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String Theory,
An Introduction to the Bosonic String
The two volumes prise String Theory provide an up-to-date, comprehensive, and
pedagogic introduction to string theory.
Volume I, An Introduction to the Bosonic String, provides a thorough introduction to
the bosonic string, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. The
first four chapters introduce the central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field
theory and of the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. The
next three chapters treat string interactions: the general formalism, and detailed treatments
of the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. Chapter eight covers pactification
and many important aspects of string physics, such as T-duality and D-branes. Chapter
nine treats higher-order amplitudes, including an analysis of the finiteness and unitarity,
and various nonperturbative ideas. An appendix giving a short course on path integral
methods is also included.
Volume II, Superstring Theory and Beyond, begins with an introduction to supersym-
metric string theories and goes on to a broad presentation of the important advances of
recent years. The first three chapters introduce the type I, type II, and heterotic 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. A following
chapter collects 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. An appendix summarizes the necessary background