This is a comprehensive 1998 account of supersymmetric strings, for graduate students and researchers.

Klappentext Available for the first time in paperback, String Theory comprises two volumes which give an up-to-date, comprehensive and pedagogic account of the subject. Volume 1 provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string. The first four chapters introduce the central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory and of the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. The next three chapters treat string interactions: the general formalism, and detailed treatments of the tree level and one loop amplitudes. Chapter eight covers toroidal compactification and many important aspects of string physics, such as T-duality and D-branes. Chapter nine treats higher-order amplitudes, including an analysis of their finiteness and unitarity, and various nonperturbative ideas. An appendix giving a short course on path integral methods is included. This is an essential text and reference for graduate students and researchers interested in modern superstring theory. Zusammenfassung This 1998 volume provides a comprehensive account of the bosonic string! introducing the central ideas of string theory! based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. This is an essential text and reference for graduate students and researchers interested in modern superstring theory. Inhaltsverzeichnis Foreword; Preface; Notation; 1. A first look at strings; 2. Conformal field theory; 3. The Polyakov path integral; 4. The string spectrum; 5. The string S-matrix; 6. Tree-level amplitudes; 7. One-loop amplitudes; 8. Toroidal compactification and T-duality; 9. Higher order amplitudes; Appendix A: a short course on path integrals; References; Glossary; Index.

Zusammenfassung
This 1998 volume provides a comprehensive account of the bosonic string, introducing the central ideas of string theory, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. This is an essential text and reference for graduate students and researchers interested in modern superstring theory.

Inhalt

Foreword; Preface; Notation; 1. A first look at strings; 2. Conformal field theory; 3. The Polyakov path integral; 4. The string spectrum; 5. The string S-matrix; 6. Tree-level amplitudes; 7. One-loop amplitudes; 8. Toroidal compactification and T-duality; 9. Higher order amplitudes; Appendix A: a short course on path integrals; References; Glossary; Index.