内容简介
超弦和M理论是现代物理学中有趣活跃的研究课题之一。该问题比较困难同时也充满争议,一些人称之为“理论”,这是因为超弦理论有可能解决困扰人们多年的难题,即统一二十世纪伟大的两个理论:广义相对论和量子场论。《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》全面细致地讲解超弦理论和该领域的新研究进展,内容包括四维超弦,Kac-Moody代数,Teichmuller空间和Calabi-Yau流形,M理论和D膜,对偶和BPS关系,矩阵模型等,可以作为研究生教材,同时对研究人员也有参考价值。作者首先简要介绍了点粒子理论,然后利用费曼路径积分详细讨论超弦理论。超弦研究需要很多数学工具,书中分别作了介绍,如指标定理,同调论和Kahler流形等。在第二版中,作者对内容做了整体修订,并添加了M理论的三个新章节。阅读《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》需要量子力学和相对论的基本知识。
读者对象:理论物理、高能物理、场论和弦论等专业的高年级本科生、研究生和相关专业的科研人员。
作者简介
作者:(美国)加来道雄
内页插图
目录
Preface
Acknowledgments
Ⅰ First Quantization and Path Integrals
1 Path Integrals and Point Particles
1.1 Why Strings?
1.2 Historical Review of Gauge Theory
1.3 Path Integrals and Point Particles
1.4 Relativistic Point Particles
1.5 First and Second Quantization
1.6 Faddeev-Popov Quantization
1.7 Second Quantization
1.8 Harmonic Oscillators
1.9 Currents and Second Quantization
1.10 Summary
References
2 Nambu-Goto Strings
2.1 Bosonic Strings
2.2 Gupta-Bleuler Quantization
2.3 Light Cone Quantization
2.4 BRST Quantization
2.5 Trees
2.6 From Path Integrals to Operators
2.7 Projective Invariance and Twists
2.8 Closed Strings
2.9 Ghost Elimination
2.100 Summary
References
3 Superstrings
3.1 Supersymmetric Point Particles
3.2 Two-Dimensional Supersymmetry
3.3 Trees
3.4 Local Two-Dimensional Supersymmetry
3.5 Quantization
3.6 GSO Projection
3.7 Superstrings
3.8 Light Cone Quantization of the GS Action
3.9 Vertices and Trees
3.10 Summary
References
4 Conformal Field Theory and Kac——Moody Algebras
4.1 Conformal Field Theory
4.2 Superconformal Field Theory
4.3 Spin Fields
4.4 Superconformal Ghosts
4.5 Fermion Vertex
4.6 Spinors and Trees
4.7 Kac-Moody Algebras
4.8 Supersymmetry
4.9 Summary
References
5 Mulfiloops and Teichmuller Spaces
5.1 Unitarity
5.2 Single-Loop Amplitude
5.3 Harmonic Oscillators
5.4 Single-Loop Superstring Amplitudes
5.5 Closed Loops
5.6 Multiloop Amplitudes
5.7 Riemann Surfaces and Teichmiiller Spaces
5.8 Conformal Anomaly
5.9 Superstrings
5.10 Determinants and Singularities
5.11 Moduli Space and Grassmannians
5.12 Summary
References
Ⅱ Second Quantization and the Search for Geometry
6 Light Cone Field Theory
6.1 Why String Field Theory?
6.2 Deriving Point Particle Field Theory
6.3 Light Cone Field Theory
6.4 Interactions
6.5 Neumann Function Method
6.6 Equivalence of the Scattering Amplitudes
6.7 Four-String Interaction
6.8 Superstring Field Theory
6.9 Summary
References
7 BRST Field Theory
7.1 Covariant String Field Theory
7.2 BRST Field Theory
7.3 Gauge Fixing
7.4 Interactions
7.5 Witten's String Field Theory
7.6 Proof of Equivalence
7.7 Closed Strings and Superstrings
7.8 Summary
References
Ⅲ Phenomenology and Model Building
8 Anomalies and the Atiyah-Singer Theorem
8.1 Beyond GUT Phenomenology
8.2 Anomalies and Feynman Diagrams
8.3 Anomalies in the Functional Formalism
8.4 Anomalies and Characteristic Classes
8.5 Dirac Index
8.6 Gravitational and Gauge Anomalies
8.7 Anomaly Cancellation in Strings
8.8 Summary
References
9 Heterotic Strings and Compactification
9.1 Compactification
9.2 The Heterotic String
9.3 Spectrum
9.4 Covariant and Fermionic Formulations
9.5 Trees
9.6 Single-Loop Amplitude
9.7 Es and Kac——Moody Algebras
9.8 Lorentzian Lattices
9.9 Summary
References
10 Calabi——Yau Spaces and Orbifolds
10.1 Calabi-Yau Spaces
10.2 Review of de Rahm Cohomology
10.3 Cohomology and Homology
10.4 K/ihler Manifolds
10.5 Embedding the Spin Connection
10.6 Fermion Generations
10.7 Wilson Lines
10.8 Orbifoids
10.9 Four-Dimensional Superstrings
10.10 Summary
References
Ⅳ M-Theory
11 M-Theory and Duality
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Duality in Physics
11.3 Why Five String Theories?
11.4 T-Duality
11.5 S-Duality
11.5.1 Type IIA Theory
11.5.2 Type IIB Theory
11.5.3 M-Theory and Type IIB Theory
11.5.4 E8 E8 Heterotic String
11.5.5 Type I Strings
11.6 Summary
References
12 Compactifications and BPS States
12.1 BPS States
12.2 Supersymmetry and P-Branes
12.3 Compactification
12.4 Example: D = 6
12.4.1 D = 6, N = (2, 2) Theory
12.4.2 D = 6, N = (1, 1) Theories
12.4.3 M-Theory in D = 7
12.5 Example:D=4, N=2 and D=6, N=1
12.6 Symmetry Enhancement and Tensionless Strings
12.7 F-Theory
12.8 Example: D = 4
12.9 Summary
References
13 Solitons, D-Branes, and Black Holes
13.1 Solitons
13.2 Supermembrane Actions
13.3 Five-Brahe Action
13.4 D-Branes
13.5 D-Brane Actions
13.6 M(atrix) Models and Membranes
13.7 Black Holes
13.8 Summary
13.9 Conclusion
References
Appendix
A.1 A Brief Introduction to Group Theory
A.2 A Brief Introduction to General Relativity
A.3 A Brief Introduction to the Theory of Forms
A.4 A Brief Introduction to Supersymmetry
A.5 A Brief Introduction to Supergravity
A.6 Notation
References
Index
精彩书摘
(1) Because we are dealing with a first quantized theory, we have to take the sum over all interacting topologies that are swept out by the string. For the Nambu——Goto string, the precise nature of these topologies is ambiguous and must be specified by hand. However, for the Polyakov form of the action, which contains an independent metric tensor, we can eliminate most of this ambiguity by specifying that we sum over all conformally and modular in equivalent configurations. (These terms will be defined later.) This will become a powerful constraint once we start to derive loops and will determine the function measure uniquely. The measure and the topologies in the Nambu-Goto action, however, are not well defined. (We must point out, however, that this rule of integrating over in equivalent surfaces does not automatically satisfy unitarity. This still must be checked by hand.)
(2) The gauge fixing of weyl invariance for the Polyakov action, although trivial classically, poses problems when we make the transition to quantum mechanics. An anomaly appears when we carefully begin the quantization process. In fact, this conformal anomaly will disappear only in 26
dimensions.
前言/序言
Superstring theory (and its latest formulation, M-theory) has emerged as the most promising candidate for a quantum theory of all known interactions. Superstrings apparently solve a problem that has defied solution for the past50 years, namely the unification of the two great fundamental physical theories of the century, quantum field theory and general relativity. Superstring theory introduces an entirely new physical picture into theoretical physics and a new mathematics that has startled even the mathematicians.
Ironically, although superstring theory is supposed to provide a unified field theory of the Universe, the theory itself often seems like a confused jumble of folklore, random rules of thumb, and intuitions. This is because the development of superstring theory has been unlike that of any other theory, such as general relativity, which began with a geometry and an action and later evolved into a quantum theory. Superstring theory, by contrast, has been evolving backward for the past 30 years. It has a bizarre history, beginning with the purely accidental discovery of the quantum theory in 1968 by G. Veneziano and M. Suzuki.
Thumbing through old mathematics books, they stumbled by chance on the Beta function, written down in the last century by mathematician Leon hard Euler. To their amazement, they discovered that the Beta function satisfied almost all the stringent requirements of the scattering matrix describing particle interactions. Never in the history of physics has an important scientific discovery been made in quite this random fashion.
好的,这是一份关于《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》的图书简介,专注于介绍该书未包含的内容,并力求详尽、自然,避免任何AI痕迹。 --- 图书简介:超弦和M理论导论(第2版) 导言:跨越现有边界的理论探索 本书《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》作为弦论和M理论领域的重要参考书目,其内容体系在理论物理的前沿领域已构筑了坚实的基础。它系统地梳理了从玻色弦理论到超弦理论(I型、IIA型、IIB型、异论性、异论性异论性),再到M理论框架的建立与演化。读者将在此书中深入理解共形场论在描述紧致化、狄拉克力合(D-branes)、T对偶、S对偶以及几何工程等关键概念上的应用。该书的深度和广度使得它成为许多研究者和高年级学生的必备工具。 然而,理论物理的疆域瞬息万变,即使是像《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》这样权威的著作,也必然无法完全涵盖所有最新的发展和尚未完全成熟的探索领域。物理学的进步往往体现在对现有框架的修正、新现象的引入,以及与实验物理学更紧密结合的尝试上。因此,为了更全面地理解当代理论物理的图景,理解本书未深入探讨的领域至关重要。 一、 聚焦于“非传统”或“新兴”的M理论/超弦应用与修正 尽管本书对M理论的基础结构进行了详尽的介绍,包括其与五种超弦理论的关系以及对奇点的处理,但对于一些更具推测性、仍在发展中的应用方向,本书可能仅作简要提及或未进行深入探讨。 1. 强耦合区域的非微扰效应与全息对偶的深化应用 (Beyond Perturbation Theory and Advanced AdS/CFT) 本书的叙述很大程度上依赖于微扰弦论的工具箱,例如费曼图的计算、贝塔函数以及圈图修正。然而,在研究强耦合的非微扰区域时,如某些特定的AdS/CFT对应关系(例如,涉及非最小耦合、带有边界项的背景,或更复杂的流(flow)),本书可能没有提供足够详细的工具。 例如,对于涉及非平凡背景下的AdS/CFT对偶,特别是涉及到非最小耦合的引力子体系,或涉及非局部算符的量子场论描述,需要更精细的技巧,比如使用特定的边界场论的格点模型(Lattice Gauge Theory)或非阿贝尔(Non-Abelian)规范场在弯曲时空中的精确解。现代的研究更关注如何利用AdS/CFT解决强相互作用的量子色动力学(QCD)问题,而非仅仅停留在超对称场论的范围内。 2. 涉及拓扑缺陷与畴壁的动力学研究 在涉及弦论紧致化或M理论模型构建时,拓扑缺陷(如奇异点、涡旋、单极子)和畴壁(Domain Walls)的形成与演化是重要的物理现象。本书可能侧重于静力学或均衡态的描述。但在动力学过程中,例如在大爆炸遗迹、宇宙的相变,或者在超导材料中模拟的“弦论”模型中,研究这些缺陷的产生和湮灭过程,以及它们对宇宙学参数的影响,需要专门的动力学处理方法,这些在导论性著作中往往不会被详细展开。 3. 修正引力理论的“弦论起源” (Modified Gravity from String Theory) 本书的基础是爱因斯坦-希尔伯特作用量加上更高阶的曲率修正项(如Gauss-Bonnet项)来构建弦论的低能有效作用量。然而,现代宇宙学观测要求我们考虑更广范围的修正引力理论,例如$f(R)$引力,或者涉及更高阶导数和非最小耦合的理论。如何从弦论的有效场论框架中系统地导出这些修正,并确保它们在不同尺度下的物理合理性,是一个持续研究的课题。本书可能侧重于标准的有效场论,而对如何将这些修正与特定的D膜配置或背景几何精确联系起来的细节未作深入挖掘。 二、 偏离标准模型嵌入与宇宙学应用的最新进展 《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》在介绍弦论如何可能提供一个统一的框架时,通常会展示如何嵌入标准模型(Standard Model, SM)的结构。然而,对于那些偏离标准嵌入路径的探索,本书可能有所保留。 1. 极高维时空与卡拉比-丘流形之外的紧致化 卡拉比-丘(Calabi-Yau)流形是弦论紧致化的核心。本书对这类流形的拓扑、霍奇数以及模空间进行了详细介绍。但是,现代研究开始广泛探索非卡拉比-丘流形(Non-Calabi-Yau Manifolds)的紧致化,例如$G_2$流形(M理论)或更奇异的几何结构。这些结构在保留超对称性的同时,提供了更多参数空间来匹配粒子物理学的观测。 此外,对于“景观”(Landscape)中的特定区域,比如那些具有大量低能有效场论的特定结构,如何精确计算其“景观体积”和真空能,需要更复杂的代数几何工具,这些工具超出了本书的介绍范围。 2. 弯曲背景下的弦/膜动力学与背景独立性 M理论的某些表述暗示了对背景的独立性,尤其是在处理大尺度结构时。在非平坦背景下,如在描述宇宙学膨胀或黑洞动力学时,弦(或膜)的行为不再是简单的场方程解。如何用非微扰的工具(如非交换几何或特定形式的T-对偶链)来精确描述这些弯曲背景中的物理,特别是关于膜的拉伸和形变(brane stretching and warping),是当前研究的热点。 3. 弦理论与量子引力实验的接口 本书的重点在于理论结构的自洽性。然而,理论物理的终极目标是与实验连接。当前,关于如何利用高精度引力波探测器(如LISA)寻找超高能物理效应的证据,或者通过中微子物理来探测额外维度的迹象,是前沿课题。这些连接通常依赖于极低能下的有效场论推导,或对特定背景下低能粒子谱的敏感分析,这些内容在系统性的导论中难以详述。 三、 计算工具与数学方法的扩展 本书提供了必要的数学框架(如微分几何、规范场论),但现代超弦理论的计算能力已大大增强,依赖于更专业的数学工具。 1. 拓扑弦理论的深入应用 (Topological String Theory and Integrability) 拓扑弦理论,特别是它与可积系统(Integrable Systems)之间的深刻联系,是近年来理论物理研究的焦点。例如,利用GW (Gromov-Witten) 计数、量子K理论,或通过联系到费米子系统的积分公式来计算特定的耦合常数,这些方法在本书中可能仅是作为背景知识被提及。 2. 计算机代数在弦论中的应用 随着计算能力的提升,许多复杂的代数运算(如计算高阶微扰修正、处理庞大的模空间代数结构)越来越多地依赖于专业的计算机代数系统(如Mathematica或Maple)。如何编写高效的代码来处理这些极其复杂的微分几何和拓扑对象,是当代理论物理学家必须掌握的技能,但这些“操作性”的细节自然不会出现在理论导论中。 结论:通往更深层次理解的阶梯 《超弦和M理论导论(第2版)》无疑为读者提供了进入超弦和M理论殿堂的坚实基础。然而,物理学的进步是永无止境的。本书所未涵盖的领域——从更复杂的全息模型、非微扰动力学的精确计算,到对宇宙学和粒子物理的更深层次的嵌入尝试——代表了当前理论界正在积极探索的前沿阵地。理解本书的边界,正是指明了读者在后续深入研究中需要关注的方向。