Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


A First Course in String Theory

A First Course in String Theory

A First Course in String Theory

2nd Edition
Barton Zwiebach, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
January 2009
Hardback
9780521880329

Experience the eBook and the associated online resources on our new Higher Education website. Go to site For other formats please stay on this page.

$78.99
USD
Hardback
USD
eBook

    String theory made understandable. Barton Zwiebach is once again faithful to his goal of making string theory accessible to undergraduates. He presents the main concepts of string theory in a concrete and physical way to develop intuition before formalism, often through simplified and illustrative examples. Complete and thorough in its coverage, this new edition now includes AdS/CFT correspondence and introduces superstrings. It is perfectly suited to introductory courses in string theory for students with a background in mathematics and physics. New sections cover strings on orbifolds, cosmic strings, moduli stabilization, and the string theory landscape. Now with almost 300 problems and exercises, with password-protected solutions for instructors at www.cambridge.org/zwiebach.

    • Includes completely new chapters on AdS/CFT correspondence and strong interactions, and an introduction to superstrings
    • A detailed and self-contained explanation of string theory at a level that is truly understandable to undergraduates
    • Presents the main concepts of string theory in a concrete and physical way, with over 100 worked examples and over 180 homework problems (with solutions for instructors)

    Reviews & endorsements

    "When it first appeared, Zwiebach's A First Course in String Theory provided a great launching point for those who wanted to learn about the field of string theory... .The second edition is filled with many updates, including the connection to particle physics emphasizing the strong interactions, and provides an even better starting point for beginning physicists interested in learning about this exciting field."
    - Professor Per Berglund, University of New Hampshire

    See more reviews

    Product details

    February 2009
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9780511474569
    0 pages
    0kg
    86 b/w illus. 180 exercises
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • Foreword
    • Preface
    • Acknowledgements
    • Part I. Basics:
    • 1. A brief introduction
    • 2. Special relativity and extra dimensions
    • 3. Electromagnetism and gravitation in various dimensions
    • 4. Nonrelativistic strings
    • 5. The relativistic point particle
    • 6. Relativistic strings
    • 7. Strong parameterization and classical motion
    • 8. World-sheet currents
    • 9. Light-cone relativistic strings
    • 10. Light-cone fields and particles
    • 11. The relativistic quantum point particle
    • 12, Relativistic quantum closed strings
    • 13. Relativistic quantum closed strings
    • 14. A look at relativistic superstrings
    • Part II. Developments:
    • 15. D-branes and gauge fields
    • 16. String charge and electric charge
    • 17. T-duality of closed strings
    • 18. T-duality of open strings
    • 19. Electromagnetism fields in D-branes
    • 20. Nonlinear and Born-Infeld electrodynamics
    • 21. Strong theory and particle physics
    • 22. String thermodynamics and black holes
    • 23. Strong interactions and AdS/CFT
    • 24. Covariant string quantization
    • 25. String interactions and Riemann surfaces
    • 26. Loop amplitudes in string theory
    • References
    • Index.