String Theory - 2º Semester 2011/2012

Lecturer: Gabriel Lopes Cardoso
Email: gcardoso@math.ist.utl.pt
Gabinete: Departamento de Matemática, 3 º piso, sala 3.16
Classes: Wednesday 16h-18h (room P9) & Friday 16h-18h (room P1)

Program

Goal: Introduce the basic notions of string theory, together with an introduction to selected advanced research topics.

Bosonic Strings: Polyakov action, covariant quantization, open strings and closed strings; S-matrix, tree-level and one-loop amplitudes; Riemann surfaces and CFT.

D-Branes and Dualities: Toroidal compactication, closed strings and T-duality; Orbifolds; D-branes, T-duality and Wilson lines; Gauge theory and Born-Infeld electrodynamics.

Superstrings: Superstrings of type I and II, Ramond and Neveu-Schwarz sectors, modular invariance and GSO projection; Superstring interactions; Calabi-Yau compacti cations.

More on D-Branes and Dualities: T-duality; D-brane interactions: kinematics, dynamics and bound states; S-duality, U-duality, M-theory and other dualities; Black holes and AdS/CFT.

Topological String Theory: Chern-Simons theory; Kaehler and Calabi-Yau geometry; Topological models, A and B models; Mirror symmetry; Large N dualities and matrix models; OSV conjecture.


Bibliography

Superstring Theory, M.B. Green, J.H. Schwarz and E. Witten, 1987, Cambridge University Press.

String Theory, Joseph Polchinski, 1998, Cambridge University Press. What is String Theory?

Quantum Fields and Strings: A Course for Mathematicians, Vol. 2, 1999, American Mathematical Society, IAS.

A First Course in String Theory, Barton Zwiebach, 2004, Cambridge University Press.

David Tong: Lectures on String Theory.

Paul Ginsparg: Applied Conformal Field Theory.


Summary

Summary