String theory made understandable. Barton Zwiebach is once again faithful to his goal of making string theory accessible to undergraduates. He presents the main concepts of string theory in a concrete and physical way to develop intuition before formalism, often through simplified and illustrative examples. Complete and thorough in its coverage, this new edition now includes AdS/CFT correspondence and introduces superstrings. It is perfectly suited to introductory courses in string theory for students with a background in mathematics and physics. New sections cover strings on orbifolds, cosmic strings, moduli stabilization, and the string theory landscape. Now with almost 300 problems and exercises, with password-protected solutions for instructors at www.cambridge.org/zwiebach.

The essential beginner's guide to string theory The Little Book of String Theory offers a short, accessible, and entertaining introduction to one of the most talked-about areas of physics today. String theory has been called the "theory of everything." It seeks to describe all the fundamental forces of nature. It encompasses gravity and quantum mechanics in one unifying theory. But it is unproven and fraught with controversy. After reading this book, you'll be able to draw your own conclusions about string theory. Steve Gubser begins by explaining Einstein's famous equation E = mc2, quantum mechanics, and black holes. He then gives readers a crash course in string theory and the core ideas behind it. In plain English and with a minimum of mathematics, Gubser covers strings, branes, string dualities, extra dimensions, curved spacetime, quantum fluctuations, symmetry, and supersymmetry. He describes efforts to link string theory to experimental physics and uses analogies that nonscientists can understand. How does Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu relate to quantum mechanics? What would it be like to fall into a black hole? Why is dancing a waltz similar to contemplating a string duality? Find out in the pages of this book. The Little Book of String Theory is the essential, most up-to-date beginner's guide to this elegant, multidimensional field of physics.

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

A complete overview of quantum mechanics, covering essential concepts and results, theoretical foundations, and applications. This undergraduate textbook offers a comprehensive overview of quantum mechanics, beginning with essential concepts and results, proceeding through the theoretical foundations that provide the field’s conceptual framework, and concluding with the tools and applications students will need for advanced studies and for research. Drawn from lectures created for MIT undergraduates and for the popular MITx online course, “Mastering Quantum Mechanics,” the text presents the material in a modern and approachable manner while still including the traditional topics necessary for a well-rounded understanding of the subject. As the book progresses, the treatment gradually increases in difficulty, matching students’ increasingly sophisticated understanding of the material. • Part 1 covers states and probability amplitudes, the Schrödinger equation, energy eigenstates of particles in potentials, the hydrogen atom, and spin one-half particles • Part 2 covers mathematical tools, the pictures of quantum mechanics and the axioms of quantum mechanics, entanglement and tensor products, angular momentum, and identical particles. • Part 3 introduces tools and techniques that help students master the theoretical concepts with a focus on approximation methods. • 236 exercises and 286 end-of-chapter problems • 248 figures

Providing a pedagogical introduction to the rapidly developing field of AdS/CFT correspondence, this is one of the first texts to provide an accessible introduction to all the necessary concepts needed to engage with the methods, tools and applications of AdS/CFT. Without assuming anything beyond an introductory course in quantum field theory, it begins by guiding the reader through the basic concepts of field theory and gauge theory, general relativity, supersymmetry, supergravity, string theory and conformal field theory, before moving on to give a clear and rigorous account of AdS/CFT correspondence. The final section discusses the more specialised applications, including QCD, quark-gluon plasma and condensed matter. This book is self-contained and learner-focused, featuring numerous exercises and examples. It is essential reading for both students and researchers across the fields of particle, nuclear and condensed matter physics.

This is a textbook that derives the fundamental theories of physics from symmetry. It starts by introducing, in a completely self-contained way, all mathematical tools needed to use symmetry ideas in physics. Thereafter, these tools are put into action and by using symmetry constraints, the fundamental equations of Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Field Theory, Electromagnetism, and Classical Mechanics are derived. As a result, the reader is able to understand the basic assumptions behind, and the connections between the modern theories of physics. The book concludes with first applications of the previously derived equations. Thanks to the input of readers from around the world, this second edition has been purged of typographical errors and also contains several revised sections with improved explanations.

A concise and pedagogical introduction to string theory for graduate students featuring examples and homework problems.

String theory is one of the most exciting and challenging areas of modern theoretical physics. This book guides the reader from the basics of string theory to recent developments. It introduces the basics of perturbative string theory, world-sheet supersymmetry, space-time supersymmetry, conformal field theory and the heterotic string, before describing modern developments, including D-branes, string dualities and M-theory. It then covers string geometry and flux compactifications, applications to cosmology and particle physics, black holes in string theory and M-theory, and the microscopic origin of black-hole entropy. It concludes with Matrix theory, the AdS/CFT duality and its generalizations. This book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in modern string theory, and will make an excellent textbook for a one-year course on string theory. It contains over 120 exercises with solutions, and over 200 homework problems with solutions available on a password protected website for lecturers at www.cambridge.org/9780521860697.

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.

A run-away bestseller from the moment it hit the market in late 1999. This impressive, thick softcover offers mathematicians and mathematical physicists the opportunity to learn about the beautiful and difficult subjects of quantum field theory and string theory. Cover features an intriguing cartoon that will bring a smile to its intended audience.