String theory

Course goals

1. can derive the action for a relativistic point particle, and can derive the Polyakov action for relativistic strings
2. has knowledge about the properties of the classical equations or motion for strings
3. can derive the Virasoro constraints, understands the symmetries of the relativistic string, and can solve the Virasoro constraints in light cone gauge
4. is able to quantize the bosonic string in light cone gauge, and can derive the mass spectrum of the bosonic string
5. understands the basic principles of supersymmetry in two dimensions, can formulate the action for the superstring, can quantize the superstring, and can derive the critical dimension for the superstring
6. is familiar with the basics of D-branes and T-duality, can derive the spectrum of the superstring, use the GSO projection, and has knowledge about the low-energy effective action of superstrings

Content

The course covers the basic concepts of modern string theory. This includes covariant and light-cone quantisation of bosonic and fermionic strings, geometry and topology of string world-sheets, vertex operators and string scattering amplitudes, world-sheet and space-time supersymmetries, elements of conformal field theory, Green-Schwarz superstrings, strings in curved backgrounds, low-energy effective actions, D-brane physics.