PHY 622 & 623 String Theory I & II

F'20, MWF 9:15-10:10 — S'21, MWF 10:00-53

M. Roček, W. Siegel, P. van Nieuwenhuizen

office consultation available on request

On-line lecture notes, etc.

Siegel

Lightcone algebra

Some previous semesters

Reading & homework
- F'19, S'20
- F'18, S'19
- F'17, S'18
- F'16, S'17
- F'15, S'16
- F'14, S'15
Extra lecture notes

Outline

This is a two-semester course. The course is taught by all of us; we attend each other's lectures, and encourage discussions with students.

String theory is a vast subject, so it is not possible to cover all areas. We give simple introductions to the main areas; the lectures are self-contained. We do not use phrases like "It can be shown that...", but rather do all derivations and calculations explicitly.

This year we will begin teaching another revised version of the string course. As such, the following is a tentative description, subject to revision.

First semester	Second semester
introduction to supersymmetry (Roček) spinors in various dimensions super Yang-Mills supergravity free strings (Siegel) particles bosonic strings spinning strings superstrings types of strings (super)conformal field theory (van Nieuwenhuizen) covariant (BRST) quantization of bosonic & spinning strings matter & ghost fields, currents, OPE's, D=26 & 10 partition functions & modular invariance lightcone Lorentz algebra (Siegel) bosonic spinning/super	dualities T-duality: Buscher rules S-duality in supergravity: weak ↔ strong coupling compactification supersymmetric vacua branes differential geometry interacting strings Regge theory 1st-quantized S-matrices string tree graphs

First semester

Second semester

introduction to supersymmetry (Roček)
1. spinors in various dimensions
2. super Yang-Mills
3. supergravity
free strings (Siegel)
1. particles
2. bosonic strings
3. spinning strings
4. superstrings
5. types of strings
(super)conformal field theory (van Nieuwenhuizen)
1. covariant (BRST) quantization of bosonic & spinning strings
2. matter & ghost fields, currents, OPE's, D=26 & 10
3. partition functions & modular invariance
lightcone Lorentz algebra (Siegel)
1. bosonic
2. spinning/super

dualities
1. T-duality: Buscher rules
2. S-duality in supergravity: weak ↔ strong coupling
compactification
1. supersymmetric vacua
2. branes
3. differential geometry
interacting strings
1. Regge theory
2. 1st-quantized S-matrices
3. string tree graphs

Prerequisites

There are a few topics for which you should understand @ least the basics; for a review see the following chapters of the text for the Introduction to Modern Theoretical Physics course mentioned previously:

Dirac equation	15
classical Yang-Mills	50
basic general relativity: tensors & Einstein's equations	1-6

Quantum field theory is not a prerequisite, but we will apply (relativistic) quantum mechanics to first-quantization of strings, & to S(cattering)-matrices.

Organization

👑🦠 Remote instruction

This course will be Online Synchronous (@ least for the Fall).
Homework can be submitted before the class it's due by email, either typeset (e.g., from Teχ) or photos.
The nature of any final exams is to be determined.
If you cannot reach your instructor (i.e., there's an indication they might not be capable of responding), please email CAS_Dean@stonybrook.edu.

Student participation

We demand questions from students. If you remain silent, we have no way of knowing how well you are following. It does you no good to complain only on the course evaluations (although that may help future students). If you're buying a car, & take it out for a test drive, but use only the gas pedal & not the brake, you can't complain to the salesman afterward that it goes too fast.

Grading: S/U

Grading will be based on class participation.

University-required statements

These statements are required in all University syllabi. (They are the same in all course syllabi, so just read it once.)