Joseph Polchinski String Theory: Volume 2, Superstring Theory and Beyond

Annotation

String Theory, first published in 1998, comprises two volumes which provide a comprehensive and pedagogic account of the subject. Volume 2 begins with an introduction to supersymmetric string theories and presents the important advances of recent years. The first three chapters introduce the type I, type II, and heterototic superstring theories and their interactions. The next two chapters 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. The final chapters are concerned with four-dimensional string theories, showing how some of the simplest string models connect with previous ideas for unifying the Standard Model. They collect many important results on world-sheet and spacetime symmetries. An appendix summarizes the necessary background on fermions and supersymmetry. An essential text and reference for graduate students and researchers interested in superstring theory.