Courses:

String Theory for Undergraduates >> Content Detail



Syllabus



Syllabus

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Prerequisites


8.033 (Relativity), 8.044 (Statistical Physics I), and 8.05 (Quantum Physics II).



Textbook


Amazon logo Zwiebach, Barton. A First Course in String Theory. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780521831437.



Additional Reference


A new readable book at the graduate level is:

Amazon logo Becker, Katrin, Melanie Becker, and John H. Schwarz. String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521860697.



Homework


There will be weekly homework. No late homework will be accepted. Students will be able to drop one homework - the one with the lowest grade - from their record.



Tests


There will be two tests and a final exam.



Grading



ACTIVITIESPERCENTAGES
Homework35%
Test 120%
Test 220%
Final exam25%



Calendar



SES #TOPICSKEY DATES
1

Announcements, introduction

Lorentz transformations

Light-cone coordinates

2

Energy and momentum

Compact dimensions, orbifolds

Quantum mechanics and the square well

3

Relativistic electrodynamics

Gauss' law

Gravitation and Planck's length

Homework 1 due
4Gravitational potentials, compactification, and large extra dimensions
5Nonrelativistic strings and lagrangian mechanicsHomework 2 due
6The relativistic point particle: Action, reparametrizations, and equations of motion
7Area formula for spatial surfacesHomework 3 due
8Area formula for spatial surfaces (cont.)
9Change of variablesHomework 4 due
10Relativistic strings: Nambu-Goto action, equations of motion and boundary conditionsHomework 5 due
11

Static gauge, transverse velocity, and string action

Motion of free open string endpoints

12

The sigma-parametrization

Equations of motion and virasoro constraints

General motion for open strings

Rotating open strings

Homework 6 due
Test 1
13

Periodicity conditions for the motion of closed strings

The formation of cusps

Conserved currents in E&M

Conserved charges in lagrangian mechanics

14

Momentum charges for the string

Lorentz charges for the strings

Angular momentum of the rotating string

Discuss alpha' and the string length l_s

General gauges: fixing tau and natural units

Homework 7 due
15Solution of the open string motion in the light-cone gauge
16Light-cone fields and particles
17Light-cone fields and particles (cont.)Homework 8 due
18Open stringsHomework 9 due
19

Critical dimension

Constructing the state space

Tachyons

20Closed stringsHomework 10 due
21

Wrap-up of closed strings

Superstrings

Test 2
22Superstrings (cont.)
23

Closed strings

Heterotic string theory

24

Dp-branes

Parallel Dp's

Homework 11 due
25Dp-branes (cont.)
26Final exam review
Final exam week

 








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