8.251 String Theory for Undergraduates, Spring 2003
A torus is built from a cylinder of circumference 2π and length T by gluing the edges with a twist angle θ. The set of inequivalent tori is represented by the points in the orange region. In all these tori the shortest geodesic has length greater than or equal to 2π. (Image by Prof. Barton Zwiebach.)
Highlights of this Course
This course introduces string theory to undergraduate and features
problem sets. Prof. Zwiebach has written a textbook entitled
A First Course in String Theory, which will be published by Cambridge University Press. The projected publication date for the book is May of 2004.
Course Description
Introduction to the main concepts of string theory to undergraduates. Since string theory is quantum mechanics of a relativistic string, the foundations of the subject can be explained to students exposed to both special relativity (8.033) and basic quantum mechanics (8.05). Subject develops the aspects of string theory and makes it accessible to students familiar with basic electromagnetism (8.02) and statistical mechanics (8.044). This includes the study of D-branes and string thermodynamics.