Field Theory Quantum Gravity And Strings Ii

This book takes a pedagogical approach to explaining quantum gravity, supersymmetry and string theory in a coherent way. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers in quantum field theory and high-energy physics. The first part of the book introduces quantum gravity, without requiring previous knowledge of general relativity (GR). The necessary geometrical aspects are derived afresh leading to explicit general Lagrangians for gravity, including that of general relativity. The quantum aspect of gravitation, as described by the graviton, is introduced and perturbative quantum GR is discussed. The Schwinger-DeWitt formalism is developed to compute the one-loop contribution to the theory and renormalizability aspects of the perturbative theory are also discussed. This follows by introducing only the very basics of a non-perturbative, background-independent, formulation of quantum gravity, referred to as “loop quantum gravity”, which gives rise to a quantization of space. In the second part the author introduces supersymmetry and its consequences. The generation of superfields is represented in detail. Supersymmetric generalizations of Maxwell’s Theory as well as of Yang-Mills field theory, and of the standard model are worked out. Spontaneous symmetry breaking, improvement of the divergence problem in supersymmetric field theory, and its role in the hierarchy problem are covered. The unification of the fundamental constants in a supersymmetric version of the standard model are then studied. Geometrical aspects necessary to study supergravity are developed culminating in the derivation of its full action. The third part introduces string theory and the analysis of the spectra of the mass (squared) operator associated with the oscillating strings. The properties of the underlying fields, associated with massless particles, encountered in string theory are studied in some detail. Elements of compactification, duality and D-branes are given, as well of the generation of vertices and interactions of strings. In the final sections, the author shows how to recover GR and the Yang-Mills field Theory from string theory.

The present volume Field Theory, Quantum Gravity and Strings, II comprises for the lectures delivered in 1985/86 at a joint seminar of the DAPHE observatory at Meudon and the LPTHE University Paris VI. This set of lectures contains selected topics of current interest in field and particle theory, cosmology and statistical mechanics. Basic problems of string and superstring theory are treated in a contemporary perspective, and quantum field theoretical as well as string approaches to cosmology are presented. Recent progress on integrable theories and related subjects in two, four and more dimensions is reviewed. This seminar on current developments in mathematical physics addresses researchers as well as graduate students.

One appealing feature of string theory is that it provides a theory of quantum gravity. Gravity and Strings is a self-contained, pedagogical exposition of this theory, its foundations and its basic results. In Part I, the foundations are traced back to the very early special-relativistic field theories of gravity, showing how such theories lead to general relativity. Gauge theories of gravity are then discussed and used to introduce supergravity theories. In Part II, some of the most interesting solutions of general relativity and its generalizations are studied. The final Part presents and studies string theory from the effective action point of view, using the results found earlier in the book as background. This 2004 book will be useful as a reference book for graduate students and researchers, as well as a complementary textbook for courses on gravity, supergravity and string theory.

A fully updated edition of the classic text by acclaimed physicist A. Zee Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available. This expanded edition features several additional chapters, as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading. The most accessible and comprehensive introductory textbook available Features a fully revised, updated, and expanded text Covers the latest exciting advances in the field Includes new exercises Offers a one-of-a-kind resource for students and researchers Leading universities that have adopted this book include: Arizona State University Boston University Brandeis University Brown University California Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon College of William & Mary Cornell Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Northwestern University Ohio State University Princeton University Purdue University - Main Campus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rutgers University - New Brunswick Stanford University University of California - Berkeley University of Central Florida University of Chicago University of Michigan University of Montreal University of Notre Dame Vanderbilt University Virginia Tech University

The Cargese Workshop "Quantum Field Theory and String Theory" was held from May 10 to May 21, 1993. The broad spectrum of the work presented at the Workshop was the reflec tion of a time of intensive search for new ways of solving some of the most fun damental problems in string theory, quantum gravity and non-perturbative field theory. A number of talks indicated the emergence of new promising domains of investigation. It is this very diversity of topics which, in our opinion, represents one of the most attractive features of the present volume which we hope will provide a good orientation in the abundant flow of ideas and publications in modern quantum field theory. Many contributions to the present proceedings are concerned with two di mensional quantum field theory. The continuous advances in the domain of two dimensional integrable theories on the lattice as well as in the continuum, including conformal field theories, Liouville field theory and matrix models of two dimensional quantum gravity are very well represented. Other papers address physically realistic (and therefore very complicated) problems like de veloped turbulence, the Hofstadter problem, higher dimensional gravity and phenomenological strings. A new elegant class of topological field theories is presented. New ideas in the string representation of multicolor quantum chromo dynamics were widely discussed at the Workshop, more particularly the example of the exactly solvable two dimensional case.

Self-contained and comprehensive, this definitive new edition provides a complete overview of the intersection of gravity, supergravity, and superstrings.

Describes random geometry and applications to strings, quantum gravity, topological field theory and membrane physics.

The discovery of a duality between Anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) and Conformal Field Theories (CFT) has led to major advances in our understanding of quantum field theory and quantum gravity. String theory methods and AdS/CFT correspondence maps provide new ways to think about difficult condensed matter problems. String theory methods based on the AdS/CFT correspondence allow us to transform problems so they have weak interactions and can be solved more easily. They can also help map problems to different descriptions, for instance mapping the description of a fluid using the Navier-Stokes equations to the description of an event horizon of a black hole using Einstein's equations. This textbook covers the applications of string theory methods and the mathematics of AdS/CFT to areas of condensed matter physics. Bridging the gap between string theory and condensed matter, this is a valuable textbook for students and researchers in both fields.