A First Course in String Theory | Barton Zwiebach

A First Course in String Theory | Barton Zwiebach | Fantastic! A must-read.

books:

Unaccompanied Murder in Coweta C... Mad Hot Ballroom The Maya, Seventh ... A First Course in ...

	A First Course in String Theory Barton Zwiebach Cambridge University Press, 2004 - 578 pages average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

An accessible introduction to string theory, this book provides a detailed and self-contained demonstration of the main concepts involved. The first part deals with basic ideas, reviewing special relativity and electromagnetism while introducing the concept of extra dimensions. D-branes and the classical dynamics of relativistic strings are discussed next, and the quantization of open and closed bosonic strings in the light-cone gauge, along with a brief introduction to superstrings. The second part begins with a detailed study of D-branes followed by string thermodynamics. It discusses possible physical applications, and covers T-duality of open and closed strings, electromagnetic fields on D-branes, Born-Infeld electrodynamics, covariant string quantization and string interactions. Primarily aimed as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, it will also be ideal for a wide range of scientists and mathematicians who are curious about string theory.

for more information click here

An undergraduate's textbook

For any advanced undergraduate student in physics who is interested in string theory, this book is ideal. It starts off very easily, reviewing concepts of free point particle actions in special relativity and then gradually introduces classical strings, which are then quantised in the light-cone gauge. It doesn' get too technical, but it provides one with a good foundation in string theory's concepts. The topics are discussed very clearly, both in words and in formulae. At the end of the book, black holes are discussed very briefly (in connection with the Hagedoorn temperature) in an easy way, covariant quantisation (as an "improvement" on the light-cone gauge, which does not preserve Lorentz invariance all the way through), and D-branes.
This book is intended for advanced undergraduates, but for those who find beginning graduate courses in string theory too complicated at the outset, buy this one, read it and you'll probably understand more of the classics by Polchinski or Green/Schwarz/Witten. Those who have a solid knowledge of QFT might go passed this book, but it might be a good back-up for what more standard textbooks might call "trivial calculations".

for more information click here

Fantastic! A must-read.

I really cannot recommend this book more highly. The way it approaches a subject that is considered so formidable, the attention to detail, the painstakingly explicit calculations... And the fact that it doesn't just try to sell you a bunch of difficult math as a physical theory, but it actually explains the motivation of every abstract construction it introduces... Perfection! This is the way every physics book should be written. I don't know if there is a chance of this happening, but if Zwiebach ever attempts to write something similar for Field Theory, it will be a blessing.

The first half of the book is also a must read for every physicist, even if you don't know (or wish to know) about string theory. It includes among other things, a truly incredible way to explain the number of degrees of freedom of quantum fields depending on their spin, using light-cone coordinates to write the equations of motion. I haven't seen this anywhere else. This is the way this topic should be taught in field theory courses and I wonder why it isn't more widely used. The book is generally full of such "this really makes sense" kind of epiphanies that will help you understand more fully other things that you used to find confusing or poorly explained elsewhere.

One of the best physics books ever. Really makes one wonder what is wrong with most of the other physics authors.

for more information click here

String Theory is Tough

This is a wonderful book for someone just learning string theory. I'm trying to do all the problems and many of them are quite tough (I have a PhD in physics.) The thought
that these problems are assigned to undergraduates at MIT is somewhat depressing - either I'm getting senile or they are awesomely talented. Maybe a little of both.
I wish I could get a hold of the solutions (which are available to instructors). Many of the problems teach things about theoretical physics IN GENERAL which I wish I had learned
as an undergraduate (or even as a grad student.)
One of the negatives in struggling with this material is the thought that string theory is really just a step toward M-theory, which is the best candidate for a "theory of everything."
One has to master four or five different string theories and then be told that strings are really not relevant to the currently accepted theory. Since I am retired and have plenty of time, I will continue to struggle with it, but it takes plenty of patience.
In the hands of an instructor who can review (or present solutions) to the problems, this is a wonderful book.
Congratulations to Professor Zwiebach for producing a great text.

for more information click here

Kindle edition comments?

I'm looking for comments on the Kindle edition. I downloaded a sample and I think it's the 1st edition, i.e. it deviates slightly from my 2nd edition book. Also, the font looks really bad (unlike other Kindle texts). Has anyone tried reading this on Kindle? Will they publish 2nd ed on Kindle?

5 stars are for the paper book, which (so far) is excellent.

The long way to learning string theory

Until chapter 10, the book is a pleasure to read. It is very systematic, everything is explained in great detail, and the different concepts are very clear and well exposed. The author succeeds in turning a rather obscure scientific topic into an exciting adventure. If I should judge the book only for this first part, I would give it 5 stars. In fact the book is misleading since when you start reading, you get the illusion string theory can be made accessible even for beginners with an average background.

However, this illusion is in vain since the panorama changes dramatically in chapter 10, where the author enters directly into quantum field theory, without any further preparation. An this is the real problem, because the author who developed from the ground up the classical approach to strings mechanics, takes for granted the reader is highly knowledged in quantum mechanics. In spite of his efforts to introduce the subject in successive approximations, all is in vain because the subject is too intricate. The book is not any more systematic for readers lacking adequate quantum theory background.

Certainly this is not a book for beginners. The book requires previous deep understanding of quantum mechanics. Beginners can still learn some interesting concepts from the first part of the book, but a complete reading would require deep study of less advanced quantum mechanics bibliography. That said, I must also point out if the level of the book is maintained in its second part, it may become a top ten for more advanced readers.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

products you might be interested in