My aim in this one semester course is to provide a first introduction to string theory for graduate students. This is a very rich subject and there are many approaches to it. In this course I will view string theory as a new way to describe the same physics that quantum field theory describes, as exemplified by the AdS/CFT correspondence. We will not have much time to explore very deeply its other role as a vehicle for the unification of gravity with the other forces of nature.
I expect to spend most of the semester developing string theory in flat space-time, starting with a thorough understanding of physical properties of the tree level scattering amplitudes for the various types of strings. This will lay a firm foundation for the consideration, toward the end of the semester, of curved backgrounds, such as Anti-deSitter space (AdS), which provide the key to understanding quantum field theory in the language of string. Below are links to course information, a syllabus, a convention and formula sheet.
My email address is:
thorn@phys.ufl.eduPlease note that an error in prob. 2 of set 2 has been fixed.
A typo, found by Francisco, in the solution for prob. 2 of set 4 has been corrected.