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String Theory, Vol. 2 : Superstring Theory and Beyond (Cambridge
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 530.14
EAN: 9780521633048
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0521633044
Label: Cambridge University Press
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 552
Publication Date: October 13, 1998
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Studio: Cambridge University Press
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Editorial Review:
Volume 2: Superstring Theory and Beyond, begins with an introduction to supersymmetric string theories and goes on to a broad presentation of the important advances of recent years. The book first introduces the type I, type II, and heterotic superstring theories and their interactions. It then goes on to present important recent discoveries about strongly coupled strings, beginning with a detailed treatment of D-branes and their dynamics, and covering string duality, M-theory, and black hole entropy, and discusses many classic results in conformal field theory. The final four chapters are concerned with four-dimensional string theories, and have two goals: to show how some of the simplest string models connect with previous ideas for unifying the Standard Model; and to collect many important and beautiful general results on world-sheet and spacetime symmetries.
String theory has advanced rapidly over the last 15 years and is increasingly seen as the best, and perhaps only, route to the complete unification of the four fundamental forces--the so-called "theory of everything". This text provides, in two volumes, a thoroughly modern and comprehensive introduction to strings and superstrings, and brings the reader up to date on the latest developments in string duality, M-theory, D-branes, and the application of string theory to black hole quantum mechanics. The author is one of the world's top string theorists, and is also known as a clear and cogent writer. The two volumes are written at a level appropriate to graduate students in physics. This is the first major textbook on strings since the two volume work of Green, Schwartz and Witten 10 years ago (which sold extraordinarily well, reprinting within a month of publication). The main market for the book is theoretical physicists, particle physicists, astrophysicists, cosmologists and applied mathematicians. However, this is an accessible book on one of the most fundamental questions in physics by a top researcher. It has all the ingredients to be a best seller.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The definitive introduction to String Theory
I used Polchinski Vol I and II to learn String Theory for my PhD thesis. Vol I covers the basics, using the bosonic string to quantize, and Vol II starts off with the perturbative type II and heterotic strings and soon moves on to nonperturbative string theory, elegantly summarizing the dualities, D-branes (which of course Polchinski discovered), Calabi-Yau compactifications, flop transitions etc. Vol II is essentially a reference for modern string theory. The chapter on advanced CFT is wonderfuly ... Read More
Rating: - Great book, wish there was more
This book picks up for Volume I left off. Supersymmetry is added to strings, more symmetries are presented, string theory phenomenology is described and many topics introduced in Volume I are developed in more detail. The quality is as good as it was in the previous volume and I think this book is essential reading for anyone attempting to master string theory.
The main addition in this volume is the expanded coverage of supersymmetry. In brief, the early chapter topics include the relation ... Read More
Rating:  - Fair exposition
In the second volume of the series the author generalizes the results of the first to string theories where supersymmetry is present. The mathematics introduced is non-rigorous, and the strategy is to see how much of the formalism for the bosonic case can be carried over to the case where fermions are present. The book is purely an exposition on the subject of string theory, and so no attempt is made to give the reader an in-depth explanation of the ideas and concepts in this area. This is particularly noticeable ... Read More
Rating: - Currently one of the standards
Polchinski's book on string theory is a very well written book about the subject. Also, the problems given in the book are valuable for a further understanding. Using it together with the book by Green, Schwarz, Witten one will afterwards have indeed little problems understanding the papers on this subject. However one caveat: if one reads this book, he or she shoudl be always aware that this topic is still deeply a research subject and by no means settled like mechanics. If this is always kept in mind, then this ... Read More
Rating: - Perfect book!
Reading this book is the easiest way to become familiar with various topics that seemed to be extremely difficult before. The reader then shouldn't have any problems with understanding current research papers.
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