Reading Pre-Class

Posted on 2008/01/16 by kiwinerd

Hi all,

One message I received loud and clear from various students today (in a variety of ways) was that different students prefer different paces of computation in class. This range of pace-preferences is likely to remain, or grow – as normally happens in graduate courses.

No worries, eh! :-)

In order to effectively compress this pace-range a bit, I’m going to assign specific required pre-class reading (from Zwiebach, for the first half-semester or so) before each lecture. Everyone will be expected to do the prep.

Each student is welcome to prepare it their own way. For instance, students with stronger backgrounds may elect to do little-to-no preparation, depending on the level of challenge of the material for them. Students with less experience (and good motivation) will typically find it wise to prepare more in advance. The end result will be a more valuable lecture overall for every student.

Make sure you check this course web site at least four times a week (including pre-Wednesday and pre-Friday) to keep up. Thanks!

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Lecture 16 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/15 by kiwinerd

Download the lecture notes here:

Synopsis

The focus for today is: formulating the action principle for strings, both non-relativistic and relativistic. We will derive/motivate the Nambu-Goto action principle, and start discussing boundary conditions. This leads to the concept of D(irichlet)-branes, which we’ll introduce properly in the next lecture.

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Office hours

Posted on 2008/01/12 by kiwinerd

Regular office hours for PHY2406H will be held after Friday class in my office: 12-1pm in MP1118. This is just two doors down the (North wall) hallway from our classroom.

Students taking the course for credit and auditors alike are all warmly welcome. :-)

People coming to class are also invited to pop by to see me individually at other times. Taking a look at my online schedule matrix may help maximize likelihood of wavefunction overlap. Or contact me via email to set up a time to meet individually.

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Lecture 11 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/10 by kiwinerd

Download the lecture notes here:

Synopsis

The foci of today’s lecture were as follows:

  • unification – why is marrying gravity with gauge forces hard?
  • particle worldlines versus string worldsheets;
  • handwaving description of the quantum Casimir effect on string oscillations;
  • preview of mass formulae and critical dimension for open and closed strings;
  • reminder about classical non-relativistic point-particle theory;
  • reminder about classical relativistic point-particle theory and the Geometric action;
  • the classical Einbein action, and how it handles the mass-shell constraint even for massless particles;
  • Hamiltonian physics: from Poisson brackets to quantum commutators.

A Look Ahead

Next time, we’ll introduce the classical action for strings, first for the non-relativistic case and then for the relativistic case. We’ll discuss the construction and symmetries of the Nambu-Goto action.  This will set us up to look at the equations of motion, and especially the boundary conditions, in the following lecture.

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Meeting 09 Jan

Posted on 2008/01/08 by kiwinerd

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

The first class meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 9th January from 11:10am-12:00noon in MP1115. Please bring your brains and your calendars with you, as most of what we will discuss will be organizational. The physics will start for real on Friday 11th January.

Pre/co-requisites

First-semester Quantum Field Theory (QFT), or its equivalent, is a pre-requisite. Second-semester QFT is a recommended co-requisite. General Relativity is also recommended.

Sample syllabus

  • Modern high-energy theory and the physical motivations for string theory
  • Classical and quantum physics of relativistic point particles; classical relativistic string theory
  • Nambu-Goto action; reparametrization invariance; equations of motion and boundary conditions; D-branes
  • Worldsheet symmetry currents; Lorentz symmetry and conserved quantum numbers
  • Light-front gauge; quantization of fields of spins 0,1,2
  • Virasoro symmetry generators; role of oscillators; critical dimension and zero-point energy
  • Construction of open and closed string quantum state spaces
  • Superstrings: worldsheet fermions, NS and R sectors, GSO projection
  • Parallel and intersecting D-branes and open strings
  • Circle compactification and T-duality for closed and open strings; the Hagedorn phenomenon
  • The Dark Side of String Theory: black branes and computing thermodynamic black hole entropy via superstring statistical mechanics
  • Superstring duality
  • Gauge/string duality
  • Superstring cosmology
  • … :-)

Textbook

Within the limited field of available contenders, this will be chosen based on student interests. So, bring your opinions to the first class meeting!

A likely candidate covering the first half to two-thirds of the course is the 2004 text A First Course in String Theory by Barton Zwiebach. Other resources to be used will include scholarly review articles, for the later stages of the course.

Grading

Active class participation will be graded.

Every class member (including auditors) will be expected to do set homework assignments. These will be given every two weeks.

The final exam may be either a written test or a final research project and presentation. Bring your vote for your preference to the first organizational meeting.

Lectures

Unless a really excellent reason arises, we will hold class at the times scheduled by UofT: WF11. For those who aren’t familiar with local abbreviations, that means we meet on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:10am until noon. Our room will be MP1115, which is located on the eleventh floor of McLennan Physics labs at 60 St George Street.

Office hours

These are to be determined by direct negotiation with class members.

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