Basic Concepts of String Theory

by Ralph Blumenhagen, Dieter Lüst, Stefan Theisen

The purpose of this book is to thoroughly prepare the reader for research in string theory at an intermediate level.  As such it is not a compendium of results but intended as textbook in the sense that most of the material is organized in a pedagogical and self-contained fashion.
  
Beyond the basics, a number of more advanced topics are introduced, such as conformal field theory, superstrings and string dualities - the text does not cover applications to black hole physics and cosmology, nor strings theory at finite temperatures.

End-of-chapter references have been added to guide the reader wishing to pursue further studies or to start research in well-defined topics covered by this book.

Genres: Physics, Science, Mathematics

796 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2012

Reviews

[Kevin K. Gillette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess that I was a tad misled by the title and by the available descriptions on-line. String theory is certainly not for the faint of heart, but there are much gentler ways to introduce the interested student to this topic. For example, Barton Zwiebach's seminal text on the elements of string theory, "A First Course In String Theory," is an excellent entrée to this subject.

Once you've read that, however, this book really kicks it into gear in a big way, and in a helpful way. This tome covers all but the highest-level of topics - M-theories, black holes, and so on - and does so with innumerable examples. Be forewarned: You'd better be awfully familiar with tensor algebra, algebraic topology, and most of the foundation concepts of general relativity before diving into this heady textbook.

As an aside, I was both amused and bemused (a hard thing to do simultaneously) by the ironic juxtaposition of the title - Basic Concepts of String Theory - and the size of the text - 720+ pages (!). It reminded me of the time I acquired an outstanding survey text entitled "Basic Inorganic Chemistry," which tips the scale at over 1000 pages. I'm not sure these authors had irony in mind, but they achieved it nevertheless.

[albin james · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three waitresses all wearing
Black diamond earrings
Talking about zombies
and Singapore slings
No trouble in their faces
Not one anxious voice
None of the crazy you get
From too much choice
The thumb and the satchel
Or the rented Rolls-Royce
And you think she knows something
By the second refill
You think she's enlightened
As she totals your bill
You say "show me the way
To Barangrill"

Well some say it's in service
They say "humble makes pure"
You're hoping it's near Folly
'Cause you're headed that way for sure
And you just have to laugh
'Cause it's all so crazy
Her mind's on her boyfriend
And eggs over easy
It's just a trick on you
Her mirrors and your will
So you ask the truck driver
On the way to the till
But he's just a slave
To Barangrill

The guy at the gaspumps
He's got a lot of soul
He sings Merry Christmas for you
Just like Nat King Cole
And he makes up his own tune
Right on the spot
About whitewalls and windshields
And this job he's got
And you want to get moving
And you want to stay still
But lost in the moment
Some longing gets filled
And you even forget to ask
"Hey, Where's Barangrill?"

- Joni Mitchell