A First Course in String Theory - Hardcover

Zwiebach, Barton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521831431 ISBN 13: 9780521831437

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2004

Synopsis

An accessible introduction to string theory, this book provides a detailed and self-contained demonstration of the main concepts involved. The first part deals with basic ideas, reviewing special relativity and electromagnetism while introducing the concept of extra dimensions. D-branes and the classical dynamics of relativistic strings are discussed next, and the quantization of open and closed bosonic strings in the light-cone gauge, along with a brief introduction to superstrings. The second part begins with a detailed study of D-branes followed by string thermodynamics. It discusses possible physical applications, and covers T-duality of open and closed strings, electromagnetic fields on D-branes, Born/Infeld electrodynamics, covariant string quantization and string interactions. Primarily aimed as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, it will also be ideal for a wide range of scientists and mathematicians who are curious about string theory.

About this title

About the Author

Barton Zwiebach is Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His central contributions have been in the area of string field theory, where he did the early work on the construction of the field theory of open strings and then developed the field theory of closed strings. He has also made important contributions to the subjects of D-branes with exceptional symmetry and tachyon condensation.

Review

"Zwiebach makes an explicit attempt to be accessible to undergraduate students." Donald Marolf, University of California Santa Barbara, American Journal of Physics

"There is a great curiosity about string theory, not only among physics undergraduates but also among professional scientists outside of the field. This audience needs a text that goes much further than the popular accounts but without the full technical detail of a graduate text. Zwiebach's book meets this need in a clear and accessible manner. It is well-grounded in familiar physical concepts, and proceeds through some of the most timely and exciting aspects of the subject." Professor Joseph Polchinski, University of California, Santa Barbara

"A refreshingly different approach to string theory that requires remarkably little previous knowledge of quantum theory or relativity. This highlights fundamental features of the theory that make it so radically different from theories based on point-like particles. This book makes the subject amenable to undergraduates but it will also appeal greatly to beginning researchers who may be overwhelmed by the standard textbooks. Furthermore, all of this is accomplished with great elegance in a single volume." Professor Michael Green, University of Cambridge

"Barton Zwiebach has written a careful and thorough introduction to string theory that is suitable for a full-year course at the advanced undergraduate level. There has been much demand for a book about string theory at this level, and this one should go a long way towards meeting that demand." Professor John Schwarz, California Institute of Technology

"Zwiebach every now and then takes some nice and surprising angles on well-known and lesser-known results, so even if you are already way past the basics, it might be well worth taking a look at this book." American Mathematical Society Reviews

"Zwiebach presents the topics with the clarity and contagious enthusiasm of an outstanding expositor and pedagogue who knows what sorts of difficulties students face when tackling theories in higher dimensions..." Physics Today, Marcelo Gleiser

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521831431
• ISBN 13: 9780521831437
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 558