String Theory (Winter Term 24/25)

Lecturer: A. Hebecker , Time and Location: Tue 11-13, Thu 11-13, Philosophenweg 19, Seminar Room

with Tutorials (Wed 16-18, starting 2nd week of teaching period, same location), Tutor: Thibaut Coudarchet

Problem sheets can be found here

Notes:

1 - Introduction

2 - Classical bosonic string

3 - Old covariant quantization - basic setup

4 - Old covariant quantization - construction of states

5 - Light cone quantization - basic setup

6 - Normal ordering constant and Casimir energy

7 - Light cone quantization - Fock space and symmetries

8 - Modern covariant quantization - Path integral

9 - Modern covariant quantization - BRST

10 - Conformal field theory - basics

11 - Conformal field theory - Primaries, central charge, state-operator correspondence

12 - Scattering amplitudes

13 - Supersymmetry on the worldsheet

14 - Quantizing the superstring

15 - Consistent superstring theories

16 - Kaluza-Klein compactifications, dualities, AdS/CFT, towards the real world, worldsheet beta functions

Literature:

Blumenhagen / Luest / Theisen: Basic Concepts of String theory, 2012

M.B. Green, J.H. Schwarz, E. Witten: Superstring Theory I and II, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1987 ("Klassiker")

J. Polchinski: String Theory I and II, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998

D. Luest, S. Theisen: Lectures on String Theory, Springer, 1989

B. Zwiebach: A First Course in String Theory, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004

P. West: Introduction to Strings and Branes

M. Dine: SUSY and Strings

M. Kaku: Introduction to Superstrings and M-Theory, Springer, 1999

D. Bailin and A. Love, Supersymmetric Gauge Field Theory and String Theory, IOP Publishing, 1994

Dirac: Lectures on Quantum Mechanics

Henneaux/Teitelboim: Quantization of Gauge Systems

Wipf: Hamilton's formalism for systems with constraints

Matschull: Dirac's Canonical Quantization Programme

Blumenhagen / Plauschinn: Introduction to Conformal Field Theory, 2009

Di Francesco / Mathieu / Senechal: Conformal Field Theory, 1997

P. Ginsparg: Applied Conformal Field Theory

D. Tong: Lectures on String Theory

C.V. Johnson: D-brane primer

T. Mohaupt: Introduction to String Theory

E. Kiritsis: Introduction to Superstring Theory

Vorlesungsskript of T. Weigand (Heidelberg)

Vorlesungsskript of C. Ewerz (Heidelberg)

Notes of a previous, similar course:

1 - Introduction/motivation + 2 - Classical bosonic string

3 - (Covariant) canonical quantization

4 - (Covariant) canonical quantization - continued

5 - Light-cone quantization

6 - Modern covariant quantization - path integral

7 - Modern covariant quantization - BRST

8 - CFT - I

9 - CFT - II

10 - Scattering amplitudes

11 - World sheet supersymmetry

12 - Quantization of the superstring

13 - Consistent superstring theories

14 - String phenomenology

Notes of an even older course:

1 - Introduction

2 - The Classical Bosonic String

3 - Old Covariant Quantization

4 - Light Cone Quantization

5 - Modern Covariant Quantization

6 - Conformal Field Theory

7 - String Amplitudes   extra: ps version

8 - World Sheet Supersymmetry

9 - Quantization of the Superstring

10 - Consistent Superstring Theories I (type IIA, IIB and I)

11 - Consistent Superstring Theories II (heterotic)

12 - Low-Energy Effective Field Theories

13 - Calabi-Yau Compactifications

14 - Filling Some Gaps and Final Remarks (vertex operators, Veneziano amplitude, beta-functions, M theory)