SUSPERSTRINGS AND D-BRANES (16 lectures)

Dr. C.V.Johnson Dr. S.A.Abel

This course goes beyond the introductory string course of last term, giving a basic introduction to superstring theory intially, and then developing the properties of the D-Branes of those theories. They will be used to probe the strongly coupled physics of superstrings, uncovering strong/weak coupling duality and M-Theory. Applications of these techniques to the study of the non-perturbative physics of gauge field theories, including the large N gauge theory and the AdS/CFT correspondence, will be discussed. The second part of the course will discuss phenomenology including heterotic strings, orbifold constructions, and supersymmetry breaking.

Outline of course:

Constructing Superstrings; The GSO projection; Superstring Compactification Techniques; Toriodal Compactification; Orbifolds and the K3 Manifold; D-Branes; Orientifolds; World-Volume Actions; Branes within Branes; Strongly Coupled Strings and Duality; M-Theory; D-Branes and Geometry; D-Branes and Field Theory; Large N Gauge Theory and the AdS/CFT Correspondence. Modular invariance, Heterotic models, Realistic Orbifold Constructions, Realistic D-Brane Constructions; Supersymmetry Breaking; Phenomenological Overview. (Some topics may be omitted).

Books for the Course:

M.Green, J.Schwarz and E.Witten, Superstring theory (Vols. 1 and 2) (C.U.P 1986)

J. Polchinski, String Theory (Vols. 1 and 2) (C.U.P. 1998)

C. V. Johnson, D-Brane Primer, hep-th/0007170.

Other books/articles which may be of interest:

D.Bailin and A.Love Supersymmetric Gauge Field Theory and String Theory (IOP 1994)

Joseph Polchinski , Tasi lectures on D-branes, e-Print Archive: hep-th/9611050

Constantin P. Bachas, Lectures on D-branes, e-Print Archive: hep-th/9806199

P.Mansfield Repts. Prog. Phys. 53 1183 (1990)

P.Ginsparg Applied Conformal field theory (les Houches, 1988)

C.Itzykson and J.-M. Drouffe Statistical Field Theory Vol II (C.U.P)

J.L.Cardy Conformal Invariance in Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena Vol. 11 (ed. C. Domb and J.L.Lebowitz) (Academic Press)

J.S.Scherk Rev. Mod. Phys. 47, 123 (1975)