A comprehensive introduction to the mathematical description of strings, D-branes and the geometry of strongly curved spacetime.

Boundary conformal field theory is concerned with a class of two-dimensional quantum field theories which display a rich mathematical structure and have many applications ranging from string theory to condensed matter physics. In particular, the framework allows discussion of strings and branes directly at the quantum level. Written by internationally renowned experts, this comprehensive introduction to boundary conformal field theory reaches from theoretical foundations to recent developments, with an emphasis on the algebraic treatment of string backgrounds. Topics covered include basic concepts in conformal field theory with and without boundaries, the mathematical description of strings and D-branes, and the geometry of strongly curved spacetime. The book offers insights into string geometry that go beyond classical notions. Describing the theory from basic concepts, and providing numerous worked examples from conformal field theory and string theory, this reference is of interest to graduate students and researchers in physics and mathematics.

This 2017 volume, now reissued as OA, provides an accessible, detailed introduction to instanton methods and their many applications.

This volume summarizes the many modified theories of gravity and shows how to select physically viable models using symmetry principles.

First published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to show how two of its predictions arise: first, that the ultimate fate of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse to form 'black holes'; and second, that there was a singularity in the past at the beginning of the universe. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory, including the necessary differential geometry, the authors discuss the significance of space-time curvature and examine the properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations. They develop the theory of the causal structure of a general space-time, and use it to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singularities under certain conditions. A Foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new Preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context of the developments in the field over the past fifty years.

This volume, 106 of the Les Houches Summer School series, brings together applications of integrability to supersymmetric gauge and string theory. The book focuses on the application of integrability and problems in quantum field theory. Particular emphasis is given to the exact solution of planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory and its relation with string theory on the one hand, and the exact determination of the low-energy physics of N=2 super-Yang-Mills theories on the other; links with other domains are also explored. The purpose of the Les Houches Summer School was to bring together young researchers and specialists from statistical physics, condensed matter physics, gauge and string theory, and mathematics, to stimulate discussion across these different research areas.

The possibility that we live in a higher-dimensional world with spatial dimensions greater than three started with the early work of Kaluza and Klein. However, in addressing experimental constraints, early model-builders were forced to compactify these extra dimensions to very tiny scales. With the development of brane-world scenarios it became possible to consider novel compactifications which allow the extra dimensions to be large or to provide observable effects of these dimensions at experimentally accessible energy scales. This book provides a comprehensive account of these recent developments, keeping the high-energy physics implications in focus. After an historical survey of the idea of extra dimensions, the book deals in detail with models of large extra dimensions, warped extra dimensions and other models such as universal extra dimensions. The theoretical and phenomenological implications are discussed in a pedagogical manner for both researchers and graduate students.

This accessible volume provides a modern treatment of the cosmological and string-theoretic background necessary to understand inflation in string theory.

Presents a powerful new framework for out-of-equilibrium hydrodynamics, with connections to kinetic theory, AdS/CFT and applications to high-energy particle collisions.

Recent cosmological observations have posed a challenge for traditional theories of gravity: what is the force driving the accelerated expansion of the universe? What if dark energy or dark matter do not exist and what we observe is a modification of the gravitational interaction that dominates the universe at large scales? Various extensions to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity have been proposed, and this book presents a detailed theoretical and phenomenological analysis of several leading, modified theories of gravity. Theories with generalised curvature-matter couplings are first explored, followed by hybrid metric-Palatini gravity. This timely book first discusses key motivations behind the development of these modified gravitational theories, before presenting a detailed overview of their subsequent development, mathematical structure, and cosmological and astrophysical implications. Covering recent developments and with an emphasis on astrophysical and cosmological applications, this is the perfect text for graduate students and researchers.