Lectures on String Theory

This book provides a self-contained introduction to string theory, at present one of the most exciting and fastest-growing areas in theoretical high-energy physics. Pedagogical in character, it introduces modern techniques and concepts, such as conformal and superconformal field theory, Kac-Moody algebras, etc., stressing their relevance and application to string theory rather than the formal aspects. The reader is led from a basic discussion of the classical bosonic string to the construction of four-dimensional heterotic string models, an area of current research. The so-called covariant lattice construction is discussed in detail. Being conceptually very simple, the book serves to exemplify the relevant features of other methods of arriving at four-dimensional string theories. It is also shown how one derives a low-energy field theory from string theory, thereby making contact with conventional point-particle physics.

Autorentext
Prof. Dr. Dieter Lüst, geboren 1956 in Chicago, ist Leiter des Arnold-Sommerfeld-Instituts für theoretische Physik an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Direktor am Max-Planck-Institut für Physik in München. Er ist einer der führenden Stringtheoretiker in Deutschland und wurde im Jahr 2000 mit dem Leibniz-Preis der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft ausgezeichnet.

Inhalt
The classical bosonic string.- The quantized bosonic string.- to conformal field theory.- Reparametrization ghosts and BRST quantization.- Global aspects of string perturbation theory and riemann surfaces.- The classical closed fermionic string.- The quantized closed fermionic string.- Spin structures and superstring partition function.- Toroidal compactification of the closed bosonic string 10-dimensional heterotic string.- Conformal field theory II: Lattices and Kac-Moody algebras.- Conformal field theory III: Superconformal field theory.- Bosonization of the fermionic string Covariant lattices.- Heterotic strings in ten and four dimensions.- Low energy field theory.