String Theory, Vol. 2 : Superstring Theory and Beyond (Cambridge (Hardcover)

by Joseph Polchinski (Author) "Having spent volume one on a thorough development of the bosonic string, we now come to our real interest, the supersymmetric string theories..." (more)
Key Phrases: current algebra fermions, conifold point, low energy supergravity theory, Standard Model (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The present volume succeeds in giving a detailed yet comprehensive account of our current knowledge of superstring dynamics. The topics covered range from the basic construction of the theories to the most recent discoveries on their non-perturbative behaviour. The discussion is remarkably self-contained (the volume even contains a useful appendix on spinors and supersymmetry in several dimensions), and thus may serve as an introduction to the subject, and as an excellent reference for researchers in the field." Mathematical Reviews

Product Description
Volume 2: Superstring Theory and Beyond, begins with an introduction to supersymmetric string theories and goes on to a broad presentation of the important advances of recent years. The book first introduces the type I, type II, and heterotic superstring theories and their interactions. It then goes on to present important recent discoveries about strongly coupled strings, beginning with a detailed treatment of D-branes and their dynamics, and covering string duality, M-theory, and black hole entropy, and discusses many classic results in conformal field theory. The final four chapters are concerned with four-dimensional string theories, and have two goals: to show how some of the simplest string models connect with previous ideas for unifying the Standard Model; and to collect many important and beautiful general results on world-sheet and spacetime symmetries.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 552 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (October 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521633044
• ISBN-13: 978-0521633048
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,020,050 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Currently one of the standards, March 14, 2001

By	Oliver Lass (Cedar Grove, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Polchinski's book on string theory is a very well written book about the subject. Also, the problems given in the book are valuable for a further understanding. Using it together with the book by Green, Schwarz, Witten one will afterwards have indeed little problems understanding the papers on this subject. However one caveat: if one reads this book, he or she shoudl be always aware that this topic is still deeply a research subject and by no means settled like mechanics. If this is always kept in mind, then this book is of considerable help in understanding one of the current frontiers of physics.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive introduction to String Theory, February 27, 2007

By	Ram Sriharsha (Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: String Theory, Vol. 2 (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics) (Paperback)

I used Polchinski Vol I and II to learn String Theory for my PhD thesis. Vol I covers the basics, using the bosonic string to quantize, and Vol II starts off with the perturbative type II and heterotic strings and soon moves on to nonperturbative string theory, elegantly summarizing the dualities, D-branes (which of course Polchinski discovered), Calabi-Yau compactifications, flop transitions etc. Vol II is essentially a reference for modern string theory. The chapter on advanced CFT is wonderfuly written, and is perhaps the best summary of CFT available in any book (even tomes devoted to CFT pale in comparison). The two volumes of Polchinski are clearly a must read for anybody who wishes to understand string theory. It is an exceptionally well written text on a difficult subject.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, wish there was more, April 1, 2006

By	Dean Welch - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book picks up for Volume I left off. Supersymmetry is added to strings, more symmetries are presented, string theory phenomenology is described and many topics introduced in Volume I are developed in more detail. The quality is as good as it was in the previous volume and I think this book is essential reading for anyone attempting to master string theory.

The main addition in this volume is the expanded coverage of supersymmetry. In brief, the early chapter topics include the relation of worldsheet supersymmetry to spacetime supersymmetry, the various types of superstrings (I, IIA, IIB, and Heterotic) and even W-algebras. Calculations of critical dimensions, scattering amplitudes and anomaly cancellations are also done.

After incorporating supersymmetry into D-branes and T-duality (two concepts first introduced in the context of bosonic strings in Volume I), the text moves on to cover strings at strong coupling. It's a great chapter, my favorite of the book. Among the things covered are U-duality, black hole entropy, the black hole information paradox and M-theory.

After a chapter covering conformal field theory in more detail there are two chapters on compactification. One for orbifolds and one for Calabi-Yau spaces. The latter gives a nice overview of the techniques of complex geometry and algebraic topology needed to study Calabi-Yau spaces (there is also an appendix covering much of the math). Phenomenology is touched on in these, but it's in the following chapter that a more fully developed presentation of the possible string theory connection with the standard model and grand unified field theory is given. One thing I enjoyed was that in addition to string specific physics, this chapter discusses more general aspects of grand unified theories.

The final chapter contains a collection of advanced topics, with mirror symmetry being one of them.

To summarize this is a can't miss book for people seeking to understand string theory. Is anything missing? Not really, although more extensive coverage of black holes and D-branes would've been nice. It definitely left me wishing there was a Volume III on the horizon.