Introduction to strings and branes. (Q2888984)

This most recent textbook on string theory is also the most voluminous so far. It provides a thorough introduction to the subject in a concise style. Although formally self-contained, this book is clearly written for physicists with some knowledge in quantum field theory. Although some chapters contain advanced mathematics, the expositon is more pragmatic and interwoven than that of a mathematics textbook.NEWLINENEWLINEThe opening chapters cover the basics of string theory common to all textbooks: Starting from the point particle (including an instructive discussion of the two kinds of superparticle based on worldline and spacetime supersymmetry, respectively) the bosonic and then the superstring (mostly in the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond formulation) are introduced and quantized in the old covariant and BRST approach. Two chapters are devoted to conformal symmetry and two-dimensional field theory and their role in string theory. String compactification is discussed next, but Calabi-Yau compactifications are not included. Likewise string dualities are discussed thoroughly with the exception of AdS-CFT duality. Branes in general and D-branes in particular belong to the standard subject matter as already indicated by the title of the book. Other chapters include matters that are not so standard such as the so-called gauge-covariant string theory (a version of string field theory), a detailed discussion of supergravity theories and, most prominently, infinite-dimensional generalizations of Lie algebras and their relationship with the duality symmetries of string theory, culminating in an account of the author's conjecture on the role of \(E_{11}\) in an as yet not completed fundamental theory of strings and branes. String interactions in the path integral, group theoretical and string field theory approaches constitute the topic of the final chapter.NEWLINENEWLINEIn summary, the book is highly readable for physicists (despite occasional typographic mistakes) and as such suitable both for self-study and -- due to its encyclopedic character -- as a reference work.