Author Archives: kiwinerd

Zwiebach text assumed

Posted on 2008/01/29 by kiwinerd

Hi everyone, I believe there has been sufficient time since the first day of class for everyone to get hold of a copy of the Zwiebach textbook by now. I will therefore be assuming, from now on, that everyone does … Continue reading →

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Lecture 30 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/29 by kiwinerd

Focus for today: the light front gauge: light-front (LF) coordinates X^+, X^- ; noncovariant physical gauges, such as LF gauge, for handling string worldsheet reparametrization invariance; consequences for string equations of motion, boundary conditions, conserved momenta, and constraints; open string … Continue reading →

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Lecture 25 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/24 by kiwinerd

This lecture, on Worldsheet symmetry currents and conserved quantum numbers, is related to Chapter Eight of Zwiebach. Here are my lecture notes

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Homework Due Dates

Posted on 2008/01/23 by kiwinerd

Hi all, Homeworks will be due on Fridays, at the start of lecture (with a five minute grace period, that means due before 11:15am). Homeworks will be posted in their entirety by two weeks before the due date, although initial … Continue reading →

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Grading Calendar

Posted on 2008/01/20 by kiwinerd

Here is the (tentative) Grading Calendar Schedule of when homework assignments are given out and when they are due. Please note the grading weighting proposed:- 10% in-class participation; 50% homeworks (5×10%); 40% final oral presentation. Note: on all assessment instruments, … Continue reading →

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Topic schedule pre-break

Posted on 2008/01/20 by kiwinerd

20080109: organizational meeting [Zwiebach Chapter 1] 20080111: modern high-energy theory, unification, and physical motivations for string theory; classical and quantum physics of relativistic point particles; [Zwiebach Chapters 2,3,5] 20080116: classical non-relativistic string theory; classical relativistic string theory and the Nambu-Goto … Continue reading →

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Homework 1

Posted on 2008/01/20 by kiwinerd

Grade weighting 10% Due date Deadline: Wednesday 6th February 2008 before 2:15pm. Lateness penalty: 3% per day up to a total of two weeks. Drop-dead deadline: 2:15pm on Wednesday 20th February. Assignments handed in more than two weeks after the … Continue reading →

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Lecture 23 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/20 by kiwinerd

These are my lecture notes for 23 Jan. The related chapter Z-bach, Ch.7, is a discussion of worldsheet coordinate parametrization for the relativistic string. In particular, the worldsheet spatial coordinate sigma is chosen according to two criteria: that sigma be … Continue reading →

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Lecture 18 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/18 by kiwinerd

Lecture Notes st20080118 Synopsis Today we talked about the equations of motion and boundary conditions for a classical relativistic string, in an arbitrary worldsheet coordinate system. We found that the only two boundary conditions for open strings physically consistent with … Continue reading →

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How to Contact your Prof.

Posted on 2008/01/17 by kiwinerd

If you ever forget my email address or phone number, just jump on the web (as you presumably are now) and point your web browser to https://ap.io/ This is my “business card” site, which lists my contact data for students … Continue reading →

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