String Theory in a Nutshell: Second Edition

The essential introduction to modern string theory―now fully expanded and revised

String Theory in a Nutshell is the definitive introduction to modern string theory. Written by one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject, this concise and accessible book starts with basic definitions and guides readers from classic topics to the most exciting frontiers of research today. It covers perturbative string theory, the unity of string interactions, black holes and their microscopic entropy, the AdS/CFT correspondence and its applications, matrix model tools for string theory, and more. It also includes 600 exercises and serves as a self-contained guide to the literature.

This fully updated edition features an entirely new chapter on flux compactifications in string theory, and the chapter on AdS/CFT has been substantially expanded by adding many applications to diverse topics. In addition, the discussion of conformal field theory has been extensively revised to make it more student-friendly.

• The essential one-volume reference for students and researchers in theoretical high-energy physics
  
• Now fully expanded and revised
  
• Provides expanded coverage of AdS/CFT and its applications, namely the holographic renormalization group, holographic theories for Yang-Mills and QCD, nonequilibrium thermal physics, finite density physics, and entanglement entropy
  
• Ideal for mathematicians and physicists specializing in theoretical cosmology, QCD, and novel approaches to condensed matter systems
  
• An online illustration package is available to professors
  

Elias Kiritsis is director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research and professor of physics at the University of Crete.