Introduction to strings and branes / Peter West.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

West, P. C. (Peter C.), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Superstring theories.

Branes.

Supersymmetry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 709 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Introduction to Strings & Branes

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Supersymmetry, strings and branes are believed to be the essential ingredients in a single unified consistent theory of physics. This book gives a detailed, step-by-step introduction to the theoretical foundations required for research in strings and branes. After a study of the different formulations of the bosonic and supersymmetric point particles, the classical and quantum bosonic and supersymmetric string theories are presented. This book includes accounts of brane dynamics and D-branes and the T, S and U duality symmetries of string theory. The historical derivation of string theory is given as well as the sum over the world-sheet approach to the interacting string. More advanced topics include string field theory and Kac-Moody symmetries. The book contains pedagogical accounts of conformal quantum field theory, supergravity theories, Clifford algebras and spinors, and Lie algebras. It is essential reading for graduate students and researchers wanting to learn strings and branes.

Contents:

Cover; Introduction to Strings and Branes; Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface; 1: The point particle; 1.1 The bosonic point particle; 1.1.1 The classical point particle and its Dirac quantisation; 1.1.2 The BRST quantization of the point particle; 1.2 The super point particle; 1.2.1 The spinning particle; 1.2.2 The Brink-Schwarz superparticle; 1.2.3 Superspace formulation of the point particle; 1.3 The twistor approach to the massless point particle; 1.3.1 Twistors in four and three dimensions; 1.3.2 The twistor point particle actions; 2: The classical bosonic string; 2.1 The dynamics

2.1.1 The closed string2.1.2 The open string; 2.2 The energy-momentum and angular momentum of the string; 2.3 A classical solution of the open string; 3: The quantum bosonic string; 3.1 The old covariant method [2.4]; 3.1.1 The open string; 3.1.2 The closed string; 3.2 The BRST approach; 3.2.1 The BRST action; 3.2.2 The world-sheet energy-momentum tensor and BRST charge; 3.2.3 The physical state condition; 4: The light-cone approach; 4.1 The classical string in the light-cone; 4.2 The quantum string in the light-cone; 4.3 Lorentz symmetry; 4.4 Light-cone string field theory

5: Clifford algebras and spinors5.1 Clifford algebras; 5.2 Clifford algebras in even dimensions; 5.3 Spinors in even dimensions; 5.4 Clifford algebras in odd dimensions; 5.5 Central charges; 5.6 Clifford algebras in space-times of arbitrary signature; 6: The classical superstring; 6.1 The Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond (NS-R) formulation; 6.1.1 The open superstring; 6.1.2 The closed superstring; 6.2 The Green-Schwarz formulation; 7: The quantum superstring; 7.1 The old covariant approach to the open superstring; 7.1.1 The NS sector; 7.1.2 The R sector; 7.2 The GSO projector for the open string [5.1]

7.3 The old covariant approach to the closed superstring8: Conformal symmetry and two-dimensional field theory; 8.1 Conformal transformations; 8.1.1 Conformal transformations in D dimensions; 8.1.2 Conformal transformations in two dimensions; 8.2 Conformally invariant two-dimensional field theories; 8.2.1 Conformally invariant two-dimensional classical theories; 8.2.2 Conformal Ward identities; 8.3 Constraints due to global conformal transformations; 8.4 Transformations of the energy-momentum tensor; 8.5 Operator product expansions; 8.6 Commutators; 8.7 Descendants

8.8 States, modes and primary fields8.9 Representations of the Virasoro algebra and minimal models; 9: Conformal symmetry and string theory; 9.1 Free field theories; 9.1.1 The free scalar; 9.1.2 The free fermion; 9.2 First order systems; 9.3 Application to string theory; 9.3.1 Mapping the string to the Riemann sphere; 9.3.2 Construction of string theories; 9.4 The free field representation of the minimal models; 10: String compactification and the heterotic string; 10.1 Compactification on a circle; 10.2 Torus compactification [10.4, 10.5]

10.3 Compactification in the presence of background fields [10.6]

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-22548-5

1-283-52826-6

1-139-04592-X

9786613840714

1-139-42251-0

1-139-42358-4

1-139-41744-4

1-139-41949-8

1-139-42153-0

OCLC:

804664483