弦论（第2卷）（英文版）

    When I first decided to write a book on string theory, more than ten years ago, my memories of my student years were much more vivid than they are today. Still, I remember that one of the greatest pleasures was finding a text that made a difficult subject accessible, and I hoped to provide the same for string theory.
Thus, my first purpose was to give a coherent introduction to string theory, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. No previous knowledge of string theory is assumed. I do assume that the reader is familiar with the central ideas of general relativity, such as metrics and curvature, and with the ideas of quantum field theory through non- Abelian gauge symmetry. Originally a full course of quantum field theory was assumed as a prerequisite, but it became clear that many students were eager to learn string theory as soon as possible, and that others had taken courses on quantum field theory that did not emphasize the tools needed for string theory. I have therefore tried to give a self-contained introduction to those tools.
A second purpose was to show how some of the simplest four- dimensional string theories connect with previous ideas for unifying the Standard Model, and to collect general results on the physics of four- dimensional string theories as derived from world-sheet and spacetime symmetries. New developments have led to a third goal, which is to intro- duce the recent discoveries concerning string duality, M-theory, D-branes, and black hole entropy.

When I first decided to write a book on string theory, more than ten years ago, my memories of my student years were much more vivid than they are today. Still, I remember that one of the greatest pleasures was finding a text that made a difficult subject accessible, and I hoped to provide the same for string theory.
Thus, my first purpose was to give a coherent introduction to string theory, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. No previous knowledge of string theory is assumed. I do assume that the reader is familiar with the central ideas of general relativity, such as metrics and curvature, and with the ideas of quantum field theory through non- Abelian gauge symmetry. Originally a full course of quantum field theory was assumed as a prerequisite, but it became clear that many students were eager to learn string theory as soon as possible, and that others had taken courses on quantum field theory that did not emphasize the tools needed for string theory. I have therefore tried to give a self-contained introduction to A second purpose was to show how some of the simplest four- dimensional string theories connect with previous ideas for unifying the Standard Model, and to collect general results on the physics of four- dimensional string theories as derived from world-sheet and spacetime symmetries. New developments have led to a third goal, which is to intro- duce the recent discoveries concerning string duality, M-theory, D-branes, and black hole entropy.

　　本书为英文版。

    Joseph Polchinski received his Ph.D.from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980. After postdoctoral fellowships at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and Harvard, he Joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin in 1984, moving to his present position of Professor of Physics at the University of Califrona at Santa barbara, and Permanent Member of the Institute for Theoretical Physics, in 1992.

Foreword
Preface
Notation
10 Type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ superstrings
　10.1 The superconformal algebra
　10.2 Ramond and Neveu-Schwarz sectors
　10.3 Vertex operators and bosonization
　10.4 The superconformal ghosts
　10.5 Physical states
　10.6 Superstring theories in ten dimensions
　10.7 Modular invariance
　10.8 Divergences of type I theory
　Exercises
11 The heterotic string
　11.1 World-sheet supersymmetries
　11.2 The SO(32) and E8 x E8 heterotic strings
　11.3 Other ten-dimensional heterotic strings
　11.4 A little Lie algebra
　11.5 Current algebras
　11.6 The bosonic construction and toroidal compactification
　Exercises
12 Superstring interactions
12.1 Low energy supergravity
12.2 Anomalies
12.3 Superspace and superfields
12.4 Tree-level amplitudes
12.5 General amplitudes
12.6 One-lop amplitudes
　Exercises
13 D-branes
13.1 T-duality of type ⅡStrings
13.2 T-duality of gype Ⅰstrings
13.3 The D-brane charge and action
13.4 D-brane interactions: Statics
13.5 D-brane interactions: dynamics
13.6 D-brane interactions: bound states
Exercises
14 Strings at strong coupling
15 Advanced CFT
16 Orbifolds
17 Calabi-Yau compactification
18 Physics in four dimensions
19 Advanced topics
Appendix B: Spinors and SUSY in various dimensions
References
Glossary
Index

When I first decided to write a book on string theory, more than ten years ago, my memories of my student years were much more vivid than they are today. Still, I remember that one of the greatest pleasures was finding a text that made a difficult subject accessible, and I hoped to provide the same for string theory. Thus, my first purpose was to give a coherent introduction to string theory, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. No previous knowledge of string theory is assumed. I do assume that the reader is fa..

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