PHY2406F

Pre-class reading and digitised lecture notes

#	Date	Reading (Zwiebach)	Lecture notes / topic
1	F10Sep	[none]	Introduction to the course and the prof. , Motivating string theory
2	F17Sep	1-3 (background), 4, 5, 6	Classical physics of non-relativistic and relativistic particles, and of non-relativistic and relativistic strings; Nambu-Goto action; Static gauge
3	F24Sep	7,8	Smart choice of worldsheet spatial coordinate: sigma, Neumann boundary conditions for the open string, 'Rigidly' rotating relativistic string; Worldsheet symmetry currents
4	F01Oct	2.3 (review); 9,10	Lightning review of light-cone coordinates; Classical relativistic string in light-cone gauge; Introduction to spin-(0,1,2) fields in light-cone gauge
5	F08Oct	11,12.1-12.5	Quantization of relativistic point particle (as warm-up); Quantization of relativistic open string (yee haa! )
6	F15Oct*	12.6-12.8, 13.1-13.5	Quantization of relativistic open and closed strings (up to the end of Part I of Zwiebach)
7	F22Oct	13.5,12.8; 14	Brief look at superstring theories; D-branes and gauge fields
8	F29Oct	14-15	Quantizing NN, DD and ND fields: spectra for strings stretched between different D-branes
9	F05Nov*	16-17	T-duality, circle compactification; Hagedorn phenomenon
10	F12Nov		Supergravity as the low-energy limit of string theory; schematic derivation via sigma-model. Black p-branes.
11	F19Nov	my MIT Lectures (esp.#2)	Black brane entropy vs. statistical mechanics of D-branes and strings [for more detail, see my 80-page TASI-99 lecture notes ]
12	F26Nov*		Superstring duality and compactifications [ outline only ]
13	F03Dec		Gravity/gauge correspondences

Note: * = homework assignment due by 10:10am

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Auxiliary notes

Interested students may wish to peruse notes from other courses I teach or have taught; this is definitely not compulsory but may be edifying.

Notes from a more advanced (Winter/Spring) string theory course I taught in 2003, mainly using conformal field theory technology. [access restricted]
Symmetries in field theory: Noether's theorem and Goldstone's theorem , "Internal" symmetries, Lie groups, representation theory of Poincare group
General Relativity I (2004-5)
"Other advanced notes..." section of textbook page

Advice

Make sure you read the assigned sections of Zwiebach (the course textbook) before turning up to class. Doing the assigned reading will make the lecture more comprehensible and much more valuable for you. The assigned reading will be posted no less than two days before lecture.

Digitised lecture notes will be uplinked soon after each lecture. Since important in-lecture annotations to prepared notes will be made, uplinking of course lecture notes prior to lecture would be inconsistent with causality and hence will not be done. I also have other sound educational reasons for loading lecture notes after the fact. (Not to mention the common phenomenon of last-minute titivations. ) Please also remember that I am providing lecture notes as a service, including for students with learning disabilities. So please do not ask me to change my "post-loading" policy.

I number important equations in my lecture notes, to help you synchronize with auxiliary notes you may take during class.

Important deadlines and dates can be found on the Arts and Science Calendar Sessional Dates page . For example: the drop date is November 3rd; exams run during December 9th-20th. Please do not book a plane ticket during this exam period before the final exam date (over which I have no control) is posted.