8.821
String Theory
An introduction to string theory. Basics of conformal field theory; light-cone and covariant quantization of the relativistic bosonic string; quantization and spectrum of supersymmetric 10-dimensional string theories; T-duality and D-branes; toroidal compactification and orbifolds; 11-dimensional supergravity and M-theory. Meets with 8.251 when offered concurrently.
Fall 2014 · String Theory and Holographic Duality
This string theory course focuses on holographic duality (also known as gauge / gravity duality or AdS / CFT) as a novel method of approaching and connecting a range of diverse subjects, including quantum gravity / black holes, QCD at extreme conditions, exotic condensed matter systems, and quantum information.
Readings
Fall 2008
Topics
- What you need to know about string theory
- D3-branes at small and large coupling
- AdS/CFT from scratch, no strings
- What holds up the throat?
- How to defend yourself from a supersymmetric field theory
- About the N = 4 SYM theory
- Big picture of correspondence; strings and strong interactions
- ’t Hooft counting
- Scale and conformal invariance in field theory
- CFT in D > 2 (cont.)
- Geometry of AdS
- Geometry of AdS (cont.); Poincaré patch; wave equation in AdS
- Masses of fields and dimensions of operators; BF-allowed tachyons
- How to compute two-point correlators of scalar operators
- Preview of real-time issues; two-point functions in momentum space (cont.); more on low-mass 2 fields in AdS
- Three-point functions, anomalies; expectation values
- Wilson loops
- Wilson loops (cont.)
- Pointlike probes of the bulk; Baryons and branes in AdS; ‘Non-spherical horizons’
- Brief survey of other examples of the correspondence (M2, M5, D1-D5, Dp, branes at singularities); a model of confinement
- Confinement (cont.): how to measure the spectrum, proof of mass gap
- Black hole mechanics, classical and quantum
- AdS black holes and thermal gauge theory; equation of state, free energy and stress tensor
- Hawking effect for interacting field theories and BH thermodynamics
- AdS black holes and thermal gauge theory: Polyakov-Susskind loop, screening, quasinormal modes, Hawking-page transition
Readings
- Susskind, Leonard, and James Lindesay. An Introduction to Black Holes, Information, and the String Theory Revolution: The Holographic Universe . Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific, 2004. ISBN: 9789812560834.
- Kiritsis, Elias. String Theory in a Nutshell . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780691122304.
- Becker, Katrin, Melanie Becker, and John H. Schwarz. String Theory and M-Theory: A Modern Introduction . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521860697.
- Polchinski, Joseph Gerard. String Theory . Vol. 1, An Introduction to the Bosonic String. Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780521672276.
- ———. String Theory . Vol. 2, Superstring Theory and Beyond. Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780521672283.
- Green, M., John H. Schwarz, and E. Witten. Superstring Theory . Vol. 1, Introduction. Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN: 9780521357524.
- ———. Superstring Theory . Vol. 2, Loop Amplitutes, Anomalies and Phenomenology . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN: 9780521357531.
- Polyakov, A. M. Gauge Fields and Strings. Contemporary Concepts in Physics . Vol. 3. New York, NY: CRC Publishers, 1987. ISBN: 9783718603930.
- Lust, D., and S. Theisen. Lectures on String Theory . Lecture notes in physics, 346. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 1989. ISBN: 9780387518824.
- Zwiebach, Barton. A First Course in String Theory . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780521880329.
- Kiritsis, Elias. String Theory in a Nutshell . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007, appendix K. ISBN: 9780691122304.
- Kiritsis, Elias. String Theory in a Nutshell . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007, section 13.9. ISBN: 9780691122304.
- Susskind, Leonard, and James Lindesay. An Introduction to Black Holes, Information, and the String Theory Revolution: The Holographic Universe . Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific, 2004, chapter 3. ISBN: 9789812560834.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: 8.324 G (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department 3-0-9 units Credit cannot also be received for 8.251
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2014
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2008
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.