D-Branes (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Einstein's theory of the classical relativistic dynamics of gravity is remarkable, both in its simple elegance and in its profound statement about the nature of..." (more)
Key Phrases: dual gauge theory, probe brane, ten dimensional solution, Field Theorist, General Relativity, First Superstring Revolution (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the most up-to-date string text available. It is an excellent resource..." Donald Marolf, University of California Santa Barbara, American Journal of Physics

"D-Branes is an excellent complement to other existing texts on string theory..." Physics Today

Product Description

This book focuses on the technology of D-branes in Superstring and M-theory, presenting the main ideas and recent discoveries in a pedagogical manner. It will serve as an introduction to welcome and guide newcomers to this exciting field, and an indispensible reference for seasoned practitioners. The book starts by introducing the key features of string theory and the theoretical tools needed to get to grips with D-branes. It then builds up the subject in a logical way, discussing further aspects of string theory and advanced applications as the text progresses.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 571 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521809126
• ISBN-13: 978-0521809122
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,832,655 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great book... once all the errors are corrected., May 6, 2004

By A Customer

While it provides a (in some sense) self-contained introduction to string theory, it is no secret that this was not the intended focus of this text (as indicated even by its title), so prior knowledge of string theory would be highly beneficial. It does however provide a novel viewpoint from which it introduces string theory, and it is so far the best/only text on D-Branes, which is a subject that has become vitally entangled with string theory, so it is worth reading for anyone in the field.

Unfortunately, the deal-breaker is that there are many non-trivial errors throughout the text, which makes it difficult to be sure you understand what you think you are learning. A positive outlook comes from the fact that the author has an errata webpage where errors are being collected, so maybe there will be a future printing with most errors corrected that would deserve 4 or 5 stars.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An great introduction to the subject, April 30, 2003

By A Customer

...If you want an intoduction to string theory, sure you should start with G,S & W or Polchinski. However, D-branes are hardly covered in these texts and I found this book a great entry point for this subject. How are you going to learn about AdS/CFT, black holes, F-theory etc by sticking to those other books?

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Useful!, May 31, 2003

By A Customer

This is the book I was waiting for. I know some string theory before, and this got me back into it fast, and then on to D-branes and supergravity and things like that. String duality and D-brane black holes is what I wanted to know more about and it is introduce and explained just great! And there is lots of discussion and other explanation of many other topics. The book is good at connecting many topics together in a useful way.