwiebach, a respected researcher in the field and a much beloved teacher at MIT, is trulyfaithful to his goal of making String Theory accessible to advanced undergraduates thetest develops intuition before formalism, usually through simplified and illustrative avoids the temptation of including topics that would weigh the bookdown and make many students rush it back to the shelf and quit the Course .

4 Marcelo Gleiser, Physics Today .. the hottest topics in String Theory research, requiringonly a solid background in mechanics and some basic quantum mechanics .. This is notjust one more text in the ever-growing canon of popular books on String Andreas Karch, Times Higher Education Supplement ..thebook provides an excellent basis for an introductory Course on String Theory andis well-suited for self-study by graduate students or any physicist who wants to learn thebasics of String Theory .Zentralblatt MATH ..e xcellent introduction by Zwiebach .. aimed at advanced undergraduates who havesome background in quantum mechanics and special relativity, but have not necessarilymastered quantum field Theory and general relativity yet .. the book .. is a very thoroughintroduction to the subject .. Equipped with this background, the reader can safely startto tackle the books by Green, Schwarz and Witten and by Polchinski.

5 Marcel L. Vonk, Mathematical Reviews ClippingsCover illustration: a composite illustrating open String motion as we vary the strength ofan electric field that points along the rotational axis of symmetry. There are three surfaces,each composed of two lobes joined at the origin and shown with the same color. Eachsurface is traced by a rotating open String that, at various times, appears as a line stretchingfrom the boundary of a lobe down to the origin and then out to the boundary of the oppositelobe. The inner, middle, and elongated lobes arise as the magnitude of the electric field isincreased. For further details, see Problem in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationA First Course in String TheorySecond EditionBarton ZwiebachMassachusetts Institute of in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore on this title: B.

6 Zwiebach 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exceptionand to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,no reproduction of any part may take place withoutthe written permission of Cambridge University published 2004 Reprinted 2005, 2007 Second Edition 2009 Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd, PadstowA catalog record for this publication is available from the British LibraryISBN 978-0-521-88032-9 HardbackCambridge University Press has no responsibility forthe persistence or accuracy of URLs for external orthird-party internet websites referred to in this publication,and does not guarantee that any content on suchwebsites is, or will remain, accurate or Printing House, Cambridgnited Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

7 UeiCB2 i8BS, i5th printing in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationTo my parents, Oscar and Betty Zwiebach, with in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationContentsForeword by David GrosspagexiiiFrom the Preface to the First EditionxvPreface to the Second EditionxixPart I Basics11 A brief The road to String Theory as a unified Theory of String Theory and its Developments and outlook112 Special relativity and extra Units and Intervals and Lorentz Light-cone Relativistic energy and Light-cone energy and Lorentz invariance with extra Compact extra Quantum mechanics and the square Square well with an extra dimension383 Electromagnetism and gravitation in various Classical Electromagnetism in three Manifestly relativistic An aside on spheres in higher Electric fields in higher Gravitation and Planck s Gravitational The Planck length in various Gravitational constants

8 And Large extra in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory : Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationviiiContents 4 Nonrelativistic Equations of motion for transverse Boundary conditions and initial Frequencies of transverse More general oscillating A brief review of Lagrangian The nonrelativistic String Lagrangian815 The relativistic point Action for a relativistic point Reparameterization Equations of Relativistic particle with electric charge976 Relativistic Area functional for spatial Reparameterization invariance of the Area functional for spacetime The Nambu--Goto String Equations of motion, boundary conditions, and The static Tension and energy of a stretched Action in terms of transverse Motion of open String endpoints1247 String parameterization and classical Choosing a Physical interpretation of the String equation of Wave equation and General motion of an open Motion of closed strings and Cosmic strings1458 World-sheet Electric charge Conserved charges from Lagrangian Conserved currents on the The complete momentum Lorentz symmetry and associated The slope parameter 1689 Light-cone relativistic A class of choices for The associated in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory .

9 Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationixContents Constraints and wave Wave equation and mode Light-cone solution of equations of motion18610 Light-cone fields and An action for scalar Classical plane-wave Quantum scalar fields and particle Maxwell fields and photon Gravitational fields and graviton states20911 The relativistic quantum point Light-cone point Heisenberg and Schr odinger Quantization of the point Quantum particle and scalar Light-cone momentum Light-cone Lorentz generators22912 Relativistic quantum open Light-cone Hamiltonian and Commutation relations for Strings as harmonic Transverse Virasoro Lorentz Constructing the state Equations of Tachyons and D-brane decay27013 Relativistic quantum closed Mode expansions and commutation Closed String Virasoro Closed String state String coupling and the Closed strings on theR1 The twisted sector of the orbifold29814 A look at relativistic Anticommuting variables and World-sheet Neveu Schwarz Ramond in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory .

10 Second EditionBarton ZwiebachFrontmatterMore informationxContents Counting Open Closed String theories322 Part II Developments32915 D-branes and gauge Dp-branes and boundary Quantizing open strings on Open strings between parallel Strings between parallel Dp- and Dq-branes34516 String charge and electric Fundamental String Visualizing String Strings ending on D-brane charges37017 T-duality of closed Duality symmetries and Winding closed Left movers and right Quantization and commutation Constraint and mass State space of compactified closed A striking spectrum Duality as a full quantum symmetry39418 T-duality of open T-duality and (1) gauge Wilson lines on Open strings and Wilson lines41019 Electromagnetic fields on Maxwell fields coupling to open D-branes with electric D-branes with magnetic fields42320 Nonlinear and Born Infeld The framework of nonlinear Born Infeld Born Infeld Theory and in this web service Cambridge University PressCambridge University Press978-0-521-88032-9 - A First Course in String Theory .