Introduction to Strings and Branes

By Peter West and Peter West

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1009434098
• ISBN13: 9781009434096
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 722 Pages
• Weight: 2.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.7" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Question was answered.

This book is just too genuine. We are constantly bombarded with pseudoscience or simplistic physics. And even when we study the real thing in class, they never quite bother to explain Strings and Branes without relying on colorful metaphors. Even though this book is just an introduction, I don’t need to go further. It hits the ground running and provides substantive formulas. I have to admit that some of the terms are just now becoming familiar to me, so while some people keep a dictionary nearby while reading, I find I need an encyclopedia. Warning: Your world is about to change as you work through each chapter, and you can never go back to what they never taught you in school. You are only as good as the tools you use, and this book cannot be better than its author. So, like all books, it's important to know a little about who researched and wrote it. There are more detailed descriptions of Professor Peter West FRS, “Professor in Theoretical Physics” at King’s College, London. The book may someday have an electronic version, but for now, it's a delight to hold for any lover of “real” books. It’s a hardcover with nice white, acid-free-looking paper. The type is crisp and clear, making the formulas easy to read. There are a few monochrome diagrams. All the reference sources are listed in the book. Each chapter provides thorough information without the hokey questions found in many textbooks. You will find this book a keeper. After perusing from front to back, you will want to keep this as a reference. For those who simply must know The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, this is an excellent place to begin.